It could have been a difficult night’s work for Simpson who was boxing away from home against a taller southpaw who had only been beaten three times in 19 pro contests - most recently by the much bigger Amir Khan who stopped him in the opening round of their contest. Since then, the 24 year old Barrett had put together three wins on the bounce, including a comfortable points win over former British champ, Jamie McKeever.

It was almost all over before it had really started when a clash of heads in the opening round left Barrett with a nasty cut to his right eye. It wasn’t as serious as it first looked however, and referee Richie Davies allowed the contest to continue.

Barrett then attempted to keep Simpson at bay by using his right jab, but it proved little more than an annoyance for the Greenock man who managed to step inside to land some punishing body shots in the opening rounds.

By the fifth, Simpson was already ahead on points and it looked as if the fight might well go the distance. But with barely ten seconds left on the clock, the Scotsman unleashed yet another left hook to the body, leaving Barrett on his knees and unable to continue.

“It was a good punch,” John said afterwards. “I’ve only stopped four people before but I felt my power was getting to Ryan.”

Resplendent in the amber and claret of Motherwell Football Club, Barry Morrison entered the ring to a hero’s welcome from his hometown fans. He is after all the first Scot to hold the British Light Welterweight belt and the only British champion ever to come out of the old iron and steel town in the Clyde Valley.

But despite the party atmosphere, it was never going to be Barry’s night.

In the opposite corner was Colin Lynes, a skilful technician of a boxer who came to Motherwell with a wealth of experience. Not the type of opponent you would ideally want for your first title defence, but then again if you want to be the best in Britain you have to get past the Colin Lynes of this world.

The 29 year old from Hornchurch was the veteran of 31 fights before the Morrison fight and he had only been beaten three times - by Samuel Malinga, Junior Witter, and Lenny Dawes, the latter a fight he took at far too short notice and ended up having to retire after nine rounds.

From the opening bell, Lynes looked the sharper of the two boxers, surprising everyone by the ease in which he could throw his left jab into the face of the oncoming Morrison.

The second round continued in much the same vein and even after a better start to the third from the champion, Lynes was winning the opening rounds with good movement and left jabs to the head.

In the fourth there were signs that Morrison was waking up to the task that faced him and for the next few rounds he tried to close Lynes down and was finding a little more success with his trademark body punches. But there seemed to be no venom in Barry’s work and he laboured to find an answer to the focused boxer that confronted him.

By the ninth, Morrison’s corner were pleading with him to change the game plan. To close the ring off and use combinations to find a way through Lynes‘ cat-like defence. But try though he might, Morrison just couldn’t raise his game and his lack of success left him looking jaded and dejected.

As the fight came to a close, Morrison needed a knockout to win and he went looking for it, but tiredness meant his wild swings were missing an opponent who knew he only had to stay out of trouble to go home a champion.

When the final bell sounded, only Lynes raised his arms. Morrison knew he had been beaten and fortunately we were spared any nonsense from the judges too who unanimously awarded the fight to the Englishman - 116-113, 117-111, 116-112.

For his part, Colin Lynes was superb and he thoroughly deserved his victory on the night.

As for Barry Morrison, the defeat was very hard to take and it left him questioning whether or not he had the hunger to fulfill his dreams of further boxing glory.

“I don’t know what was up with me. He made it difficult for me with his jab. He boxed the right fight, I boxed the wrong fight. I couldn’t get out of first gear. I was expecting him to fight the way he did and I just allowed it to happen.

“I’ve got to assess it myself and when you have a night like that, you don’t know if you want it enough. I will have a holiday and I will see what happens - I will see if I want it. If not I am just going to get hurt.”

When he has had time to reflect, I can only hope that Barry doesn’t throw in the towel. He has far too much talent to give up after his first serious setback.

On the night, Lynes simply fought the better fight, was 110% focused on the job and knew what he had to do to beat a still relatively inexperienced champion.

But he wasn’t up against the same Barry Morrison who KO’d Dean Hickman in the first round at the Fife Ice Arena just over a year ago. And it certainly wasn’t the same Barry Morrison who beat Lenny Dawes to claim the Lonsdale belt in January.

Make no mistake about it. Barry Morrison can come again. He can learn a great deal from this defeat and come back a mentally and physically better fighter. Let’s hope he chooses to do just that.

The 24 year old southpaw and his opponent will duke it out for the British Masters Lightweight title, with McArthur entering the ring unbeaten in six and the more experienced Long having won eight of 25.

Also in action is fellow Lightweight, Ryan Brawley, from Irvine who has been sidelined by injury for almost a year now. He returns against Rom Kriauklis, the Peterborough based Latvian who is coming off a first round KO victory against Ben Jones last month.

“Both Gary and Ryan have developed nicely during their pro careers so far, but now is the time for their learning curves to become steeper and for them to begin to step up in class,” said promoter Tommy Gilmour. “Gary will challenge for his first title in a really tough fight against Long, whilst Ryan also faces his hardest fight yet against Rom Kriauklis of Latvia.”

Also on the Clydebank bill are unbeaten Newarthill prospect Charlie King, Uddingston’s Paul Burns and Glasgow’s Furhan Rafiq.

Tickets are priced at £40 (reserved seating) and £30 (unreserved seating) and are available on 0141 810 5700 or through Clydebank Play Drome on 0141 951 4321.

The 28 year old will be making the first defence of the Commonwealth belt that he won by outpointing Kpakpo Allotey at the tail end of last year and given the hype that surrounds his opponent Khan it will be a well deserved big pay day for the skilful Glaswegian.

For his part, 20 year old Amir Khan needs no introduction. His silver medal at the Olympics has made him one of the biggest names in British today today despite his young age and relative inexperience. He has won all 12 of his professional contests to date - nine by way of KO - and he is the holder of the IBF Inter-Continental Light Welterweight title. What’s more, the WBO now rank Amir Khan 11th in the world at Lightweight - two places above Willie Limond.

There’s no doubting that Willie Limond has been handpicked for Khan.

For starters, Willie has campaigned at Super Featherweight for almost all of his career - his Commonwealth title win was his first at Lightweight and is three inches smaller than the challenger. What’s more, Limond was not renowned as a big puncher at Super Featherweight and despite flooring Allotey in the opening round of their title fight, he’s not going to become one overnight.

And then there’s Limond’s inactivity. In the time that Khan has chalked up his dozen pro fights, Willie has fought just twice. Indeed, he came close to throwing the towel in all together when it looked like he wasn’t going to be given the breaks he deserved after relinquishing his European Union Super Featherweight title instead of facing Alex Arthur for a second time.

But despite winning his first 12 fights with relative ease, he has yet to be seriously tested and in challenging for Limond’s Commonwealth belt his camp could well have made their first big mistake.

Because there is every chance that Willie Limond will give Amir Khan a boxing lesson come the 14th of July at a venue best known by its former name, The Millenium Dome. Limond has plenty of time to get himself fit and even box a six rounder to shake off any ring rust before the summer, and on his day there is no doubt that he has the skill and talent to beat Amir Khan.

There will certainly be plenty of money north of the border for Limond to make it an unlucky 13th pro contest for the likeable youngster from Bolton.

Let’s just hope that if it goes to points, as it’s likely to, we don’t see any nonsense from the judges at ringside just to keep the Amir Khan train on track.

It will be the 23 year-old Fifer’s first fight since losing his Commonwealth championship and unbeaten record to Namibia’s Ali Nuumbembe on a controversial split decision in February.

And he couldn’t have asked for a tougher comeback than mandatory challenger Magee.

The Belfast southpaw was the first man to floor Ricky Hatton, dropping the Mancunian in the first round of a WBU Light-Welterweight title challenge in 2002 before losing on points.

He became a World champion in his own right a year later, beating Jimmy Vincent to win the WBU Welterweight title, which he held for three years before losing a majority decision to Takaloo in 2006.

But the 35 year-old proved he’s still a force to be reckoned with by bouncing back with a win in February this year, taking his record to 27-5 (17 KOs). He has never been stopped in his 12 year pro career.

Anderson’s manager Tommy Gilmour, who co-promotes in Motherwell with Barry Hearn, said: “Kevin was really disappointed with his performance against Nuumbembe and was down about losing his unbeaten record and Commonwealth title.

“Magee is undoubtedly the toughest fight out there, but in a way it’s exactly what Kevin needs to get himself back on track for a European and World title. If he wins this fight then Nuumbembe will be forgotten about because Magee is still the biggest name Welterweight in the country.

“I believe Nuumbembe was simply a blip for Kevin. He had a bad night and was punished for it.

“It won’t be easy against Magee - he’s an awkward southpaw and as tough as they come - but Kevin has proven in the past with his wins over Joshua Okine and Young Muttley that he has what it takes to compete at the very highest level and I’m sure we’ll see him back at his best.”

It will be the first major title fight at Motherwell’s Concert Hall since Hamilton’s Scott Dixon stopped Charlie Kane of Clydebank in six rounds to retain his Commonwealth welterweight title in 2000.

And Gilmour is convinced that Anderson - 18-1 (11KOs) - will bring his own vociferous support to Lanarkshire after being unable to find a suitable venue in the Kingdom of Fife.

“Kevin’s fans are known as some of the most passionate around and have really raised the roof when he has fought in Kirkcaldy. Unfortunately, Fife Ice Arena was damaged by a fire a couple of months ago and repairs aren’™t yet complete and there simply wasn’t another suitable venue available in Fife, which is why we’ve brought the fight to Motherwell.

“But it’s a great venue with a real boxing pedigree and I’m sure Kevin’s fans will turn out in force, along with locals and true boxing fans as this is a top-class fight featuring one of Scotland’s best fighters.”

Heading up the undercard is former Scottish amateur light-heavyweight champion Stevie McGuire (undefeated in ten fights), who will be stepping up his bid to claim a British or Commonwealth title chance at super-middleweight during 2007.

And teenage South Queensferry featherweight prospect Paul Appleby (7-0, 4 KOs) will move a step closer to a British title after cracking the country’s top ten last time out with a sparkling win over Canning Town’s tough Buster Dennis.

Methil welterweight Willie Bilan and Dunfermline super-middleweight Gordon Brennan make up the rest of the bill.

“With Sky’s cameras beaming this event throughout Europe, this will give everyone on the bill a chance to showcase their talents to a huge audience.”

Tickets are priced at £50 Ringside (reserved seating) and £35 Arena (unreserved seating) and are available through Motherwell Concert Hall- 01698 302 999 Box Office: 0845 370 9703 Kevin Anderson: 01333 300 310 Steven McGuire: 07782 198 056 Paul Appleby: 0313 319 2339 Willie Bilan: 01333 300 432 Gordon Brennan: 07732 809 846 St Andrew’s Sporting Club: 0141 810 5700

exhibition bout between Baby Rocky Beverage v Josh The Hit Man McCorrie v Kelsie The Beich Hughes

bout 1/ Connor McDonald (Garnock Valley) v Garry Carr (O’Neils) - McDonald won on points

bout 2/ James Lee Dick (Madison) v Mark McKewan (The Barn) - McKewan won on points

bout 3/ Jamie Kerr (Irvine Vinesburgh) v John Kelly (The Barn) - Kerr won on points

bout 4/ Michael Jamison (Irvine Vinesburgh) v John Paul Carricher (The Barn) - Carricher won on points

bout 5/ Alex Mullen (Irvine Vinesburgh) v Nelson McAlistair (Springhill) excellent exhibition bout

bout 6/ Craig Kerr (Irvine Vinesburgh) v Brian Black (The Barn) Kerr won on points

bout 7/ John Thomson (Dennistoun) v Danny King (Madison) - Thomson won on points

bout 8/ Robbie McKechnie (Garnock Valley) v Lee Simpson (Irvine Vinesburgh) - McKechnie won on points

bout 9/ Jonathon Slowey (Dennistoun) v Gordon McCorrie (O’Neils) - Slowey won on points

bout 10/ Alex Harrison (Garnock Valley) v Chad Cummings (Greenock) - Harrison won on points

bout 11/ Robert McLaughlan (Irvine Vinesburgh) v Mathew Walsh (Orbistoun) - McLaughlan won on points

bout 12/ Ryan Bevarage (Garnock Valley) v Gerry Shields (Greenock) - Shields won on points

best home boxer was Robbie McKechnie

best away boxer was Gerry Shields

best boxer of the night was Jonathon Slowey

Tam Payne

The Fauldhouse southpaw who faces Ross Minter in a British Welterweight Title Eliminator in May got his chance to join Team UK when Wayne Alexander pulled out of the show with an injury.

Colin - who is the only non-English boxer in the team managed by Barry McGuigan - will face another 34 year old, Cornelius Bunderage, who came third in the American Contender II series from 2006. Bunderage, who goes by the nickname “K-9″ - has lost just twice in 27 contests.

The bout will take place at the Metroradio Arena in Newcastle on the 30th of March alongside the other Contender bouts and they will then be shown on ITV and American channel ESPN over a six week period.

ITV’s pre-bout coverage told you all you needed to know about who was going to win the fight.

There was an extended build up for Derry Matthews, comparing him to the likes of John Conteh and basically telling you he is the next big thing in British boxing. There was footage of him in the gym, running alongside the Mersey and even at Anfield for Liverpool’s European match with Barcelona. Even Steven Gerrard popped up to tell you how good he was.

In contrast, John Simpson was given a 30 second introduction while in the dressing room waiting to enter the ring. Hardly a mention of the fact that he is the British Featherweight champion and they couldn’t even pronounce his hometown of “Grenok” properly. And then a buffoon with a microphone told John that “all the experts” and everyone at ringside thought that he didn’t have a chance.

What do you say to that when you are just about to enter the ring?

In fact John Simpson answered him - and “all the experts” - in the best way possible by putting Matthews down in the very first round with a right hook that found its target all night long thanks to Matthews‘ poor defence.

Simpson then went on to dominate the early part of the fight, threatening to drop Matthews again in the third with another of those right hooks and punishing body shots.

For his part, Matthews was all over the place. This certainly wasn’t the same man who beat Steve Foster Jr to claim the WBU belt last year, not by a long chalk.

His only answer to Simpson’s superior boxing skills was to hold and cling and throw rabbit punches at every opportunity. Referee Mickey Vann warned him consistently about his behaviour and twice took a point off him - in the sixth and ninth - for his antics. Why he wasn’t disqualified, I don’t know. I’ve seen plenty of other boxers thrown out of a ring for much less.

In the sixth an accidental clash of heads opened up a nasty cut on the top of John Simpson’s head and for much of the second half of the contest he had to box with blood dripping into his left eye. At one point in the seventh it looked like the fight might even be stopped, but Simpson was allowed to box on.

The injury certainly hampered the Scot’s work and gave Matthews the opportunity to get back into the fight, but despite tiring as the bout came to an end and despite having to fight with blood covering his face, Simpson continued to outbox his opponent, particularly at close quarters.

When the final bell rang, only one boxer deserved to leave that ring as a winner. John Simpson. Some of the rounds were close and Matthews was able to come back into the fight following the head injury, but adding up the rounds Simpson had won together with his 10-8 opener and the two points that were deducted from Matthews during the fight, a repeat of his “defeat” at the hands of Dazzo Williams surely wasn’t on the cards?

Well it depends whose cards you are talking about. Me, I had Simpson winning by one or two rounds. It was a close messy fight, but for me Simpson was the winner.

Still, what do I know? Because the judges at ringside scored the contest 118-112, 117-110 and 113-111 in favour of Derry Matthews.

118-112? What where you watching Larry O’Connell? You get ten points for winning a round and there were 12 rounds. Matthews had two points deducted and was put down in the first so surely the most points he could have won is 117. Or am I missing something here?

Not that Matthews came close to winning every round so even the 117-110 scorecard was a complete and utter joke. The judge in question? Dave Parris - the only bloke on the planet who thought Barry Morrison lost to Lenny Dawes.

Simpson the winner, I thought so. A draw, possibly. Matthews edging it, hmmmm. A landslide win for Matthews, not in a million years. But that’s how those ringside judges saw it.

As we all know, the WBU belt is not the world title it claims to be. And as I said at the start, thank God the Lonsdale belt wasn’t also at stake on the night because John Simpson would have been reporting it as stolen to the Merseyside Police before heading home because he certainly wouldn’t have lost it by fair means in the ring.

The joke in Scottish boxing circles is that you now need a knockout to get a draw on English soil. The problem is the joke is now wearing a bit thin.

I’m no A starred judge, but it was clear for all to see that John Simpson beat Dazzo Williams back in 2004 and should have been crowned British champion. It was equally clear that Barry Morrison beat Lenny Daws last month to become British champ, but if Dave Parris had had his way, the hometown fighter would have retained his title by an astonishing five points.

For my money, Kevin Anderson versus Ali Nuumbembe was too close to call. I’ve watched it three times now and still think the same.

Anderson was clearly ahead until the fateful eighth round in which he suffered a nasty cut to the eyebrow and took a body shot that would have stopped many a boxer there and then.

Nuumbembe so obviously came to Kirkcaldy to win the Commonwealth belt and worked tirelessly throughout the contest, but time and time again you could see Anderson catching his punches on his gloves and arms. In contrast, the champ may have thrown less leather, but the accuracy and venom in those punches was much the better.

But the Namibian who lives in a caravan behind a pub was not to be denied and he closed the gap on Anderson following that eighth round. After the eleventh I had it all square and couldn’t separate them going into the final round.

Kevin Anderson thought he had nicked the final round. Anderson’s manager Tommy Gilmour thought Kev was one round up going into the last round and that the last was drawn. English judge Terry O’Connor obviously saw things much the same way, scoring the contest 115-114 to Kevin Anderson.

Ali Nuumbembe’s manager, Frank Maloney - who had infamously threatened his charge with deportation if he lost to Anderson - thought his man won the contest by two rounds. A little on the generous side, but Scottish judge Victor Loughlin agreed that Ali had won, scoring the contest 115-116 against Anderson.

Incredibly England’s Howard John Foster saw things entirely differently. He scored the contest 112-116, giving Ali Nuumbembe the nod by four rounds.

I have no problem with Nuumbembe winning the contest and he is a deserved Commonwealth champion. Even as a huge Kevin Anderson fan I’m big enough to admit that it could have gone either way, but you will be hard pushed to find another soul who saw Ali win by four clear rounds.

And it’s a decision that has cost Kevin Anderson a title. Fortunately he is still very young and also has the British title to his name, but that’s by the by. Giving either boxer a four round cushion in such a close fight reduces boxing to World Wrestling Federation levels.

It’s bad enough that the sport is plagued by meaningless titles and protected boxers fighting hopelessly outclassed opponents. But Commonwealth and British titles still command respect around the world, in much the same way as European and genuine world title belts do.

For that respect to be maintained, we need fewer hometown decisions and the highest standard of judging available. Sadly, from time to time, we are seeing neither.

George Marshall

Footnote: Added to the inconsistency of judges, we have what is a ridiculous situation whereby virtually all British and Commonwealth title fights fought in the UK are decided by an English referee and English judges.

Given that more often than not an English fighter or an English based fighter is involved, that shouldn’t be the case.

Not enough A starred judges from the other home nations who can officiate? Then fly them in from other countries. That’s what any other professional sport looking for transparency in its judging would do.

Tommy Gilmour & Barry Hearn’s Matchroom Promotions set the perfect scene and the atmosphere was electric with some good natured banter between the two camps vocal supporters.

Anderson started well and looked the stronger of the two fighters on the first half of the bout but Nuumbembe threw a phenomenal amount of punches to keep the score line too close to call.

The latter part of the contest saw Nuumbembe edge ahead with a superior work rate and hand speed, however it is never over till the fat lady sings with Kev and that expectation was always in the air till the final bell.

As it went to the scorecards you could cut the tension in the arena with a knife and just add more angst like a good drama the MC announced there was a split decision.

Nuumbembe got the nod by two of the three judges though and I personally think he did enogh to just prise the belt away from Anderson but this was a classic battle, non stop action from two men with Rolls Royce engine rooms and Anderson can still walk the streets of Fife a proud man on this display.

I wouldn’t rule out a rerun of this encounter in the future, if the politics allow it, but one things for sure, both these men still have a huge say in what will happen in the welterweight division for a few years yet.

Paul Appleby showed why he is one of the country’s top prospects for the future with a very accomplished performance over the more experienced and on form Buster Dennis. Having lost only one of his last seven contests this was never going to be a walk in the park for Paul and there were indications throughout the contest that Dennis was a real threat.

Appleby used his superb left jab to control this encounter although I would have liked to have seen him use the right a bit more than he did tonight.

In the eighth and final round with Appleby well ahead on points Dennis almost landed the sucker punch as he caught Paul flush, but Appleby weathered the storm and at 80 pts to 73, made it seven from seven to give Tommy Gilmour something to ponder with regard to the next stage in a very promising career.

In an evenly matched welterweight contest, Gary McMillan (Edinburgh) and Tomas Mazurkiewicsz (Poland) both gave good accounts of themselves. There was nothing between the two and it was to no-one’s surprise that the referee held both hands aloft after the four rounds to signify a dead heat.

There was a quick night’s work for another two Fifers.

Willie Bilan unleashed his armoury on London Light Welter David Kehoe. Kehoe had no answer for the fast and furious Bilan and the referee stepped in to save him taking further punishment, much to Kehoe’s protestations.

Stephen McGuire (Glenrothes) was also in devastating form and was well ahead in the first before he threw a thunderous right into Roman Vanicky’s (Czech Republic) rib cage leaving him gasping for air on the canvas. He indicated to the referee that no mas, enough was enough, and the result gets McGuire back to winning ways.

Gordon Brennan (Dunfermline) and Simon Wood (Brierley Hill) had a slugfest of a four rounder in the Light Heavyweight bout before Brennan got the nod from the referee. Perhaps slugfest sounds negative, but it describes best this belting contest where the two men didn’t seem to know that you are allowed to step backwards from time to time. Full marks though and both earned their purse tonight.

Mitch ‘The Prince’ (Cumbernauld) opened the evening’s boxing with a tough contest against seasoned Polish journeyman Dariusz Snarski after his expected opponent (Adam Kelly) called off at the eleventh hour.

Mitch started brightly and had easily taken the first two rounds on my card before a vastly experienced Snarski managed to foil and frustrate the Cumbernauld battler for the remainder of their contest. By the end of the sixth the referee decided there was nothing in it and declared a draw, but Mitch should take heart as Snarski is a former European Title contender and Tommy could not have found a tougher replacement.

Prince is still undefeated after five though and his future still looks bright.

Full Results

6 x 3 mins Lightweight contest
Mitch Prince (Cumbernauld) drew v Dariusz Snarski (Poland) 58-58

4 x 3 mins Light-Welterweight contest
Willie Bilan (Buckhaven) won v David Kehoe (Northampton) TKO 1st

8 x 3 mins Super-middleweight contest
Stephen McGuire (Glenrothes) won v Roman Vanicky (Czech Republic) TKO 1st

4 x 3 mins Light-Heavyweight contest
Gordon Brennan (Dunfermline) won v Simon Wood (Brierley Hill) Pts 39-37

8 x 3 mins Featherweight contest
Paul Appleby (South Queensferry) won v Buster Dennis (Canning Town) Pts 80-73

4 x 3 mins Welterweight contest
Gary McMillan (Edinburgh) drew v Thomas Mazurkiewicz (Poland) 39-39

12 x 3 mins Commonwealth Welterweight Championship
Kevin Anderson (Buckhaven) lost to Ali Nuumbembe (Namibia) Split Decision 115-114, 115-116, 112-116

John McCluskey (with assistance from my young sports correspondents Scott Mathieson and Chris Craig who provided notes from ringside)