JONATHAN THAXTON vs ANTHONY MEZAACHE

Jonathan "Jono" Thaxton, sensational one-punch KO winner over Juan Diaz Melero to win the European lightweight title last October, could be facing a frustrating 12-round full-distance fight when he defends his championship against Anthony Mezaache on Saturday in Thaxton’s hometown of Norwich.

Mezaache, 30, is the French champion and was a world-class kick-boxer before taking up conventional boxing. Thaxton has said in interviews that he is expecting a long night because Mezaache is elusive and awkward. The French fighter was outpointed by Dave Stewart in a previous British appearance four years ago but says he is a much-improved fighter and told the British media: “I’m hoping that Thaxton saw the Stewart fight and thinks that I will be a soft touch. I was very inexperienced back then and took that fight at just a few days' notice.

"That defeat woke me up and made me get serious about my career. I'm a completely different fighter now and I will prove that on Saturday.”

Mezaache is unbeaten in his last seven fights but Thaxton, although 34, looked better than ever when knocking out Diaz Melero. He sees himself as something of a British Cinderella Man because his career looked finished when he suffered a shoulder injury in a car crash that caused a two-year break from boxing, and he was the slight underdog when challenging Lee Meager for the British title in December 2006. Thaxton won that fight widely on points and looked like a fighter who had taken on a new lease of life.

Although outclassed by Yuri Romanov in a European title bout last April, when he lost every round and suffered a bad cut over the eye, Thaxton came back in impressive fashion against Diaz Melero, dominating the first two rounds with aggressive but smart boxing before landing the finishing punch — a huge right hook from his southpaw stance.

A similarly quick win is very unlikely on Saturday. Mezaache seems to be durable as will as a good mover. His last defeat was against the well-regarded Ukrainian, Andrei Kudriavtsev, on a close 10-round decision — the fight was just one round on one judge's scorecard from being a draw.

Thaxton will be looking to make another big impression in front of the hometown fans and he looks too strong, too good and too experienced for Mezaache. The challenger could pose some problems but Thaxton is expected to win clearly on points — it would be an outstanding result if he could become the first to stop the French boxer.