Dingwall professional boxer Ben Bartlett marches on in quest for title shot despite broken hand
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Ben Bartlett had to overcome two obstacles on his way to the seventh win of his professional boxing career – his actual opponent, and a broken hand.
The 23-year-old from Dingwall shattered a knuckle early in the first round of his bout against Vasif Mamedov, but still went on to claim all five rounds on his way to a unanimous decision victory.
That meant Bartlett was not able to put on the show he had hoped for in front of his legion of supporters at Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom, but it turned out to be a solid win nonetheless.
“I couldn’t believe it – I probably had my best camp to date and then it all went out of the window after the first 30 seconds,” Bartlett said.
“After the first right hand I threw, I knew right away that my knuckle was broken. That just meant that for the rest of the fight I had to keep my right hand up and only use my left.
“My opponent was game, I knew he would be coming in to throw big shots, so it was another big test for me.
“I was confident enough to beat him one-handed, and I got the job done comfortably. The coaches were happy with me, but unfortunately it was a trip straight to hospital afterwards.”
Bartlett has made no secret of his desire to fight for a title before the year is out, and in some ways his latest challenge will stand him in good stead.
It showed that he can adapt on the fly and battle through adversity, but with an initial six-week timeframe for recovery there will be an element of wait and see over whether a title shot can become a reality in 2023.
“Time will tell with how my hand is going to be,” he admitted.
“After Saturday, my name is right up there for a shot at the title. I’ll maybe have a tune-up fight in September and then fight 10 rounds for the title in November or December. We just need to see how things go – hopefully my hand stays healthy!”
