The world is Ellis Corrie’s oyster.
That is the message of manager Steve Wraith as Team Corrie ponder their pathway in 2020.
The new Northern Area champion has put himself in the sport’s shop window thanks to his brilliant fourth-round stoppage victory over Tom Hill at Houghton.
Clinching the vacant welterweight belt in such exciting fashion could put the Darlington star in the mix for the English title or set up a series of Northern Area matches given the vast number of fighters in this region around the 147lb mark.
“The world is his oyster,” Wraith told punch-lines.
“There are options, including in this area – we have fights which would whet the appetite if the other lads are up for it.
“We’ll be enjoying the moment, but we will sit down as a team and discuss what’s next and see if we can make those fights happen.
“This was not a freak knock-out, that was a really good finish, stopping someone who never gets finished by anyone.
“You have to credit Ellis for a fantastic performance.”
Indeed you do.
A peach of a punch put Hill down for the first time in his career midway through round four at the Rainton Meadows Arena.
The Redcar boxer was astute enough to take his time before rising but Corrie was soon back at him, pinning him against the ropes, prompting referee Ron Kearney to step in.
His clinical performance is made even better by the fact it was only the Pete Shepperson-trained boxer’s sixth professional appearance.
And Wraith said the 22-year-old’s triumph was made all the sweeter by the fact that there had been scant media focus on him, a factor which motivated Team Corrie.
“We were very disappointed that in the build up to the fight that no one in the media, social media or reporters came to us for anything,” the Geordie fight-figure explained.
“While you don’t need motivation for a Northern Area title fight, this probably did help.
“It seemed accepted that Tom was just going to dispose of Ellis like he has with other opponents.
“No disrespect to Tom, he’s a lovely lad and good fighter, with a great team behind him, but I think people under-estimated Ellis.
“While punch-lines didn’t interview Ellis at least it said he should be under-estimated at their peril. “We knew what Ellis could do and the fact he ended it in such style and has the belt in his possession, we know he can go far.”
Words: Roy Kelly
