UK News
Rise of a Champion – Andrew Robinson’s journey to the IBO Crown – Part 2
BY MKUU AMANI
On March 24th, 2018, Birmingham boxer Andrew’ D’Animal’ Robinson and Brighton’s Nicky Jenman went head to head for ten rounds at the Genting Arena in Birmingham.
The International Boxing Organization Continental Middleweight Title was on the line, and after a hard-fought contest, it was Robinson who emerged victoriously. It took ten rounds to decide the victor, but the new Champion’s journey to the title began way before the bell had been rung to signal the beginning of the first round.
“You can achieve anything in life. You just have to keep going. For me to have some success, that success, it meant the world to me.” Andrew Robinson
In any sport, there is no easy road to success. In boxing terms, times that by a thousand.
To win an Area Title is one thing, and an English Title another. And then there are the British, European, Commonwealth, Continental, and World Titles. So much up for grabs yet so little there for the taking.
On his journey towards becoming the International Boxing Organization Continental Middleweight Champion, Andrew Robinson found out, not for the first time in his boxing career that, to learn how to win, you need to know how to lose.
The ten-round contest for the WBO European Super-middleweight title on November 29th, 2014, did not go Robinson’s way.
Frank Buglioni’s heavy hands were busy, accurate and potent enough to sway the scorecards his way.
So, despite impressing with a gritty performance, catching Buglioni with good shots in the first and fourth rounds, coming back from a knockdown in the seventh, and dominating the ninth and tenth rounds, Robinson suffered his first defeat.
His response, however, was as upbeat as it was emphatic.
“Hats off to Frank. He trained hard, I trained hard, there’s nothing else we could have done,” he told iFL TV in a post-match interview. “I’ll be back, better, bigger and stronger.”
A five-bout winning streak followed, including a 9th round stoppage against Derbyshire boxer Prince Davis, a win that saw him claim the vacant Midlands Area Super-middleweight title.
The following year, 2016, began well with a stoppage win against the Latvian fighter Raimonds Sniedze. But over the twelve months that followed, victory proved elusive.
A points win against Josef Obeslo in Birmingham at the Holiday Inn, in the mid-summer of 2017, arrested a run of two losses (first to Sam Sheedy, and then Lee Markham in an English Middleweight title fight) and a draw (with Adam Jones).
It was a big win and a statement of intent, and eighty-four days later, Robinson outpointed Lewis van Poetsch over six rounds.
Next up, Robinson, with 24 fights behind him and a record of 20 wins, three losses and a draw, would fight for the IBO Continental Middleweight title.
Speaking to Toronto Caribbean Newspaper about his preparations during the months leading up to the fight, Robinson said, “To be honest, my head was all over the place. I was to fight Craig Cunningham originally, so I trained hard for a southpaw for months – because the fight was originally due to take place in December (2017). Then that was postponed and was put back to March (2018). It was like a five-month camp for me. A very long camp.”
The training camp also had to contend with the unexpected when Cunningham withdrew, and Nicky Jenman took his place.
Robinson continued, “There were a lot of mixed emotions because it [the fight] meant so much to me. It just felt like this is my last chance – that kind of thing. It was probably the worst I’ve ever felt before a fight.”
From the outside looking in, not many would have been able to appreciate the challenges that Robinson was facing. Tellingly, he went into the fight as the favourite, with many predicting a KO in his favour.
In fact, in the days leading up to the fight, BCB Promotions ran a poll on social media that invited fight fans to predict the outcome. Of the votes cast, 67% went in favour of a KO win for Robinson.
Being the favourite was a factor that added to the pressure to perform that he was experiencing.
“I’m normally the underdog,” he said, “I’m a man that goes to other people’s back yards – normally, it’s the other way round. But at the bookies, it was 40-1 for me to win. That put a lot more nerves on me.”
The title fight took place on March 24th, 2018. Robinson faced Brighton boxer Nicky Jenman at the Genting Arena, Birmingham.
Jenman had lost just once in his previous thirteen bouts. His records suggested that while he was not a big-hitting boxer, he knew how to win, and he was no stranger to a ten-round fight.
Jenman’s experience served him well but was not enough to prevent Robinson from rising auspiciously to the occasion. Coming through a tight contest, Robinson made sure that as he left the ring, the IBO Title left with him.
“It was a wicked fight, a fantastic fight,” he said. “I truly enjoyed it. The fans were brilliant, the arena was great, it’s a memory I’m going to take to my grave.”
And on the joy that came with his title win, he said, “I cried man, I cried. For me, it was like, for the three months of training for the fight, I spoke to God every day, and I just asked him to keep me going, keep me in shape, keep me from injury, get me in that ring and give me that title. And it was like, for all those months of talking to him, he finally answered my prayers.”
Robinson sank to his knees in the centre of the ring when the announcement came that he’d won by majority decision. Judge Shaun Messer scored the contest 95-95 while the other judges Grzegorz Molenda and Terry O’Connor scored 96-93 and 96-94, respectively.
“It just shows,” Robinson said, “you can achieve anything in life. You just have to keep going. For me to have some success, that success, it meant the world to me.”
Robinson is now the number one contender for the British title. It is a fight that would also give him a chance to win the legendary Lonsdale Belt. But that is another story for another time.
For now, Andrew’ D’Animal’ Robinson, has already done enough to carve his name proudly into the history books.