ALBERT SOSNOWSKI vs PAOLO VIDOZ

One of those curiosity-type heavyweight fights takes place in London on Friday (with Sky Sports televising) when British-based Albert Sosnowski, of Poland, meets Italian veteran Paolo Vidoz for the vacant European title.

Sosnowski is coming into the fight after his two best performances, having stopped Danny Williams in eight rounds and then drawn with the big southpaw Francesco Pianeta in a gruelling fight in Germany that the Polish boxer was perhaps a bit unlucky not to have won.

Vidoz, though, was lamentable in his last major fight when he quit on his stool after nine rounds against Matt Skelton in their European title bout in Milan a year ago.

That was a surprising surrender. Vidoz seemed to be doing well for a while but by the ninth he appeared to be exhausted, and he hardly threw a punch in this round.

The ending was tragicomic, with Vidoz’s promoter, Salvatore Cherchi, leaning through the ropes, pleading with Vidoz not to pack it in, even trying to push the gum shield into the reluctant fighter’s mouth, rather as Al Certo tried to insert Andrew Golota’s mouthpiece when the temperamental heavyweight decided to capitulate against Mike Tyson.

Vidoz had not been dropped, nor had he been banged around to any great degree, but he looked weary and discouraged — Skelton had been laughing at him after taking Vidoz’s punches. With three rounds remaining, Vidoz simply decided he would rather go home than heave his tired body back into the fray.

So, on face value, Sosnowski should win. He is the fighter showing good form, while Vidoz has the look of a boxer who isn’t willing to put himself through too much of an ordeal if things start to get tough.

What sort of fight this is, and whether there is any chance of an upset, depends on Vidoz and his mental and physical state.

Vidoz does have talent. He was a top-level amateur (Olympic bronze medal), he’s a former European champion, and just five months before the Skelton fiasco he had boxed well against Sinan Samil Sam in Turkey. That fight that was originally a draw, but it was changed to a win for Sam due to one of the judges having altered his scoring for the last round — from 10-10 to 10-9 in favour of Vidoz — before handing in the score slip.

The strong but plodding Sam suited Vidoz, who was able to pick up points with the left jab in a slow-paced fight. Sosnowski is a busy fighter, well-conditioned and determined. The muscular Polish heavyweight is likely to set a brisk pace and keep the punches flowing, which is just what Vidoz doesn’t want.

This fight is in the nature of a last stand for Vidoz. He is 39, and there will be no tomorrows — not in boxing — if he loses. How much does it matter to Vidoz, though?

An amateur psychologist might think that Vidoz’s pride has been pricked by the Skelton debacle, that he feels a sense of shame and will want to redeem himself. It might not be in Vidoz’s nature, though, to harbour any burning need for redemption. He is an easy going individual, one who doesn’t take himself too seriously — his “Village People”-themed ring walks in Italy speak to his sense of fun. I have no doubt that Sosnowski will be the fighter with the greater desire for victory, more “ambitious” as they say in Britain.

If Vidoz shows up ready to win, he can do well on Friday because he is an experienced and competent fighter, and Sosnowski, although earnest and industrious, isn’t what you would call a world-class heavyweight. My suspicion, though, is that Vidoz would rather be chatting amiably over a bottle of Chianti with convivial company back home in Italy rather than sharing a ring with an aggressive opponent. This, then, is a fight that Vidoz can win, but probably won’t.

The oddsmakers have Sosnowski as a fairly wide favourite, with an over/under of 9.5 rounds priced at about evens.

I don’t make Sosnowski quite as big a favourite as the professional oddsmakers, because Vidoz just might surprise us all and produce a performance that will bring him pats on the back when he returns home. The likely result, though, is that Sosnowski will simply outwork and outlast Vidoz, and either outpoint him or wear him down for a stoppage in the last third of the fight.