By Ian S. Palmer
Gary Buckland of Cardiff, Wales will be putting his British Junior Lightweight championship on the line against Stephen Foster of Salford, England at the Manchester Arena on Saturday November 24. The 26-year-old Buckland will climb through the ring ropes with a record of 26-2 with 8 Kos while the 32-year-old Foster has a record of 30-3-1 with 18 Kos to his name.
Buckland turned professional back in 2005 and has fought a steady stream of European boxers since then. He was beaten on a six-round points decision by Ben Murphy in 2008 and was knocked out by John Murray in the 10th round of their bout in 2010. Murray was considered to be one of Britain’s best boxers when they fought two years ago and the fight was for the British and European titles. He won the British belt last year with a unanimous decision over Gary Sykes and then defended it the same way this March with a victory over Paul Truscott.
Foster entered the ring for the first time as a pro in 2001 and has dropped bouts against Derry Mathews in 2006, Alex Arthur in 2007, and Ermano Fegatilli in 2011. all three of his losses were by 12-round unanimous decisions and his bout against Fegatilli was for the European championship. He had won the title in his previous bout when he stopped Levan Kirakosyan in the third round. His loss to Arthur was also a title fight as it was for the interim WBO crown.
Buckland is a rough and tumble boxer who likes to mix things up while coming forward. He’s pretty good defensively as he keeps his hands high Foster is another tough boxer who hasn’t been stopped yet in his 11-year career. He’s got fast hands and likes to dig to the body as well as the head. Their styles are actually quite similar and this could turn out to be quite an entertaining fight.
Neither of them is hard to find in the ring and they don’t mind standing their ground and slugging it out when they have to. Buckland doesn’t really have the power to stop Foster though, so he’s going to have to make sure that he wins his fair share of rounds on the scorecards. He might land more shots, but it’s doubtful that he’ll land the heavier ones.
Foster has the potential to stop Buckland and take his title, but he shouldn’t go out looking for a knockout. He has to box smartly and keep the pressure on the champion as much as he can if he hopes to take his title. If he hurts Buckland though he should go in and try to finish him off. Buckland needs to box as well, but he also has to produce enough power to let the challenger know he’s there. This fight could come down to the wire with Buckland retaining his title by a close decision.
