Corlick's boxing clever

By Chris Charles

Corlick's first sessions

London is the only place to be for the big fight this October.

Never mind Danny Williams' WBU title-tilt in Docklands, the real action is happening a few miles down the road in up-market Kensington.

Hardly a hot-bed of punching talent, we hear you cry - but where else would you expect a bunch of suits to battle it out for the inaugural British White-collar Boxing Championships?

Back in March we got down and dirty with Mark "The Horlicks" Corlick as he took his first faltering steps on the road to super-stardom.

Five months on and the ironmongery salesman is raring to climb in the ring with "Ferocious" Larry Fernando, a City slicker who is more used to trading precious metals than punches.

The pair have been training hard at south London gym The Ring, home of Cityboxer.com - an organisation set up specifically for those who believe the pen is mightier than the sword.

Corlick, who earned his nickname with the boast "I'll put you to sleep", is upbeat about his chances.

Corlick is beginning to shape up

"I found it tough at the beginning but since then I've lost a stone and I'm feeling pretty good," he said.

"I still need to shed another half stone to reach my fighting weight, but I should be at my peak on the night."

Corlick's opponent is no slouch. A veteran of 50 amateur fights, Fernando once went toe-to-toe with former IBO light-welterweight champion Billy Schwer.

But that was 17 years ago and a diet of junk food, booze and fags had taken their toll when he finally decided to pull the gloves back on.

"I was in a diabolical condition," the 34-year-old admitted, "but it's amazing how quickly I popped back into shape.

"I've sparred with Corlick a couple of times and he's a very aggressive fighter, whereas I'm more of a counter-puncher who likes to work the ring - so it should be a good fight.

"He's got the edge on me fitness-wise at the moment, but come October I think I'll have too much for him."

Trainer Mark Burford, whose own promising light-middleweight career was ended by a car crash, is not so sure.

"I'm proud to have a guy of Mark's quality representing cityboxer.com," he said.

I'll have you any day, Horlicks

"There's 10 guys here who I wouldn't have any problem putting in the ring and there's another 20 or 30 who are beginning to sniff around the idea.

"Mark does a lot of shadow boxing and he's quite a hard nut but we're not going to be able to make him dance like Muhammad Ali.

"A lot of it is down to Mark. He's turning up and putting in the work, which is all you can ask of him. I think he's got a good chance."

Corlick is on a nine-bill fight in Kensington on 14 October and has already scored an important victory in the traditional war of words.

"I have the utmost respect for Larry, but I've got a feeling he'll be hitting the floor in four. Once he's had a taste of the Horlicks he's going to wish he'd stuck to lemonade."

Fighting talk indeed.