Johnny Nelson is backing Rob Norton

Former British and world champion Johnny Nelson believes Stourbridge's Rob Norton will claim the Lonsdale belt he "deserves" in two weeks time.

Norton, now based in Kidderminster, will make his third defence of the British cruiserweight title against Leon Williams on Friday October 21 at London's York Hall.

Twice David Dolan has unsuccessfully tried to wrest away the belt Norton won from Micky Steeds in 2008 and, if the champion comes through again, the accolade is his.

Nelson knows what that feels like - he claimed a Lonsdale belt at the same weight and went on to lift the WBO crown, defending the belt a staggering 13 times before retiring as champion in 2005.

Now a regular pundit on Sky Sports 'Saturday Night Fight' and presenter of the 'Ringside' talk show, the 44-year-old still talks the talk when it comes to the fight game.

And 'the Entertainer' believes Williams has got little chance of throwing a spanner in the works, especially with a relatively novice eight-fight record that contains three defeats.

Nelson - speaking from a sportsman's lunch hosted by Ron Gray and his son Steve at the Novotel Hotel in Birmingham - is backing Norton.

He said: "Rob Norton is underrated, his style is a bit herky jerky but as long as it makes you win, that's what is important.

"He deserves a Lonsdale belt after all of the work he has put in and, if he wins it, he will probably retire.

"You can't buy experience and ring craft, he's got a lot of that, and I think that's going to be enough to win the fight.

"What Williams has got to do is have a game plan and stick to it, don't let Rob kid him out of it, he can't give him the space to get comfortable.

"I would go for Rob Norton in a close one on points, as long as he's fit he can nick it."

Nelson is so proud of his Lonsdale belt he gave it away - it's still on display at a museum in his town of Sheffield today.

Norton could have his own before the month is out and his predecessor has spelled out what it meant to him.

He said: "No matter what age you are at, winning the Lonsdale belt is something no-one can ever take away from you. It's something special.

"Not every fighter has won it and not every world champion from Britain has won it - Frank Bruno and Nigel Benn never did it.

"There's no point in having it shoved under your belt, so it made sense to me to do that. To me, it was everything."