Two weeks on, the dust has yet to fully settle from Daniel Dubois’ stunning IBF heavyweight title victory over Anthony Joshua. All but forgotten is a result further down the undercard at London’s Wembley Stadium that night, which, on any other weekend, would have dominated British boxing talk.
With the crowd just beginning to take their seats, Mark Chamberlain suffered a shockingly comprehensive defeat to the excellent Josh Padley in what most – disrespectfully – saw as just another Riyadh Season showcase for the Portsmouth fighter.
One of those watching on at Wembley was his lightweight rival, Sam Noakes.
“I ain’t gonna kick a man when he’s down,” Noakes (15-0, 14 KOs) said. “The sad reality of boxing is there’s only two people in there and somebody’s got to lose.”
Momentum had begun to build behind a fight between the exciting pair. In August, Frank Warren told BoxingScene that he saw a clash between the two knockout artists eventually being big enough to headline the O2 Arena and that, in an ideal world, he would like them to be competing for a lightweight world title.
Those plans are now on ice. Chamberlain will need to string together an impressive win or two to make it viable and, in any case, he may well decide to pursue a future at 140 pounds.
Chamberlain’s defeat hasn’t exactly left Noakes stranded in no-man’s land. The 27-year-old Noakes has been on a tear in recent fights. As well as holding the British, Commonwealth and European lightweight titles, he carries lofty world rankings with the WBO, IBF and WBC and has established himself as one of British boxing’s most exciting fighters.
Noakes may have lost a lucrative fight – certainly for the foreseeable future – but given his current rate of progress, he should have plenty more big nights ahead.
“Obviously, it doesn’t really make a difference to me whether he wins or loses. That fight between me and him has if not gone away, it’s probably slowed down but I wish Mark all the best,” Noakes said. “I’ve never been a Mark Chamberlain hater. He’s still a good fighter. He might have had an off night. There might have been certain factors that we don’t know about going on behind closed doors. Hats off to Padley. An unbelievable performance and a bit gutted for Padley, too, because he’d have had Mark’s belts if it would have been at lightweight.
“Listen, it’s boxing and we’re all big men at the end of the day. It’s not like he’s been beat once and now he’s rubbish. He’ll come again. I don’t know if he’s going to move up now or whatever. I’m just staying in my lane and focusing on what I’m doing. He’s gotta do him and I’ve gotta do me.”
John Evans has contributed to a number of well-known publications and websites for over a decade. You can follow John on X @John_Evans79
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