By Stephen Moffitt: On Saturday the 29th of March, British and commonwealth champion Frankie Gavin (18-0, 12 KO’s) takes on Namibian Sacky Shikukutu (18-2-1, 12K.O’s) at the Metro radio arena in Newcastle Upon Tyne, England. When I heard the name to face the the former world amateur champion Frankie Gavin, I have to admit I was pretty disappointed. Yes, Frankie and his promoters are saying the African is tough and rugged and will be a handful for Frankie but when you look at the guys record its clear to see that this will be a total mismatch.

Shikukutu has fought all his fights in Namibia. his 2 defeats came in 2012 against Tommy Hango (11-3, 2 KO’s) by split decision and Norman Tshisikhawe (7-9, 6 KO’s) by first round knockout. Now I consider myself to be a hardcore boxing fan and I have never heard of these guys and if a guy with a 7-9 record can KO Shikukutu in one round, what is Gavin going to do to him?

After Gavin beat Denton Vassell (20-1, 10 KO’s) by 7th round TKO in June of last year, I thought Frankie was on his way to the big time. It was the fight Frankie had been waiting for and his performance was punch perfect. It was the first time Frankie proved why he won the gold medal in the world amateur championships in 2007. He was elusive, accurate and his boxing ability was word class. He broke Vassell’s jaw in the 6th round forcing him to retire in the 7th.

After the fight I thought to myself Frankie will be a future world champion and surely the big fights will come rolling in by 2014. sadly I was wrong and it seems like Frankie is being taken down the same protective route as fellow welterweight Kell Brook (31-0, 21K.O’s). Since the Vassell victory, Frankie’s last two opponents have been David Barnes (27-3-2, 11 KO’s) and Bradley Price (34-16, 18 KO’s), who are basically domestic level opponents who are well past there best. Why fight 2 guys nearing the end of there “fairly average careers” after beating a guy like Denton Vassell who was top 20 in the world, unbeaten and hungy?

I hope for Gavin’s sake he is not protected and promoted like Brook because it will probably be another 3 or 4 years before he gets a world title shot and by that time he will just be classed as another protected fighter like Brook and not taken seriously on the world stage. I am rooting for Frankie, as I believe he is a special talent. I believe he would give the likes of Amir Khan and Brook a good fight even at this stage in their careers. Let’s hope after Gavin beats the unknown Shikukutu (18-2-1), he moves onto the likes of European champ Leanard Bundu (30-0-2, 11 KO’s), and then hopefully a world title shot by the end of 2014. I’d like to see an all British mega fight for Gavin against Brook or Khan. That would be a mouth watering fight and one I think Gavin could win.