En Voyage_Issue#11_Flickbook

Sport
From the outset, it was Nassa
who set the pace. Watson enjoyed
some rare success in the third, but
rounds four and five saw Nassa
reassert his dominance. He looked
in control. But then came round
six; a flash right hook counter
put Nassa down, and put Watson
on track for one of the biggest
upsets in British boxing this year.
‘People say “Train hard, fight
easy,” but that’s not true. I
trained hard and that fight was
really, really hard,’ said 27-yearold
Watson, whose stunning
display of resilience and stamina
that night earned him the
English super-flyweight title.
‘Nassa had been in the ring, he
was undefeated and I’d come off
two losses. Everyone thought it
would be an easy fight. I’ve always
been a confident person but I’ll
admit there were doubts. I’d been
sparring with some really heavy
lads, middle-weights, and I’d
say, “Surely, boys, if I hit him on
the chin, he’s going to go down,
right?” I was doubting myself,’ said
Watson, who is the first Guernsey
man ever to claim an English title.
‘I knew I was the better boxer
but he was so sharp in those first
three or four rounds. In sparring,
it was taking me five rounds to get
into it, so I was hoping it would
level itself out. Obviously, I found
an opening and I went for it.’
By the time the ninth came
around, for the first time in
either fighters’ careers, it was
a battle of the wills, and in
‘NASSA HAD BEEN IN
THE RING, HE WAS
UNDEFEATED AND I’D
COME OFF TWO LOSSES.
EVERYONE THOUGHT IT
WOULD BE AN EASY FIGHT’
the tenth and final round, the
referee waved off the contest.
Watson was the champion,
cementing his reputation in
British boxing and ending years
of professional disappointment.
‘It definitely makes me feel
like all the hard work was worth
it. I thought about having to
jump on the plane home if I’d
lost and how that would feel
after everything I’d worked for.
118 En Voyage | Aurigny’s Magazine