By Daniel Hughes: The super bantamweight division has of course four stand out names Guillermo Rigondeaux, Leo Santa Cruz, Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg. Rigondeaux quite rightly rated the best of a very talented bunch. The fans would love to see any combination of those fighters named being matched, unification fights and financially great paydays for the fighters involved.
The UK fans would of course like to finally see Frampton and Quigg get together in a domestic world title unification match that would certainly do well at the box office here.
There is actually a third British 122lb fighter that is developing into a contender that will soon be in the mix at world level. Barry Awad the Sheffield based fighter from the UK renowned Ingle Gym that has produced champions of all levels, amateur and professional alike. He fights under the name Kid Galahad. European and Commonwealth 122lb champion and Saturday night at the Ponds Forge Arena, Sheffield moved to 18-0 (9kos) with a wide unanimous decision against Adeilson Dos Santos the game Brazilian, who suffered his first professional career loss. Dos Santos a natural featherweight. Outclassed by the Sheffield fighter who dropped Dos Santos at the end of the first round to set the template for the rest of the contest. Dos Santos also received a count in the 10th round. Galahad dominated form the start and certainly looks to be a coming force in the next 12 months or so at world level.
I see him as a fighter that will have to engineer himself into a mandatory position at world level which will probably take around a year to achieve. He is a fighter that is hard to pin down and always seems to get the better of any close exchanges. Slick certainly is a word that could best describe his style. He is certainly developing at a healthy rate under Dominic Ingle. The gym has a style that is embedded in all the great fighters it has produced over the years Galahad certainly looks able to follow that tradition.
Naseem Hamed the most famous product of the Ingle Gym. Many others like Johnny Nelson, Junior Witte, Ryan Rhodes and one of the best British fighters never to win a world title Herol Graham. They are all students of a fighting style that certainly at times made them all opponents to avoid. Galahad you can add to that list. Many will look elsewhere for easier challenges.
He will be looking to follow fellow British fighter Kell Brook the latest world champion to emerge from the Ingle gym towards world honours. He will get no favours as a fighter that for me will be avoided. Galahad when the time comes and it will come. Will on what I have seen of him will have used the time to develop further, he is a fighter that will only get better.
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