AFTER cruising to 7-0, Edinburgh’s Stephen Tiffney made a statement in taking his eighth scalp. His confident points victory over the much more experienced Troy James last week will leave boxing fans with a taste for ‘Tiff’.
James entered the bout with a record of 20-3 and some formidable ring experience behind him. Of the three defeats James had suffered before facing Tiffney, two came to Terry Flanagan and Liam Walsh, by no means stains on the Coventry man’s career as both have since shown their world-level quality. On October 6 at Edinburgh’s Meadowbank Arena James still looked sharp and stylish but racked up his fourth loss. That speaks volumes for relatively inexperienced victor, Stephen Tiffney.
“I’m planning on producing the best performance of my career”, said Tiffney in one of his final comments before fight night, and he certainly did that.
Tiffney’s composure in the bout saw him wear Troy James down after the Englishman started with style and confidence. Despite that confidence though, the result began to seem a foregone conclusion after the second round as Tiffney dictated the pace and consistently followed and forced James around the ring. The calm, calculating rhythm with which Tiffney dispatched James certainly sets him apart from other Scottish prospects.
Just before the fight MTK Scotland’s Sam Kynoch told Boxing News, “For Stephen it’s a massive opportunity. If he can beat James he’s going to fly up the rankings.” Sam made his confidence in his man clear, continuing, “Troy James only loses at the highest level but I’m full of confidence for Stephen.
“I saw Stephen spar a very well established professional just before his pro debut and I was massively impressed. He hasn’t failed to impress me in any of his fights.”
With an important win on the board for Tiffney and MTK it will be interesting to see Tiffney’s plans for advancement within the featherweight division. One theoretical match-up at featherweight that would be particularly mouth-watering for boxing fans could be Tiffney versus Zelfa Barret. Both fighters are progressing and have been willing to take on testing match-ups. Equally Tiffney’s come forward style and Barret’s fantastic movement and agility could make for a fantastic featherweight clash.
