More sports news
Mason Cartwright got over his frustration at seeing his away day cancelled at the last minute by extending his perfect record since turning professional with a victory closer to home.
The 25-year-old from Ellesmere Port was supposed to be fighting on a bill at the Prince Regent Hotel in Chigwell, Essex last Thursday.
Cartwright was particularly looking forward to it given it was his first bout since dropping down to welterweight – and given the fact that he was bringing a busload of supporters from the Port with him.
But that excitement turned to annoyance when his scheduled opponent pulled out late on.
But ‘Nutty’ did not let those feelings fester as he took it upon himself to box on Sunday at the Devonshire House Hotel in Liverpool where he comfortably outpointed Bulgarian Teodor Nikolov to end the year on a high.
Chester-born Cartwright, whose record now reads 12-0, said: “I’m happy I still got to box so it wasn’t too bad in the end.
“I was too big and strong for him (Nikolov). I hurt him early on and then he went into survival mode for the rest of the fight.
“He was running away from me and when he did get close, he’d grab me. He just didn’t want to be in there.
“But it was great to be in the ring. I put so much into the training camp and to see the Essex fight get cancelled was hard.
“But that’s boxing and there’s no point getting down about it.
“You’ve got a job to do and that’s what I did on Sunday.”
Cartwright will return to action in the New Year in what he says will be a “big fight”.
The Wirral Community Police ABC graduate said: “I can’t give out what I’ve been told I will be boxing for after Christmas.
“But it’s going to be a big fight and I’m looking forward to it.”
Cartwright landed the first title of his pro career in October when he stopped Zoltan Turai inside 30 explosive seconds at the Bowlers Exhibition Centre.
But after winning the International Classic Challenge belt he decided to drop down from super welterweight (light middleweight) to welterweight.
Explaining his decision, Cartwright said: “I never knew if I could make it to 10st 7lb but now that I’m getting to a higher level, and having weigh-ins in the days before a fight, Ive tried it and made it all right, so I think I’ll stay at this weight now.
“And it should give me even more of an advantage. I was quite small at light middleweight but at welterweight I’m going to be at the other end of the scale; I’m going to be big.
“I’m carrying a lot of power and, seeing I was already knocking people out at light middleweight, I’m certainly going to be able to do that at welterweight.
“I’ve still be eating a lot of food, still been doing everything I did before, it’s just that I’ve had to watch my carbs and my calories. It’s been proper strict but I wanted to do it, so it’s not been much of a burden.
“And I’ve kept my strength. I’m doing exactly the same lifts as I was before when I was up at 12 stone.”
