Rob Norton defends his British cruiserweight title against Leon 

''Solid'' Williams at the York Hall in Bethnal Green this Friday. It will be 39-year-old Norton's second defense of the title he won in 2008. Williams, with only 11 fights under his belt, is a  novice compared to the 38 bout veteran Norton (32-4-2, 19 KO's), but he has knocked out his last two opponents and possesses real KO power in his right hand.

Norton versus Williams will be shown live this Friday night on Frank Warren's Box Nation channel (Sky 456), the action starts at 6 PM.

When Rob Norton turned pro way back in 1993, Evander  Holyfield had just regained the world heavyweight champion, Ace of Base were top of the pop charts and Pulp Fiction was packing them in at the cinema. Almost 20 years later, Ace of Base are long gone from the charts, Holyfield is still dreaming of regaining the world title, Pulp Fiction has become a cult classic, and Rob Norton, a career cruiserweight, is still going strong – the British cruiserweight champion, and undefeated in four years.

The rangy, 6' 2" Norton went 16-0-1 after turning pro, finally having his unbeaten streak snapped by Ulsterman Darren Corbett, who outpointed him in a fight for the British and Commonwealth cruiserweight title in December 1997. 

In 1999, Norton won the lightly regarded World Boxing Union cruiserweight title with a majority decision over South African Jacob Mofokeng. He lost the WBU title just five months later however, when he was stopped for the only time in his career by Sebastiaan Rothmann of Israel. 

Norton boxed only four times in the next three years, and was ill-prepared when he challenged Mark Hobson for the vacant British and Commonwealth titles in September 2003, losing a one-sided points decision. 

Norton boxed three times in 2004, but only fought twice between 2005/2006.  In December 2007, Norton lost a decision to world ranked Serbian Enad Licina, who challenged Steve Cunningham for the IBF cruiserweight title in February. 

In 2008, Norton finally won the British cruiserweight title after fifteen years as a pro when he outpointed Micky Steeds. The following year he defended it successfully for the first time against the once beaten David Dolan. Norton hasn't boxed since drawing in a rematch with  Dolan in a British and Commonwealth cruiserweight title fight in January 2010. 

27 year old Leon solid Williams [8-3, 4 KOs] turned pro just two years ago with the first round knockout of Bobby Scott. Since then, he has had something of a stop-start career. He won his first three pro fights before dropping a four round decision to journeyman Hastings Rasani. After scoring an impressive two round KO over Tyrone Wright, Williams entered the cruiserweight installment of the Prizefighter tournament, but was eliminated by the competition's eventual winner John Lewis Dickinson on a three round split decision in the quaterfinals.

In October 2010, Williams picked up the British Southern Area  cruiserweight title with a 10 round decision over JJ Ojuederie, but just when it looked as if he was building some kind of career momentum, Williams was flattened in two rounds Blackpool-based Slovakian Richard Turba in February of this year. Williams has since bounced back with a pair of KOs over moderate opposition.

The cruiserweight division in the UK is fairly competitive right now, with the likes of Herbie Hide and Ola Afolabi both world rated. Terry Dunston is even older than Rob Norton at 42. 6' 4'' Matty Askin is undefeated in 11 bouts, and at just 22 years old is one for the future. 

Boxing News has Williams ranked only ninth in Britain going into this fight, and it is a fair reflection of a fighter who can look world-class in one fight, and mediocre in the next. Without doubt, Williams has the pure talent to defeat Norton, and if that booming overhand right lands on Norton's chin, it will be 'Goodnight Vienna.'

No one will be more aware of the threat of that right hand than Norton himself, and that is why I expect to see him using his long jab and ring savvy to stay away from that shot as much as possible. I believe that right now Norton still has enough left in the tank to outpoint Williams in what should nevertheless be a compelling fight. 

Norton by unanimous decision.

Big Fights Odds; Rob Norton 2/7, Leon Williams 5/2 bet 365