British flyweight champion Tommy Frank breaks silence after controversial Craig Derbyshire draw
British flyweight champion Tommy Frank wants to ‘set the record straight’ with a rematch against Craig Derbyshire after the pair’s controversial fight.
Frank’s first defence of the Londsdale Belt against Doncaster’s Derbyshire earlier this month ended in a draw after three judges all scored the bout differently at Rotherham’s Magna Centre.
The challenger was twice sent to the canvas but his team, who felt he should have won, argued the second knockdown in the final round resulted from a push.
But 28-year-old Frank from Intake said: “I think I did enough to win the fight.
“I know I made a hard night’s work of it and Craig had one of the best nights of his career, if not the best.
"I wasn’t 100 per cent in there. The day before the fight I couldn’t keep anything down until probably 5 or 6pm.
"I don’t know whether I had a little bug but I just couldn’t stop being sick.
“I don’t want to come across like I’m making excuses and don’t want to take anything away from Craig, I thought he performed brilliantly.”
Frank, who retained the belt he won in September, kept his illness a secret before the fight.
He added: “If Glyn (Rhodes, trainer) knew he would have probably pulled me out of the fight.
"Looking back it was really crazy but I made the decision to keep it to myself and do my best with what I could
"I probably wasn’t 80 per cent of myself in there.
"Although I was trying to be positive and put it out of my mind, that did affect my performance on the day. I’m not going to blame the weight.”
Frank plans to talk to his promoter Dennis Hobson about a rematch in the coming days.
He said: "I don’t really want to leave a bad taste in people’s mouths about the last time they saw me in the ring. Part of me just wants to set the record straight.
"More than likely a rematch will be on the cards for early summer.
“When the fight gets announced as a draw usually there’s a question mark there. As a fighter – probably just as a person – I want to answer that.
“I know what else I have got to show in a boxing ring.”