Disappointment for Elgin professional boxer Andrew Smart as 'Brawl in the Town Hall' fight night in his home town is cancelled due to late call-off by opponents
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THE 'Brawl in the Town Hall' has been cancelled, extending Elgin boxer Andrew Smart's two-year wait for his next professional bout.
The 27-year-old product of Elgin Amateur Boxing Club was due to headline a fight night in his home town for the second time on Saturday.
However, with three scheduled opponents for Smart and fellow Northern Sporting Club boxers on the card, the plug has been pulled on the event.
Smart said his management team were unable to find replacements at short notice, leaving them with no choice but to call it off.
It would have been Smart's fourth fight since turning pro in 2018, winning his first three to put him in confident mood that he could continue his perfect start.
The fighter was in great shape for his home show - see Facebook post from last week.
Instead, Smart could be invited to take part in another show at the Trump Turnberry golf resort later this month.
His club will also stage an Inverness show on December 4 with Smart expected to be on the bill.
His last fight was in September 2019 when he won on a unanimous points decision against Englishman Dean Jones after six solid rounds in front of a partisan Elgin Town Hall crowd.
Smart was due to return there in March last year, was cancelled his scheduled fourth bout due to the onset of the pandemic and has been sidelined ever since.
“Lockdown was frustrated for everybody,” he said. “But I’m in good shape now. The training camp has been going really well and I’ve been working with a sports scientist in Aberdeen, doing everything we have been working on and making improvements.
“I really got the motivation back when my manager said there was the possibility of a show in Elgin in October.
“To start with I wasn’t sure how I would be with the whole Covid thing but the last three months in particular I’ve found the hunger for it again, training twice a day, six days a week and following a programme.
“I’ve lost a stone and a half in the last ten weeks.”
Smart defeated Simas Volosinas in his pro debut in Aberdeen in November 2018, returning there to beat Gary McGuire the following May, both on points in three-round fights.
Since then he has watched his Elgin Boxing Club team-mate Fraser Wilkinson enter the professional circuit and win his debit in Glasgow last month, with Smart there to watch him in action.
“It’s a great club and I hope myself and Fraser can inspire someone and show them that it is possible if you put in the hard work.”
It will be a whirlwind year for the boxer, who got engaged recently and has a child on the way, as well as taking on a new business venture by taking over the Elgin kart raceway.
