Issue 040
August 2008
“This time last year I was just coming off the back of a loss to Eddie Sanchez – if you can say this, it was a good loss,” says Colin Robinson. His thick Ulster accent cuts through the fuzzy phone line much like his notorious uppercuts. Sharp, direct, unflinching – Robinson is a straight talker, honest when considering his flaws.
“It was a good performance, things went well and the UFC guys were sitting up and taking notice. Newcastle [UFC 80] is where things went a bit pear-shaped for me. The fight with Antoni Hardonk, I just got caught. I was stopped very early, 17 seconds, so that undid all the good work I had done. As a result of that I didn’t get to finish off my three-fight deal with the UFC.”
There is no hint of bitterness in his voice – Robinson is a veteran. He’s tasted defeat before – he dislikes it as much as the next fighter – but when you’ve spent 39 years on this planet, you learn to deal with the obstacles life throws at you. Reflect, learn, and move on. “I can take a punch,” he says. “I had 40 amateur boxing fights and boxed at an international level, and I was never put off my feet once.”
It is true that the iron-chinned Ulsterman can take a shot, but he is equally adept at dishing out punishment. Eddie Sanchez’s face resembled a blueberry muffin after their encounter; and of his nine wins, five have come by way of TKO.
With back-to-back losses in the UFC, Robinson is going back to his roots, picking up where he left-off on the domestic scene. Forced to consider his options after the UFC cut him loose, ‘Big C’ sprang to action with a plan to get his name back in the mix.
“What I decided I was going to do was to try and clean up the heavyweight division in the UK. Everybody asks who is the best; a lot say Neil Wain or Martin Thompson. If you take any of the top ten heavyweights in the UK, there are people who think they’re the best. I put down a challenge – ‘Right guys, let’s find out who’s the best’. We’ll have a series of fights and see where it goes from there.”
Just like a travelling gunslinger walking into a saloon and challenging the locals to test their bravest and toughest, Robinson is ready for all-comers. So far, two of the UK’s top names have agreed to take him on. “Martin Thompson and Buzz Berry are the two guys that have rose to [the challenge]. The other guy we’re in talks with is Rob Broughton. I fight Buzz next month – that should be a good high profile fight, what with Buzz coming off the back of beating Ken Shamrock. I beat Buzz before, and people would say ‘why go back?’ I think because of [Buzz’s] win over Shamrock it’s a good, positive step for me.”
A fight with Martin Thompson, the young bull of the UK heavyweight division, is scheduled for October, but Big C doesn’t want to stop there – his sights are set higher still. “The UFC will put you back on again if you win. I know Neil Wain would like to fight me. If I fought Neil Wain and I beat him, the UFC would have to take notice because he’s on their books. Speaking to Joe Silva after the Hardonk fight, he said anyone can get caught – the problem is they need someone to be marketable and that’s not the case because I’m coming off two losses.”
“I think a lot of the top heavyweights are afraid to take on somebody in case they lose,” he states with a trace of disbelief in his voice. “It’s a bit silly, it’s what the fans want to see, so let’s give them what they want to see. I’m available and if any promoters are ready to put it on, I’ll fight any of them.”
