Patience pays off for Tommy Langford
Good things came to those who wait after 'Baggies Bomber' Tommy Langford was crowned the British middleweight champion.
Bloodied Langford triumphed on a split decision against Sam Sheedy at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff on Saturday night to claim the vacant strap, writes Craig Birch.
The Devon-born Brummie and ardent West Bromwich Albion fan curried favour with two of the three judges on the cards, live on BoxNation.
The 27-year-old was 116-114 and 117-113 with Steve Gray and Marcus McDonnell, while Dave Parris had Sheedy 115-113 up after 12 rounds.
He tested Sheedy's resolve out early on with a straight right that broke through the guard, but Langford also had to suck it up as his opponent worked the body.
Sheedy continued to goad Langford, who was roared on by nearly 1,000 fans, and enjoyed more success in the latter half of the fight, landing another right hand in the seventh.
Back came Langford working off the jab as he switched up his attacks, marking Sheedy up under the eye. He put together a two-punch combination in the 10th to hurt Sheedy to the body and jaw.
Needing a big finish, Sheedy put his all into the last round and landed the cleaner shots, but ended with a cut above the eye after a clash of heads.
Commonwealth titlist Langford endured a frustrating path to the belt after being made mandatory to then-champion Chris Eubank Jnr, who agreed to face him on October 22.
Eubank withdrew citing an elbow problem and vacated the belt, with Sheedy taking his place at just under a month's notice.
Then the entire show had to be postponed, due to WBO world champion Billy Joe Saunders and British titlist Liam Williams sustaining injuries.
Langford is ranked No 2 by the WBO and is unbeaten with a flawless record of 18 wins from 18 bouts, containing six stoppages.
