DAVID JAMIESON enhanced his reputation but couldn’t land the British title he so desperately craved as a suspected broken jaw cruelly stopped him in his tracks yesterday afternoon.
The East Kilbride cruiserweight was well in contention against the unbeaten Mikael Lawal as the eighth round drew to a close inside London’s Alexandra Palace only for it to become quickly apparent that something was amiss.
Jamieson continued to stand rather than sit on his stool as his corner and the medical staff tried delicately to prise out his mouthguard as blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth.
A left hook late in the round from Lawal appeared to be the shot that had done the damage, forcing the Scot to retire from the BOXXER promotion live on Sky Sports just as the bout was warming up to what would likely have been a fascinating finish.
The Londoner is the only fighter to have beaten Jamieson but this loss would have been far more painful – literally and metaphorically – for the Scot than the defeat sustained in the Ultimate Boxer three-rounder back in 2019.
Jamieson had only been given 10 days’ notice to prepare for this fight after the late withdrawal of Deion Jumah but there was no sign of any rustiness from the Kynoch Boxing man as he took the fight to his opponent from the first bell.
It soon became a fascinating 50:50 contest, with Jamieson the busier fighter, repeatedly pushing Lawal back on to the ropes and working combinations to the body and the face, always looking for an angle.
In contrast his opponent was getting more joy from single shots on the counter, with the jab a particularly effective weapon mixed up with the occasional bruising uppercut.
Jamieson, though, was not overwhelmed or under any real pressure as he continued to come forward looking to take the fight to Lawal, even if few of his shots caused the Englishman’s knees to wobble at any point.
It was evenly poised heading into what was set to be four frantic closing rounds with the Lonsdale Belt on the line, only for fate to intervene to crush Jamieson’s dreams in the unkindest way possible, rounding off a frustrating weekend for Scottish boxing after three title losses on Saturday night.
A grateful Lawal was happy to get his hands on the silverware but admitted the Scot had pushed him all the way.
He told Sky Sports: “I knew I had caught him as I saw the blood start to dribble out. But I didn’t know it was as serious as I thought and I hope he recovers and gets well soon.
“But he’s tough. He’s going to give a lot of cruiserweights a lot of trouble. He’s one to watch out for.”
Former cruiserweight world champion Johnny Nelson felt Jamieson had been ahead on points when the fight was stopped.
He said: “I had it pretty even but thought Jamieson was actually going to nick it. His punch picking was much better.”
