By Ben Carey
Jon Thaxton will make the first defence of his European lightweight title against Anthony Mezaache in front of his home town fans at the Norwich Showground on Saturday February 28.
The 30-year-old Mezaache’s record is somewhat patchy with only 14 wins from his 22 contests (against five defeats and three draws), however the challenger will enter the ring as the French lightweight champion and is unbeaten in seven contests dating back to November 2006.
The Frenchman retained his national title with a majority draw over countryman Afif Hamdani in December. Hamdani had previously defeated Mezaache on points over four rounds on his pro debut in January 2003. Prior to that, Mezzache’s fight with Brahim Bariz last May ended in a technical decision in the first round (presumably due to an accidental clash of heads).
All five of Mezzache’s defeats have come on points. In July 2005, the Frenchman was clearly outpointed over eight rounds by Scotland’s Dave Stewart in Chigwell (79-73) on his solitary visit to the UK.
Jon Thaxton stopped Stewart himself in the 12th and final round when defending his British lightweight title in October 2007 following a real struggle. The Norwich veteran was then stopped in six rounds after sustaining a horrendous cut against Yuri Romanov when challenging for the European title last April.
The determined Thaxton refused to call time on his 16-year career and bounced back in emphatic fashion by producing a stunning one-punch knockout to lift the European crown vacated by Romanov by knocking out Spain’s Juan Carlos Diaz Melero in three rounds in October.
