Plymouth boxer voluntarily gives up belt because 'real boxers are avoiding' him

A frustrated Constantin Ursu said rival welterweights are running scared and refusing to take him on, having had to relinquish his Silver Commonwealth belt because nobody of any merit would face him.

Ursu voluntarily gave up the strap so that Elliot Whale and Lloyd Germain could fight for it on Saturday – but on the same show that he faced journeyman Octavian Gratii.

Ursu had been promised a slot on the Top Tier show Diligent, but was low down the order at the Brentwood Centre in Essex after a succession of welterweights turned down the chance to fight him.

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While Gratii – who boxes at middleweight, two weight divisions higher – was brought in from Romania to take on Ursu, his record of eight wins from 76 fights meant he was more concerned with not being stopped than posing a real challenge.

Boxers such as Gratii are used as ‘fillers’ for boxing shows, facing fighters who are unable to be matched against other opponents – but these 'journeymen' cannot box for 28 days if they are stopped, so are known for being durable but often posing little threat.

Hence a points win for Ursu was not only the most likely outcome, but almost a certainty.

The show saw Ursu press his advantage with hefty body shots and powerful left hands which broke through Gratii’s guard, but the visitor repeatedly ducked, weaved and reversed to avoid being stopped.

Afterwards, Ursu said that being denied the chance to take on opponents supposedly higher than him in the rankings was becoming a concern.

He said: “I can’t say I am happy, but I’ve done what I needed to do, but it is a little bit of a concern as I’ve been in England for nearly seven years and most fighters from England are avoiding me.

“This kid has come from my own country to fight me – it’s awkward for me. I could have broke his jaw, but I don’t want to break his jaw.”

He contined: “Next I have a fight in Dubai in November, but it’s funny because these two boys [Whale v Germain] are fighting for my belt that I’ve just given to them for the fight.

“It’s very awkward, I can’t say they are real boxers because they have asked for ridiculous money and they don’t want to fight. They’re just scared to fight someone like me.

“I think what’s happened needs to happen, because I have a strong mind, a strong body and a strong team – and I will walk the right road.”

Ursu is now looking like taking a deal with a Middle East promoted which would see him fight four times a year in Dubai or Saudi Arabia, and could end up yielding him quicker success.

He has a training camp lined up for Thailand with trainer Marlee Dann, to acclimatise.

Now nicknamed the Moldovan monster, Ursu said he was frustrated being constantly denied opportunities, but said his record meant he could not carry on being ignored.

He said: “It’s hard to make a training camp for six to eight weeks and then nothing happens – and that is every time. But I don’t need motivation, I need to do what I need to do. But I hope something will come to me.

“I am 11 and 0 now so it should not take much longer for me to be noticed. Maybe only a couple of months now.”