Umbiko: Gianluca Di Caro

Ngokuvamile kuba noma a Friday noma Saturday ebusuku ngithola fix yami njalo
of action pugilistic, kulelisonto nakuba kwaba kancane ehlukene njengoba ngenza
uhambo kusuka London kuze Leeds ngesonto ekuseni, in order to catch the latest offering from former Irish Champion, umgqugquzeli waphenduka, Lee Murtagh.

Uma ucabangela kwaba a Sunday ntambama / kusihlwa show, Ngangineminyaka ngamandla
bamangale, noma umxhwele, ukuthi lapho ngifika endaweni, a good couple of hours before the advertised start time, it was already more or less full to capacity.

Yiba ukusho abalandeli Leeds ukwazi ngempela ukuthi ukuzijabulisa, the
emkhathini the Pryzm Nightclub kwaba kagesi, so no surprise that when the highly entertaining MC, Mr. Tony Dean, announced each of the boxers that the crowd vociferously showed their support, not just of the home fighters but they also made the opponents welcome too, which makes a nice change.

Headlining the show kwaba intandokazi wendawo Sam Smith, who was making her pro debut, ngokumelene Latvia sika Jekaterina Lecko.

Kusukela off kokubili amantombazane wathuthela ukuthatha ring isikhungo, tentatively boxing off the back of their jabs, after about twenty seconds or so Lecko decided to step it up a tad, throwing a good stiff jab immediately followed by a looping right to the head, Smith closed her guard just enough to catch the shot on her glove, ngaphambi luphuma a ngqo, which caught the Latvian flush.

Smith yayisivaliwe futhi ake rip nge big ilungelo emzimbeni kanye kwesokunxele
to the head, Fecko wazama liqine kodwa Smith wangena ngisho
kunamandla ukuphoqa emuva Latvian towards izindophi.

Ekuqaleni Fecko esetshenziswa jab yakhe ukuba nethonya elikhulu ukugcina Smith at bay, kodwa
around the forty five second mark Smith slipped under the jab and let rip with a huge shot to the body, quickly followed by another to the head that shook the Latvian girl to the core.

Smith wathuthela ngqo for the ngokubulala, uphonsa isixuku isibhamu big,
leaving Fecko no option but to cover up in the hope that she could survive the onslaught.

Smith had now corralled the Latvian into the corner and began bombarding Fecko with shots from every conceivable angle, then just as Fecko straightened up Smith landed an absolute peach of a shot to the body that sent Fecko straight to the canvas.

As referee Jimmy Byrne made the count Fecko looked towards her corner and shook her head before desperately trying to make it to her feet, however clearly in distress she instantly dropped back down onto one knee, leaving Jimmy Byrne no option but to call a halt to proceedings on the seventy second mark of the first round.

Prior to Smith-Fecko Lincoln’s unbeaten big punching Middleweight Nathan Decastro, ngokumelene Latvia sika Elvis Rozembergs, in a rounder eziyisithupha.

Decastro’s ring moniker is ‘Nightmare’ and boy oh boy I bet young Mr. Rozembergs will be having plenty of them after this fight.

Decastro, a zangaphambili English Amateur International, is about as clinical as they come. Right from the off the Lincolnshire lad picked his shots with precision, landing three pin-point perfect shots just with his opening salvo.

Rozembergs kuba game noma, clearly believing that attack is the best form of defense the Latvian came straight back with a series of off target looping right hands, Isikhathi ngasinye ethula Decastro nge target ecacile umzimba -Rozembergs - to wazibekela umgomo, okuyinto Yebo wenza, landing seriously solid shots each time.

On about the minute mark Rozembergs tried to back Decastro up by coming in hard and fast with a double handed flurry, however Decastro side stepped before letting rip with a big right to the body, which sent Rozembourgs to the canvas.

IsiLatvia kwaba ngokucacile ekucindezelekeni, instantly referee Jimmy Byrne stopped the fight and called the ringside doctor and paramedics into the ring.

Ngemva kwemizuzu embalwa Rozembergs wasizwa ukuba izinyawo zakhe futhi njengoba enza
wathola ihlombe rapturous kusukela izilaleli ezinokwazisa.

Ngaphambi Decastro-Rozembergs kwakungomunye DEBUT pro, ngalesi sikhathi
Middlesborough Welterweight Chris Wood, ngokumelene Edgar Milevics.

Milevics wenza ubulungisa ungcono noma Lecko noma Rozembergs, in fact the Latvian lad was sent to the deck in the first twenty seconds,
ezilandelayo Wood ewa a big ngqó lwezimbambo zakhe.

Milevics wenza count, but on the restart you could see his heart was no longer in the fight, electing instead to cover up in the vein hope that Wood wouldn’t land another big shot.

On mayelana amahlanu uphawu lwesibili ngenakugwemeka kwenzeka, Wood sneaked a lovely little hook in just behind Milevics guard, causing the Latvian to bring his hands down to protect his body, which left him open to a big right to the head, which left Milevics no option but to cover up again and as he did Wood calmly threw another big left to the body, which sent Milevic down to the canvas for the second time.

Milevic just about managed to make it to his feet but referee Jimmy Byrne took one look and see how unsteady the Latvian was on his feet and rightly stopped the fight on the sixty seconds mark.

Ukusekela for the iziqubu ezintathu professional, were a number of European Boxing Federation (EBF) iziqubu eziqashelwa.

The one main, ngoba EBF International Bantamweight Championship, see Leeds’ Sophie Varley in a rematch against Malta’s Mandy Cortis.

Cortis had come all the way from sunny Malta to a rather wet and Windy Leeds to defend the title she won last time the two met.

Eyokuqala emahlandla lamatsatfu Cortis wayidlala ukulinda, ethemba ukuthi konke
action girl Varley kwakuyoba ngezibhakela lingunina out.

Round amane a okuningi ngisho indaba, with Cortis electing to take the fight to Varley, ekuqaleni girl baseMelitha kwaba kokufika isibhamu ambalwa omuhle, but Varley is as tough as they come and by about the fifty second mark wrenched control back with a fantastic display of boxing, culminating with Cortis backed onto the ropes and absorbing a seemingly never ending barrage.

Mayelana ngomzuzu owodwa amathathu mark aphinde kwaba Cortis on attack, utilizing her jab to great effect to set Varley up for a combination or two, until the final ten seconds or so, okuyinto kwaba uzwane emsulwa uzwane Battle Royale.

Cortis ezilawulwa iningi wokugcina emahlandla lamabili, nabathile
boxing enhle, Varley namanje wanikeza akhawunti omkhulu azichitha, nje
bomsebenzi wayekade wafaka phakathi imizuliswano okuqala ayenalo cishe
ekhanyiwe wakhe.

Kwaba sobala kwakuzoba close, and it was with Varley securing the title by a very, kusondelene 58-57 amaphuzu isinqumo.

Imiphumela lonke ikhadi EBF zaba:

York Carly McKenzie amaphuzu omuhle kakhulu 40-37 ukhomba phezu ukunqoba
Bridlington sika Mel Halstead for the isihloko EBF Central Area featherweight.

Leeds’s Graham Mattison scored a one minute and fifty second second round TKO victory over Blackpool’s Richard Leak in the EBF Northern Heavyweight contest.

Leeds 'Jay Stevenson amaphuzu a 30-28 ukhomba phezu Stoke sika Phil McGinn ukunqoba.

Leeds 'Liam Hayes amaphuzu a 40-37 ukhomba phezu Stoke sika Lewis Sherrat ukunqoba

EManchester Jimmy Gold amaphuzu a close 29-28 victory over Bramley’s Philip Walker.