26 year old Ryan “Crash Bang” Taylor is set to explode back into the big time when he faces undefeated Danny Gunn for the vacant International Masters Light-Welterweight title in front of what will be a sold out York Hall crowd on the Olivia Goodwin promoted “Best of Enemies” card on Saturday 21st March.
Talyor who was a highly touted amateur was undefeated in his first 8 fights including capturing the International Masters Lightweight title.
On his 9th fight he fought Liam Shinkwin for the Southern Area Lightweight title at Wembley Arena losing a close points decision. After reaching the Semi Final of the sky sports Prizefighter competition, Ryan then had his second attempt at the southern Area title in December 2013 at the Excel arena where he was defeated by Floyd Moore.
There was no doubt that the efforts of continuing to drain his body down to the 9 stone 9 lbs limit was draining Ryan. Ryan took a brief break from boxing and then teamed up with trainer Frank Greaves and Manager/Promoter Steve Goodwin.
A decision was made that Ryan needed to step up in weight and campaign in the Light-Welterweight division. Ryan returned to the ring in December 2013 where he was impressive in recording a points win over Vasil Vasilev.
Now it’s the big one. Danny Gunn is an undefeated prospect from Norwich who considers Taylor to be a stepping stone to the big time whilst Ryan knows that a title victory here will open doors to the bigger titles later in the year.
Full credit must be given to Ryan for taking such a hard fight on his second fight at the new weight “I have had incredible support for this fight” said Ryan “I would like to thank everyone who is coming to support me and I have a few tickets left so should anyone want to come please contact me.”
Newport’s former Welsh and British Masters Champion Lee Churcher made a successful return to the ring last Saturday night, Nottingham’s Matt Scriven by a 40-35 points margin.
Churcher, who hasn’t fought since his ninth round stoppage victory over Barrie Jones that secured him the Welsh title in May 2012, almost didn’t get to fight at all, after his opponent Ratislav Frano, as well as Elimer Rafael, who was due to face Andy Bell, Julius Rafael, who was to be Matt Scriven’s opponent on the night, and their trainer all failed to make their flight from Slovakia.
With time running out promoter Wayne O’Hara initially tried to get the errant Slovakian boxers on another flight, when it was clear that wasn’t going to happen then tried in vain to locate UK based opponents.
With time fast running out Matt Scriven, who had fought Churcher back in 2010, suggested that rather than lose all three bouts off the show that he and Churcher could fight each other.
Right from the off it was clear that both protagonists were in the mood for a good old fashioned slug fest.
After some nice tidy exchanges it was Scriven that was first to let rip in anger, with a scorching body shot, Churcher responded in kind and then for the rest of the round it was pure toe-to-toe pugilistic heaven for the fans, as the pair slugged it out big time.
More of the same in both the second and third rounds, much to the delight of the crowd, who had been on their feet for virtually every second of the fight.
In the forth stanza Scriven came out of the blocks fast, intent on securing centre ring with some beautiful jabs and crisp combinations, however Churcher was in no mood to play second fiddle to anyone, coming in hard and fast throwing powerful body shots and uppercuts at every opportunity.
About half way through the round Churcher landed a peach of a right, sending Scriven to the canvas. Scriven recovered before the count concluded and boxed smart, as Churcher went all out to finish off the Nottingham man.
At the end of four scintillating all action rounds, referee Lee Murtagh scored the bout 40-35 in favour of Churcher.
Prior to the excellent Churcher-Scriven bout, there were five top class exhibition bouts, featuring some of the young guns from Nottingham’s Robin Hood Gym.
These bouts gave the crowd an early peek at some of the future stars that are destined to follow in the footsteps of Nottingham’s most famous boxing star, Mr. Carl Froch.
The first of the bouts featured Robin Hood’s Jack Whitehouse against Will Smith from Leeds.
What a cracking closely fought fight, both boxed beautifully throughout, but at the end of the bout it was Whitehouse whose hand was held aloft in victory.
Following the excellent Whitehouse-Smith battle see Carl Coulthard in action against another local lad Aaron Stark.
Both lads went hammer and tongs for virtually the whole two rounds, but with just about twenty seconds of the second round to go Stark landed a peach of right hand to send Couthard to the canvas, unfortunately Coulthard tried to get to his feet but just failed to make the count.
Next up see Connor Riddick take the victory laurels against another local lad Dan McCreedy.
Right from the off it was clear Riddick wasn’t interested in anything but a good win, letting rip with big rights and lightning quick double handed flurries.
About midway through the bout McCreedy clicked it up a notch, in doing so played straight into to Riddick’s hands, as he was well up for an old fashioned slug fest and ultimately produced the second win of the night for the Robin Hood Gym crew.
The fourth bout of the night was a sensational all action battle royale between Tom Mulligan and Peterborough’s Dominic Masses.
The first round was very much a fifty/fifty round, with both protagonists more than happy to box at a fast pace, however saying that Mulligan shook Masses a couple of times with some pin point accurate exocets.
Round two see Masses in the ascendance, however even though the Peterborough man was backing Mulligan up for a good part of the fight it was the Nottingham man that secured the round, after sending Masses to the deck twice.
With blood pouring from his nose and on unsteady legs nobody would have been surprised if Masses decided not to come out for the third, but he did and as before took the fight to the Nottingham man.
For about two thirds of the round it looked like Masses would turn the tables on Mulligan, having shook the Nottingham man with some big right hands, however it wasn’t to be as Mulligan managed to settle himself after yet another barrage of shots and land a seriously hard right to the head, that sent Masses to the deck once more.
Before Masses had even landed on the canvas his corner had decided enough was enough and quite rightly threw the towel in.
The final exhibition bout was yet another stormer, this time featuring the highly exciting Tom Langley taking on Portsmouth’s Jules Phillips in a four round Super Bantamweight contest.
What a fight, without doubt both lads have a good future in the sport, especially young Tommy Langley, who boxed with a maturity that belied his tender years, keeping his distance nicely and just stepping in whenever he liked to land a cracking right or a tidy combination.
After four fantastic rounds it came as no surprise that it was Langley whose hand was raised in victory, most deservedly in my eyes.
Tom Langley is one seriously talented young man, boy oh boy can this kid box, definitely one to watch in the future, word is the eighteen year old is going to be turning pro this year, I for one look forward to him boxing on the pro circuit, that’s for sure.
With so much drama preceding the event who could have expected that the show would have gone so well and whilst there was only one pro bout in the end, nobody moaned or asked for their money back, how could they, it really was a good night of boxing.
Doncaster’s former English and British Champion Andy Bell and Newport’s former Welsh and British Masters Champion Lee Churcher are set to co-headline Wayne O’Hara’s Chief O’Hara Promotions OUTLAWS BACK event, at the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham this coming Saturday – 7th March.
After a near five year absence from the sport, following the surprise loss to John Donnelly, in a non-championship six rounder in May 2010, Doncaster’s Andy Bell finally makes his long awaited return to fray this Saturday.
Bell’s Championship campaign began in April 2007 with an eighth round stoppage victory over Shrewsbury’s Neil Marston for the BBBofC Midlands Area Bantamweight title.
Two months later he added the British Masters Bantamweight crown to his trophy cabinet, with a solid points victory over Sheffield’s Mo Khaled.
Just three months later Bell was back in Championship action once again, this time challenging Bradford’s Robert Nelson for the vacant BBBofC English Super Flyweight title. Bell added a third belt to his growing collection, with a yet another stoppage victory, this time in the dying seconds of seventh stanza.
In his final fight of the 2007 season Bell successfully defended his English title with a tidy points victory over Grimsby’s Wayne Bloy.
In March 2008 Bell added the coveted Lonsdale belt to his collection, after beating long time BBBofC British Super Flyweight Champion Chris Edwards in a thriller that went the distance, Bell winning by a clear margin of 117-111 on Judges Phil Edwards and Terry O’Connor’s scorecards and 115-113 on Judge John Keane’s scorecard.
In November 2008 Bell defended the British crown, against current British and European Bantamweight and former WBA Inter-Continental Champion Lee Haskins.
After twelve sensationally close fought, all action, rounds Bell lost out to Haskins by a close points margin of 116-113, on Judges Howard John Foster and Dave Parris’ scorecards and an even closer margin of 115-114 in Judge Victor Loughlin’s eyes.
On Saturday Bell will face the highly experienced Slovakian Elemir Rafael.
Co-headlining the OUTLAWS BACK event is another returning Champion, Newport’s BBBofC Welsh Area Middleweight Champion Lee Churcher.
Churcher, who hasn’t fought since the ninth round stoppage win over Barrie Jones that secured him the Welsh title in May 2012, makes his most welcome return to the ring on Saturday, where he will face a strong challenge from Slovakian hard man Vladimir Tazik in a four rounder.
The support card for the two former Champions is headed by a rare home bout for Nottingham’s very own Matt Scriven, when he faces Julius Rafael.
The OUTLAWS BACK event will also feature a number of Nottingham’s home grown talent, including Clinton Chambers, Tom Langley, Connor Ruddoch, Jack Whitehouse, Tom Mulligan, James Wheldon, De La Menace as well as feature the showdown between Carl Coulthard and Karston Lejoint.
Lee Churcher versus Vladimir Tazik and Andy Bell versus Elemir Rafael co-headline the Wayne O’Hara, Chief O’Hara Promotions OUTLAWS BACK event, at the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham on Saturday 7th March 2015.
Sanctioning for this event will be provided courtesy of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) –www.maltaboxingcommission.com
Tickets, priced £35 and £55 (Ringside) for OUTLAWS BACK at the Britannia Hotel in Nottingham, are available from any of the competing boxers or call Matt on 07833 995770.
When 32 year old Aji Sharif turned professional in 2013 he had high hopes with his sole defeat as an amateur coming at the hands of Olympic Gold Medallist Anthony Joshua.
His professional career started off in good fashion with 3 straight victories including a stoppage. His fourth professional fight was set for December 2013 on a Goodwin Promotions Matchroom fight pass show where he took on 6 foot 9 ins “The Giant” Imantas Davidaitis. Davidaitis had been to the UK shores before knocking out Sheffield prospect David Howe in two rounds.
“It was a fight I was happy to take” said Sharif. I needed to beat the likes of Davidaitis to move onto toSouthern Area title level. However 6 weeks before the fight my trainer Andy Edge decided that he needed to take a break from training and I was left without a professional training establishment. Looking back I should have pulled out of the fight but I stupidly went through with it.” Sharif continued “People around me tried to help but it just was not working”.
Sharif went through with the fight to get knocked down twice in the first round and then getting stopped in the second. “My Manager/Promoter and his family were great afterwards. They all came to my dressing room and I could see they were as upset as me. A week later I went to Steve’s offices and told him I wanted an immediate rematch. Steve was initially reluctant to do this but it is pride. I have to avenge this loss. Steve then went and got me the best training camp which will be revealed after the fight. I am in the best shape both physically and mentally of my life”
Sharif finished by saying “I really need everyone’s support in this rematch as it is a career make or break for me”.
Sharif will be back under the lights on another Matchroom fight Pass show as he goes to avenge the loss. There is no doubt that this is an intriguing undercard clash supporting the Larry Ekundayo v Dale Evans (British Welterweight title eliminator) Lee Markham v Jahmaine Smyle (English Super-Middleweight title) and Johnny Garton v Nathan Weiss (Southern Area Welterweight title) clashes.
The show also features former Premiership professional footballer Leon McKenzie in his first title shot when he takes on Ivan Stupalo from Croatia for the International Masters Super-Middleweight title.
13 fights in all and one of the best non mainstream tv cards to be shown for a long time.
San Diego, CA – February 11, 2014 – On Saturday afternoon, February 28, Carl Frampton will make the 1st defense of the IBF Super Bantamweight title when he takes on mandatory challenger Chris Avalos in a bout that can be seen live and exclusively in the United States on AWE–A Wealth of Entertainment
The card will originate from the Odyssey Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland and is promoted by Cyclone Promotions.
“We are very excited to bring this great title bout to the American fans,” said AWE President, Charles Herring.
“We televised Frampton’s last bout with Martinez and it was an excellent fight. Avalos is the number-one contender and we know he is eager to bring the belt back to the United States.”
IBF Super Bantamweight champion Carl Frampton
Frampton of Belfast has a perfect record of 19-0 with 13 knockouts and won the title on September 6 when he defeated reigning champion Kiko Martinez with a 12-round unanimous decision. That bout was televised exclusively on AWE.
The 27 year-old Frampton is a former Celtic champion. He won the Commonwealth title with a 4th round stoppage over Mark Quon. He defended the title with wins over Kris Hughes (15-1), and Prosper Ankrah (18-2). He won the IBF Intercontinental title with a 12-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Raul Hirales and then stopped former world champion Steve Molitor (34-2) in 6 rounds.
Frampton won the European title with a 9th round stoppage over Martinez and made one title defense over Jeremy Parodi (35-1-1).
After a 2nd round stoppage win over Hugo Cazarez, Frampton captured the coveted world title on September 6.
Avalos of Lancaster, California has a record of 25-2 with 19 knockouts.
Number-one ranked contender Chris Avalos
The 25 year-old turned professional in 2008 with a 3rd round stoppage over Juan Guerrero (1-0). He stayed undefeated for his first 16 bouts with wins over Constancio Alvarado (1-0-2), Christian Cruz (3-0), Andre Wilson (11-2-1) and Jose Nieves (17-1-3).
He won the WBO NABO Bantamweight title with a 2nd round stoppage over Jhon Alberto Medina.
Avalos captured the WBO Intercontinental & NABA USA Super Bantamweight title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Khabir Suleymanov (11-0).
Avalos is currently riding a 6-fight winning streak and in that span he has defeated Yenifel Vicente (23-0-2), Jose Luis Ariaza (29-7-1), Drian Francisco (24-1-1) and Rolly Lunas (34-8-1).
On May 31, 2014 he won the IBF Mandatory position with a 8th round stoppage over Yasutaka Ishimoto (24-6) in Macau, China.
In his last bout, Avalos stopped Jose Cen Torres in 5 rounds on November 8 in Pharr, Texas.
The start time and a full undercard will be announced shortly.
Boxing fans can enjoy this amazing card on AWE available on AT&T U-Verse, ch 147 and 1147 in HD, Verizon FiOS TV, ch 169 and 669 in HD, and numerous regional cable providers across the nation. Please check www.awetv.com for boxing updates.
Olivia Goodwin is delighted to announce that the 5thanniversary show of Goodwin Boxing will be shown live on Matchroom Fight Pass and features the best card that the Goodwin’s have assembled in celebration of five years in boxing.
Aptly called “ULTIMATE GLORY” Joint top of the bill is a British Welterweight title eliminator between Larry “The Natural” Ekundayo (8-0) and Dale Evans (9-1 with 2 draws). Ekundayo is one of the most talented boxers in Britain. After winning Prizefighter in 2012 Larry only had one professional bout in the 18 months afterwards. After teaming up with Ben Gray from World Class Athletes as his Commercial adviser and Steve Goodwin (Promoter/Manager) Ekundayo had two bouts culminating in winning the International Masters title at York Hall in October 2014.
Ekundayo is one of the most avoided fighters around so full credit to Dale Evans for stepping up to the plate, Evans has lost only 1 from 12 bout and that was in Prizefighter in January 2013 to Glenn Foot. Evans has beaten the likes of Sam Eggington and Eric Ochieng so will come into this fight with a real belief that he can win this and move onto the British title scene.
Co top of the bill is the English Super-Middleweight title between Lee “Banjo” Markham (14-1) and Jahmaine Smyle (11-4 2 draws). Markham has stopped 7 inside the distance and Smyle 4. This is a real 50/50 fight that could easily be one of the fights of the year.
The third major title fight on the show features “The Pexican” Johnny Garton (13-1) defending his Southern Area Welterweight strap against fellow Londoner Nathan Weiss (10-4 with 2 draws). Garton won the title with an exciting 8thround stoppage of Adam Battle in December 2013 whilst Weiss will hoping it is third time lucky as he has had two previous losing attempts for the Southern Area title.
Another fight which will be making headlines will be former professional footballer’s Leon McKenzie (undefeated in 6) first 10 round title fight when he takes on Croatian Ivan Stupalo (10-9) for the International Masters Super-Middleweight title). There has been substantial national press and radio interest in this bout with many from the sporting world attending to see what they hope will be Leon’s big night.
Someone never in a dull fight in “Smokin” Joe Mullender (7-1) and he fights for the International Masters Middleweight title when he takes on Gyorgy Varga from Hungary. .
Before the BIG FIVE there are some exciting talents returning to the ring and some future stars at the beginning of their careers.
Former English Flyweight Champion Ashley Sexton makes his return to the ring after 2 years out. Ash has now signed with the Goodwin’s and will be keen to get his career back on track.
Former decorated amateur star featherweight Josh Kennedy was devastating in his first bout when he blew away an opponent in 40 seconds who had previously lost only once in 8 fights. Kennedy has his second pro contest.
Tilbury’s Matt McCarthy is aiming for a crack at an area title later this year and has an 8 round contest against the tough Stanislav Nenkov from Bulgaria.
Jose “The Look” Lopes is described by his trainer Don Charles as the next David Haye. He is 2 from 2 so far and has his third contest.
The show will feature the eagerly awaited debut of flyweight Prince Patel. Patel had an excellent amateur career despite his style being more suited to the pro’s. He will be aiming to make a massive statement as he believes he is a future World Champion.
In the December show “The General” Aji Sharif suffered his first professional loss at the hands of Imantas Davidatis when he was stopped in the 2nd round. The week after the fight Sharif told his manager Steve Goodwin that he wanted nothing other than an immediate rematch and with Goodwin fulfilling Aji’s wishes it is on but don’t blink!!!!!!!
Another eagerly anticipated debut is for Heavyweight “Superman” Louie Darling. Louie won all 35 bouts as an unlicensed fighter winning 31 inside the distance. He has a massive fan base and will be desperate to impress everyone at York Hall and prove he will be a real contender in the future of the heavyweight division.
There is also a battle of the undefeated Ashley Hill (2-0) takes on Michael Waldron (1-0) in what will be an exciting tear up.
Cruiserweight Adam “Shrek” Hart has amazing power and demonstrated that in his debut. His second opponent Marko Rupcic will need to be on his guard.
Former three time Southern Area title challenger Kris Agyei-Dua has a 6 round contest whilst aiming for a fourth crack at the title in 2015.
This is without doubt one of the best shows the Goodwin’s have ever promoted and is befitting of the five year celebration.
All VIP and Ringside tickets have been sold out and only a limited amount of standard £35 tickets remain which are available from any of the boxers or onwww.iboxingtickets.com
From Left to Right: Shyam Batra, George Hillyard and Marianne Marston.
Report and Photo: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro
On Friday night boxing fans from around the country made their annual pilgrimage to the York Hall in London for the first event, the Shaym Batra promoted, WBU Championship headed, LEGENDS & PROSPECTS, in the Capital in 2015.
There may have only been five fights, following the loss of both Australian Pierre Karam, who failed to obtain a visa in time to compete for the WBU International Heavyweight title, and the UK’s very own Steven Bendall, whose opponent fell through at the last minute, but the fans, including those that travelled all the way down from Birmingham, to support Antonio Counihan, and Bradford, to support Tasif Khan, must have felt it was well worth it, as it was a truly memorable night of boxing.
Heading up the show was Nazeing, Essex’s George ‘Hit Hard’ Hillyard against a late replacement in the Czech Republic’s Michal Vosyka.
From the off it was Vosyka taking control of the proceedings, the Czech fighter stylishly dominated the early part of the opening round, working off his mighty left hand jab to keep Hillyard at a safe distance.
Hillyard, was more than content to bide his time as Vosyka moved around the ring flicking his jab at Hillyard as soon as he made any move to close the distance.
Don’t get me wrong Hillyard did land some shots early on, but it wasn’t until around the second minute mark that the Essex lad managed to make any real impact but when he did it was with one of his trademark right hand exocets, a fantastic shot that virtually stooped the Czech in his tracks.
In a flash Hillyard let rip at the disoriented Vosyka with a sensational double handed assault to send him down to the canvas.
Vosyka boxed beautifully in the opening minute or so of the second stanza, albeit a little more cautiously, his constant strong jabs and double handed flurries left Hillyard no option but to play the waiting game once more, looking for an opening so that he could let a big right hand go.
More of the same in the third, but as in the first Vosyka made the fatal error of giving Hillyard the opportunity to capitalize on an opening, Hillyard’s no slouch, he was in there like a flash, letting rip first with a big right and then a double handed barrage to send Vosyka to the canvas for the second time.
Vosyka was much, much more cautious in the fourth, he was also more open than previously, which provided Hillyard even more opportunities to punish him big time.
Hillyard backed Vosyka towards the corner before letting rip with powerful lefts and rights before letting rip with a lightning quick left to the body, Vosyka had no option but to take to one knee, in order to get his breath back.
The moment referee Mickey Vann finished count, Hillyard literally shot across the ring and let rip with a massive right hand to the head, as Vosyka reeled back, off balance and heading back to the canvas, Hillyard let rip with a massive right to the head, sending Vosyka down and out fro the count.
Referee Mickey Vann was down at the side of the prone Vosyka in a flash, as was the ringside doctor and paramedics as a hush fell over the hallowed York Hall.
A minute or so later the silence was shattered as a round of applause from the crowd rang out, as Vosyka was helped to his feet.
Once Vosyka was given the all clear by the ringside medical team, MC Steve Holdsworth made the official announcement, which was followed by the WBU International Championship belt being presented to a clearly elated Hillyard by WBU Ambassador Marianne Marston.
Chief support see the stylish, unbeaten, Hackney based Turk Siar Ozgul step down a weight to Welter as well as undertake his first six rounder, against super tough competition in the form of Czech Republic’s Vladimir Fecko.
Right from the off Ozgul secured control of centre ring, utilizing his seriously strong jab to great effect, Fecko though was intent on wrestling control from the young Turk, which lead to some fantastic toe to toe action.
Both protagonists stepped up the pace in the second stanza, Ozgul really seemed to get into a flow, allowing himself to make some decent openings to test the mettle of the Czech lad, as he let rip with solid body shots.
More of the same in the next couple of rounds, but by round five Ozgul, who was well ahead on referee Ken Curtis’ scorecard, really went for it, what a round, Ozgul showcased his immense skills in fine style, picking off Fecko at every opportunity, from an array of angles.
Fecko, who was well aware to win he needed a knockout, came out hard and fast for the final round, Ozgul firmly stood his ground and what followed could only be described as a toe to toe battle royale ensued for virtually the whole round, much to the delight of the ~York Hall faithful.
After six sensational rounds of boxing referee Ken Curtis’ scorecard read a shut out 60-54 points victory for the younger Ozgul brother – although have to say Fecko made this fight what it was, yes Ozgul out-boxed him to secure each round but Fecko deserves praise for his performance also.
Prior to the third bout of the event MC Steve Holdsworth introduced a special guest to MC the bout, none other that sixties super star singer and actor Jess Conrad OBE, who then announced that it would be Siar Ozgul’s older sibling, Onder, that would be next in action, against Czech Republic’s Karel Horejsek, in a four round Light Heavyweight contest.
Without doubt the fight of the night, younger sibling’s Siar fight was first class, but Onder’s was to another level altogether.
It was an out and out war, it was all action from start to finish, with neither protagonist being willing to concede any ground whatsoever.
For the full twelve minutes of ring time, these two just went hammer and tongs at each other and for large amount of the time they seemed tied to each other as they fought it out at close quarters.
Praise has to be lavished on both Ozgul and Horejsek for such a magnificent display of the pugilistic arts, unfortunately there has to be a winner and a loser and it came as no surprise to anyone that Referee Ken Curtis scored each round in favour of Ozgul, as virtually every punch he threw not only landed but were by far the most meaningful, however as I said you can’t take anything away from the Czech lad as he made this fight what it was, he really came with one intention, to win, just this time he was against one of the toughest Light Heavyweights around, well the Turkish fans don’t call Onder ‘Little’ Mike (a comparison in style with ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson) for nothing.
The second fight of the night see the return of Bradford’s Tasif Khan to the ring, following a two year sabbatical from the sport, where he faced Richard Voros, a highly experienced boxer and kick-boxer from Hungary, in a four round Super Bantamweight contest.
Voros sprung from his corner as soon as the opening bell rang and went straight on the attack, forcing Khan to cover up, however it didn’t take the Khan too long to turn things around, with a good strong jab, before letting rip with a scintillating double handed flurry, which forced the Hungarian to cover up.
With the bit between his teeth Khan took full advantage by letting rip with super fast combinations at will.
The power and accuracy of Khan’s shots paid dividends almost immediately and on around the thirty second mark Voros was unceremoniously sent to the canvas for the first time with a massive right.
Khan really started to get into a rhythm, so much so picking off Voros with powerful shots to body and head with impunity, albeit for only a short while as on just before the minute mark he let rip with another cracking right to send Voros to the canvas for a second time.
Voros made it to his feet, only to be subjected to another huge barrage of punches, which forced Voros to cover up in a vain hope of making it to the end of the round, no chance, Khan just kept up the barrage until referee Ken Curtis had seen enough and stepped in to save the Hungarian from any further damage on the sixty fifth second mark.
The opening bout of the night featured one of, if not, the top British young Lightweight prospects, Birmingham’s Antonio Counihan, in a six rounder, against Hungary’s David Kis.
Counihan, who came into the fight with an unbeaten in four pro outings record, put in another World class performance, yes this kid is that good, out-boxing Kis, a twenty-five fight veteran, with ease from start to the early finish.
Counihan controlled the bout from the start, in doing so showcased the skills that not only earned him a place on the England amateur squad but also the accolade of becoming the England team captain.
Rounds one and two were more like an exhibition by Counihan, seemingly picking off his more experienced opponent at ease, his punches were clinical and powerful to the extreme, so much so that Kis made a visit to the canvas in both the first and second round.
By midway through the third Counihan stepped up the pace a little, in doing so put Kis way outside his comfort zone that the Hungarian had no option but to just cover up and hope that he could make it to the end of the round, unfortunately for him unsuccessfully, as on the two minute and fifteen second mark Counihan landed a peach of a right hand to send Kis to the deck for the third and final time.
The Brummie youngster has really taken to the pro game in style, Kis is no walkover, by a longshot yet Counihan made it look far too easy and his record now stands at five bouts, five wins, four by stoppage finish.
These were great performances, not just from the home fighters, praise must go to all the opponents too, more so to the likes of Karel Horejsek and Vladimir Fecko, who really did bring their A game, but each of the opponents came and did their best, just Counihan, Khan, the Ozgul brothers and Hillyard were just plain sensational on the night.
If this is the standard of events we can expect in 2015, I for one can’t wait for the next – bring it on!
On Friday evening, at the York hall in Bethnal Green, London, Nazeing, Essex’s George Hillyard put in a sensational performance to beat Czech Republic’s Michal Vosyka, to secure the World Boxing Union (WBU) International Super Middleweight title.
Vosyka started fast, working off his strong left hand jab the Czech stylishly dominated the early part of the first round, easily keeping the big punching Hillyard at a safe distance.
Hillyard, seemed content to bide his time as the much taller Vosyka danced around flicking his jab at the Essex lad each time he made any move to close the distance between them.
Although he had managed to land a few shots, it wasn’t until around the second minute mark Hillyard managed to really break through and land one of his trademark rock solid right hand shots, which clearly shook Vosyka to the core.
Hillyard reacted incredibly quickly to capitalize on Vosyka’s disorientated state, letting rip with another double handed assault to send the Czech to the canvas.
In the second round Vosyka once again boxed beautifully, but little more cautiously, his creative boxing style was clearly frustrating Hillyard, who again was made to play the waiting game, just taking any opportunity that opened up to let rip.
More of the same in the third, but as in the first Vosyka made the fatal error of giving Hillyard an opening, which the Essex boy capitalized on in an instant, letting rip first with a big right and then a double handed barrage to send an off balance Vosyka to the canvas for the second time.
Coming out in the fourth Vosyka was way more cautious, which provided Hillyard even more opportunities to punish him, which he did in a big way after about thirty seconds or so.
Hillyard backed Vosyka to the ropes and just let rip with massive lefts and rights to both body and head before letting rip with a wicked bone crushing left to the body, no surprise Vosyka elected to take a knee, in order to gather a break from the never ending onslaught.
As referee Mickey Vann ended the mandatory eight count Hillyard shot across the ring and let rip with an almighty right hand, which sent Vosyka off balance and heading back to the canvas, Hillyard was taking no chances and followed in with an even heavier right to the side of the Czech’s head.
Mickey Vann was straight to the prone Czech and in seconds so were Dr Rashid and his medical team.
After about a minute or so Vosyka was helped to a stool and a relieved York Hall crowd showed their appreciation with a round of applause.
After which they were even more vocal, when MC Steve Holdsworth made the official victory announcement, before World Boxing Union Ambassador and current MBC International Super Bantamweight Champion, Marianne Marston, presented Hillyard with the well earned spoils of victory, the WBU International Championship belt.
Following the bout the clearly overjoyed new Champion spoke briefly about the fight.
“I’m over the moon, really over the moon.
I’ve got just what I wanted, the WBU title, I’ve worked really hard to make sure I was ready for this fight, spent twelve weeks away from my family over Christmas and the New Year, now I can say it was worth it, it all paid off and I have the belt.
Personally from my point of view I didn’t really fight the way I know I can, respect to Michal (Vosyka) he bought the fight to me, really messed up my A Game Play.
When I hurt him in the first round, all I could do was look for that big shot all the time, yeah it worked out OK, but I feel I could have boxed him better.
Yeah, but now I’ve got the title, it doesn’t matter, this is what I wanted.
Word is my next fight is already lined up, word is if I win, which I have, my first defense will be against Michael Zerafa in Australia.
Obviously it’s not signed and sealed yet, as everything has to be agreed behind closed doors this week, soon as that’s all done, if it’s the right money yeah I’ll be going to Australia to fight Michael Zerafa.
I can’t thank the fans enough for their fantastic support, please keep supporting me as we move on to bigger and better things.
This WBU title has given me a right good kick up the backside, I promise I will be more than ready for my next fight too, I’m leaving nothing to chance, I’m back in the gym first thing Monday, no messing about, this is my belt and I aint going to let anyone take it from me.
I can’t thank the Malta Boxing Commission and the World Boxing Union enough, for giving me this opportunity to fulfill my dream of becoming a Champion.
The next couple of years are going to be really exciting now, we’re gonna go all the way, this is just what I needed, onwards and upwards.”
Please go online to www.wbuboxing.org or www.wbueurope.eu for additional information on upcoming WBU and WBU Europe sanctioned title fights.
St Neots, Camb’s Tommy ‘Da Gun’ Martin has the biggest fight of his young career this coming Saturday, when he challenges Carshalton’s Ricky Boylan for the vacant English Super Lightweight title, on the Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport promoted CAPITAL PUNISHMENT mega show, at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London.
Tommy, who’s just twenty years of age, has already amassed a career record of ten bouts, ten wins and three of those victories came by way of stoppage finishes.
Back in April last year, Tommy secured his first Championship win, the British Masters Bronze, with a shutout points victory over Michael Maloney.
Whilst young Tommy was busy celebrating his success, he was totally unaware that this victory had bought him to the attention of the UK’s two top promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren.
After meeting with both, Tommy decided that the chance to fight on the huge Matchroom Sport shows, whose events are broadcast live on Sky Sports, was his preferred choice.
As such his next fight see him travelling to Liverpool to face Ainsley Seivwright on the undercard of the Matchroom Sport promoted Tony Bellew versus Julio Cesar Dos Santos WBO International title fight.
With another solid victory under his belt, Eddie Hearn decided to really test his latest signing, by having him face Southampton’s Matty Tew in a ten rounder, needless to say Tommy came through with flying colours, stopping the highly experienced Tew in the seventh round, in doing so earning the right to make his first challenge for a major domestic title.
Following one of his final training sessions, a clearly elated Tommy spoke briefly about the upcoming showdown with Ricky Boylan.
“Yeah I’m over the moon, absolutely over the moon with it.
I’ve been training really hard for this for eleven, twelve weeks or so, I literally had a week off after my last fight and got straight back into the gym as soon as I heard the news about getting a shot at the English title.
I’m taking this opportunity with both hands, it’s what I want, I want to be fighting for titles, that’s why I’m boxing I want to be a Champion, not just any champion, I want to do this the old fashioned route, English, British, European and then go for the big one – World.
Everyone is saying this is as genuine a fifty-fifty fight as they come, not just the fight but also those forecasting the result. A lot of people are saying Boylan and an equal number of people are saying Martin, to my mind it is all going to come down to which Ricky Boylan or which Tommy Martin turns up on the night.
I honestly believe my plan A will be better than his plan A and my plan B is better than his plan B.
I can’t see him out-boxing me and I can’t see him out working me, I think I will be too quick and too sharp for him.
Winning the British Masters for me was a massive stepping stone, I absolutely loved the moment, it was an excellent stepping stone for titles like this one I have coming up. It gave me my first experience of Championship boxing, which puts me on the front foot on Saturday as I have already fought a title fight.
I want to say a huge thank you to close to five hundred fans that are coming down to support me on Saturday night, I really appreciate you getting behind me it means everything to me and hopefully I’ll give you a really good show and if all goes to plan I’ll have the English belt round my waist at the end of the night.
I promise I’m not going to make it easy for him, hopefully I’ll give him real problems on the night”
Tommy’s manager, the esteemed Champions TKO supremo Johnny Eames then spoke about his young charge and his upcoming showdown with ex TKO fighter Ricky Boylan.
“This is Tommy’s biggest fight to date, what’s more it’s against an ex-TKO fighter, Ricky Boylan.
It’s a genuine 50/50 fight, you can toss a coin to see who is going to win this one, it really is that close.
Obviously I lean towards Tommy, or else I wouldn’t have taken the fight on, but it ain’t going to be a push over.
Ricky comes to fight, he prepares himself well and he’s trained by my old mate Jamie Moore, with the Manchester boys, so we know he’s going to be well prepared.
I’m really looking forward to the fight, it’ll be a great fight.”
In just a few days time former Team GB amateur star Charlie Edwards is set to make his much anticipated transition to the professional ranks, when he faces Bentley, Yorkshire’s Craig Derbyshire on the Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport promoted CAPITAL PUNISHMENT event, at the O2 this coming Saturday, the 31st January.
Back in October, the former European Bronze Medallist announced his intention to move to the pro ranks. After a few weeks of discussions with his team and various promoters Charlie eventually made the decision to sign with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Sport organisation, a very savvy move indeed as not only are they the UK’s #1 promotional outfit, but more importantly all their events are broadcast live on Sky Sports, therefore ensuring excellent exposure for seriously talented multi-ABA Champion.
Charlie’s transition to the pro ranks has probably been a little smoother than for most young amateur stars these days, mainly because for the past year or so Charlie, as well as his younger brother Sunny, have been travelling to the famous TKO Gym in East London, the home to many of the UK’s top professional stars, both past and present, to be coached by Brian O’Shaughnessy.
As such the youngster enjoyed the best of both worlds, as Brian was a highly respected amateur coach, with a history of developing amateur champions, before applying for his pro license. Another bonus for Charlie being based at the TKO was the regular full on sparring sessions with many of the top prospects based there.
Following one of these sparring sessions, with Champions TKO gym mate Michael O’Rourke, both Charlie and Brian took some time out to speak about the youngsters upcoming professional debut, first up Charlie.
“I’m feeling great, my training’s gone really well and I’m in the best shape of my career so far.
I’ve been preparing at the Champions TKO with Brian (O’Shaughnessy) and my dad, I’ve got a strength and conditioning coach now, covering all angles to make sure I’m totally ready for my pro debut.
The hard work is really paying off, great shape, weight’s perfect, it’s been perfect for the past two or three weeks, so I am definitely in the best shape of my life and just can’t wait to get in there and prove that all the hype about me, because I know there’s a lot of hype about me and I have got a bit of pressure on my shoulders, with people expecting me to perform, so I’m going to go out there and box clever and make sure I perform.
I done virtually everything you can as an amateur, Olympic qualifiers, Commonwealth Games and I won seven National titles, ABA titles and GB titles, European Bronze medallist, European Gold medallist as a schoolboy, so have won a lot of titles.
I’ve had a look at my opponent, he’s on YouTube, he’s had two fights and lost two, he’s from Leeds or somewhere up in Yorkshire (sic – Bentley, Yorkshire) and his name is Craig Derbyshire.
He’s done cage fighting, he’s done a lot of Kick Boxing and that, he comes from a fighting background.
I know what he’s going to do, he’s going to come fighting right from the opening bell. The only thing is he comes flying in with his head so I’ve got to be clever and stay out of the way f his head and he’ll be there to be hit, I don’t need go looking, he’s going to come to me and I’m going to make him pay, that’s the way it’s going to go.
It’s another day at the office, I know it’s pro and everyone says it’s a big step up and it’s a different game, I’ve been winning titles without a headguard for about a year and half now, so it’s no biggy to me, it means I take my top off, which is better, I know when I take my top off in training I feel great, so yeah no big deal for me, I’m raring to go, I’ve fought in front of twenty thousand people up in Scotland, against a home fighter, so that’s the biggest thing I’m going to experience with everyone against me and on my back, so for me I get that extra buzz boxing in front of a big crowd, you can’t get batter.
I’m expecting nothing else, but victory all the way, like I said he’s going to come to fight, I’m not looking for no stoppage or anything, but I know in the way I am hitting, if he walks on to one, especially how open he is, I’m going to hurt him, so it may not go the distance.
I’m going in there prepared to go the distance, been doing a lot of sparring, eight threes, six threes, I mean I’ve just been sparring Mickey O’Rourke and he’s a sixty four kilo fighter and I’m not going to have anyone up against me like him, so I’m prepared a hundred percent, I’m leaving no stone unturned and really want to get in there and do the business.
I want to say thanks for all the support, it means so much when I put up stuff on Facebook and Twitter and get so much positive messages from so many people wishing me luck, I do that to show them I’ve been training, what I’m putting myself through so I can be successful, everyone is reacting so positively and showing that they are supporting me, I’m really grateful and going to really put a show on for every single one of my supporters.”
Then it was the turn of Charlie’s coach, the affable Brian O’Shaughnessy to talk about his young charge.
“Yeah, the 31st, not long to go now, just a few days.
It’s all looking good, Charlie’s been working hard, his transitioning himself for the pro ranks and it’s going really well.
Charlie first came to work with me at the TKO about a year ago, he says he’d been wanting to work with me for a few years, he’d seen me on the amateur circuit and liked the way I worked, so we got together last year and it’s all good.
I first see him when he was just a kid, you could see then he was going to be something special, so I was really pleased when he asked if I could start working with him.
Personally, I don’t see anyone in his weight division in this country, or Europe come to that, that would bother him, there’s not a lot of fighters in his category anyway and even the best ones we had seen as they progressed from the amateurs and they’re not a patch on Charlie.
The person he’s got on the 31st is a seasoned amateur, as well as has a Kick Boxing background, so we’ve always got to expect the unexpected, but we’re ready for that anyway, so expect a good, tidy win from Charlie.”
