Why the British heavyweights lack real punch

Britain's lack of heavyweight clout is set to be exposed on Saturday by fights on either side of the Atlantic.

At Reading's Rivermead Leisure Centre, Michael Sprott defends the British title against Matt Skelton. The venue is appropriate - because it is as anonymous as the two men fighting for a Lonsdale Belt.

Meanwhile, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, home of the LA Lakers basketball team, Vitali Klitschko and Corrie Sanders will battle for the World Boxing Council title that became vacant when Lennox Lewis retired.

Sanders, the South African veteran, is expected to lose to his giant Ukrainian opponent, even though he shocked Vitali's younger brother Wladimir with a victory inside two rounds last year.

This is the same Sanders who dismissed Sprott inside a single round 30 months ago. With Lewis no longer a part of the scene, is Sprott, a 28-year-old who until recently was supplementing his boxing earnings by working as a furniture removals man, the best we've got?

Since the jury is still out on Audley Harrison, former world champion Herbie Hide has cut and run and the enigmatic Danny Williams was exposed by a defeat against Sprott in January, it would seem so.

Unless, that is, Skelton can add some substance to a record of 12 victories - 11 inside the distance - from 12 professional fights.

The shame of it all is that, in Sprott and Skelton, British boxing could hardly boast two finer ambassadors. If points were awarded for courtesy and respect for their sport, both would be world champions.

But world titles are won by superior strength and skill. That's why Sprott and Skelton meet in Reading, while Sanders and Klitschko conduct their business on a bigger stage.

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