KRIS CARSLAW, the Paisley super-welterweight, was rewarded for his patience yesterday when details of his British title bout against Welshman Liam Williams were confirmed.
The 31-year-old joiner will also challenge Williams for his Commonwealth crown at the Manchester Arena on December 19 on promoter Frank Warren’s double world title bill featuring WBO middleweight and super-welterweight champions Andy Lee and Liam Smith.
But Carslaw would be wise to keep his fingers crossed that nothing goes wrong between now and fight night after waiting more than three years to avenge his previous British title defeat by Brian Rose in June 2012.
Carslaw had been due to box Smith only for the proposed bout to fall through prior to Williams suffering a hand injury that caused the Scot further frustration.
Williams is undefeated in 12 bouts while Carslaw has lost five of 27, but the younger man has been inactive for the past year following surgery on his right hand.
He sustained the injury in his first round stoppage of Michael Lomax last November to win the Commonwealth belt after an impressive run of knock-outs but insists that his hand will not be an issue when he returns to action against Carslaw.
“My hand feels brand new and I am punching harder than before so I will not be afraid to let it go against Carslaw,” Williams said. “He’s decent, but he is not spectacular, and I believe my strength and punching power will be too much for him.”
Carslaw added: “There’s no way I am letting the belt slip past me a second time after waiting so long. Williams is a good, strong fighter and he hits hard, but he’s one- dimensional, so I am confident of coming up with a game plan to beat him.
“It’s going to be a massive fight with plenty of national pride on the line and I feel sure that the atmosphere and the occasion will inspire me.”
The boxer’s manager, Tommy Gilmour revealed that Carslaw will receive a career-best purse for his endeavours, adding: “It will be a tough fight because Williams is up and coming, but Kris is more experienced than when he fought Rose and is as mature as he is ever going to be.”
Hopefully it will also be a case of third time lucky for Carslaw, who failed in his attempt to win the WBO European title in January 2013, losing to Frenchman Michel Soro on points.
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