The greatest thing about the Heavyweight division is the excitement that the fights can have. Any Heavyweight fighter can finish a bout in an instant with that perfect shot. Things get even more exciting when both men are big, unbeaten but flawed and that's exactly what we have in this week's "Clash Of The Titans" as British fighter Richard Towers (14-0, 11) takes on Australian Lucas Browne (17-0, 15).
The bout, being fought as a Commonwealth title eliminator, will be the first bout in well over a year for the 34 year old Towers (real name Richard Hayles). The 6'8" fighter from Sheffield in England is a fighter who splits opinion as both a fighter and as a person.
Prior to turning to boxing Towers was on the wrong side of the law and served over 6 years in prison for kidnap and torture. Since then be released however he has turned his life around thanks to boxing.
As a boxer Towers was given a lot of hype early in his career by both Ricky Hatton and his promotional company as well as the press in and around Sheffield. Unfortunately from just watching Towers it's obvious that he's not as good as people were trying to say he was and in fact his only genuinely outstanding quality is his height.
Stood at 6'8" Towers lives up to part of his moniker of "The Towering Inferno" though unfortunately it's only the "towering" part.
In the ring Towers is relatively fluid in his movements for such a big guy but his boxing technique leaves plenty to be desired, his power isn't anything great (despite a 78% KO ratio) and we've got questions about his durability. Sure he hasn't been stopped yet but the fact he was wobbling all over the ring and dropped in his most recent fight, a highly controversial victory over Gregory Tony last June, would suggest that he's not got the chin to take him to the next level.
Sharing a ring with Towers will be a man dubbed "Big Daddy", Lucas Browne who is marginally older than Towers yet appears to be a fighter with a lot to offer than Towers and has the mentality of a fighter with the potential to go places.
Browne emerged on the pro boxing scene in 2009, incidentally the same year as Towers, and blasted out his first 6 opponents-including Scott Belshaw in a little over 2 years. In his 7th bout however he proved he could box a bit as well as bang as shut out Clarence Tillman over the 12 round distance to claim various low level titles.
Since the victory over Tillman, Browne has scored 10 more victories with 9 by stoppage. These have have included stoppages over Paul Butlin and Hastings Rasani in the UK, a stoppage of Jason Gavern in China, a wide decision victory over James Toney and most recently a stoppage of Travis Walker
Although Browne is raw around the edges he has got genuine power when he connects. He can certainly be outboxed and can also be out worked but if he catches an opponent he can hurt them and against a fighter like Towers that power could well be the key.
From where we're sat Towers' only hope is that Browne is chinny or that Towers can establish a busy jab. Browne has been down already in his career, dropped by Scott Belshaw, and he has been cut, notably by James Toney, though Towers will need to avoid the power of Browne if he's going to have success.
For Browne to win it may well be a case of just landing a clean bomb. It sounds too "easy" but it really does hold water due to the way Towers was wobbling after being hit by Gregory Tony. If Browne has any sort of success with his right hand there really is only one winner here.
Betting
At the time of writing several book makers are offering the fight at the bookies in the UK. They have the fighters pretty evenly priced with both men coming in under evens. Browne is currently the favourite (1/2) whilst Towers the underdog (2/1). With the chin of Towers we can't see him taking a shot from Browne. We expect those odds to shift a lot by fight time so could be worth getting in on the action now!
Prediction
As we've mentioned above Towers being wobbled and dropped by Tony is a huge determining factor in how we view this bout. Throw in the fact that Towers is fighting for the first time in over a year and fighting a banger. We can't see him coming out with his 0 intact or his chin intact.
Browne TKO 5
Note-the image used for this preview is taken from when the bout was o
The bout, being fought as a Commonwealth title eliminator, will be the first bout in well over a year for the 34 year old Towers (real name Richard Hayles). The 6'8" fighter from Sheffield in England is a fighter who splits opinion as both a fighter and as a person.
Prior to turning to boxing Towers was on the wrong side of the law and served over 6 years in prison for kidnap and torture. Since then be released however he has turned his life around thanks to boxing.
As a boxer Towers was given a lot of hype early in his career by both Ricky Hatton and his promotional company as well as the press in and around Sheffield. Unfortunately from just watching Towers it's obvious that he's not as good as people were trying to say he was and in fact his only genuinely outstanding quality is his height.
Stood at 6'8" Towers lives up to part of his moniker of "The Towering Inferno" though unfortunately it's only the "towering" part.
In the ring Towers is relatively fluid in his movements for such a big guy but his boxing technique leaves plenty to be desired, his power isn't anything great (despite a 78% KO ratio) and we've got questions about his durability. Sure he hasn't been stopped yet but the fact he was wobbling all over the ring and dropped in his most recent fight, a highly controversial victory over Gregory Tony last June, would suggest that he's not got the chin to take him to the next level.
Sharing a ring with Towers will be a man dubbed "Big Daddy", Lucas Browne who is marginally older than Towers yet appears to be a fighter with a lot to offer than Towers and has the mentality of a fighter with the potential to go places.
Browne emerged on the pro boxing scene in 2009, incidentally the same year as Towers, and blasted out his first 6 opponents-including Scott Belshaw in a little over 2 years. In his 7th bout however he proved he could box a bit as well as bang as shut out Clarence Tillman over the 12 round distance to claim various low level titles.
Since the victory over Tillman, Browne has scored 10 more victories with 9 by stoppage. These have have included stoppages over Paul Butlin and Hastings Rasani in the UK, a stoppage of Jason Gavern in China, a wide decision victory over James Toney and most recently a stoppage of Travis Walker
Although Browne is raw around the edges he has got genuine power when he connects. He can certainly be outboxed and can also be out worked but if he catches an opponent he can hurt them and against a fighter like Towers that power could well be the key.
From where we're sat Towers' only hope is that Browne is chinny or that Towers can establish a busy jab. Browne has been down already in his career, dropped by Scott Belshaw, and he has been cut, notably by James Toney, though Towers will need to avoid the power of Browne if he's going to have success.
For Browne to win it may well be a case of just landing a clean bomb. It sounds too "easy" but it really does hold water due to the way Towers was wobbling after being hit by Gregory Tony. If Browne has any sort of success with his right hand there really is only one winner here.
Betting
At the time of writing several book makers are offering the fight at the bookies in the UK. They have the fighters pretty evenly priced with both men coming in under evens. Browne is currently the favourite (1/2) whilst Towers the underdog (2/1). With the chin of Towers we can't see him taking a shot from Browne. We expect those odds to shift a lot by fight time so could be worth getting in on the action now!
Prediction
As we've mentioned above Towers being wobbled and dropped by Tony is a huge determining factor in how we view this bout. Throw in the fact that Towers is fighting for the first time in over a year and fighting a banger. We can't see him coming out with his 0 intact or his chin intact.
Browne TKO 5
Note-the image used for this preview is taken from when the bout was o