Tag Archives: Siar Ozgul

Khan Reigns Supreme – Topples Soloninkini, Now Eyes Further Title Challenges

 

 

Bradford’s sensational Bantamweight prospect Tasif Khan secured his first Championship accolade, the International Masters Bantamweight title, when he beat Georgia’s Mikheil Soloninkini by unanimous points decision at the iconic York Hall in London last Saturday night.

 

What really makes this achievement even more special is that Khan only returned to the ring in January this year, following a two year sabbatical from the sport.

 

On his return in January Khan scored a decisive first round stoppage victory, over the highly experienced Hungarian Richard Voros, in a bout that also took place at the York Hall.

 

Khan followed that win up with an equally impressive first round stoppage victory, over Czech Republic’s Ladislav Miko, six weeks later in Liverpool.

 

Last Saturday, whilst it seems everyone else were preparing for the Mayweather-Pacquiao super fight, Khan was taking part in the biggest fight of his career to date.

 

Right from the off Khan boxed beautifully behind his solid jab to keep his slightly more experienced foe on the back foot.

 

By midway point Khan began to slow the pace, whilst continuing to keep full pressure on Soloninkini.

 

Midway through the sixth round, during a rather hectic exchange Khan was a little slow bringing up his gloves, which opened the door for Soloninkini, who let rip with a big right to send Khan to the canvas.

 

On the restart Soloninkini when in hard in an attempt to finish the still slightly wobbly legged Khan, however the Bradford lad remained calm and collected, whilst the hyper Georgian continued to come forward throwing huge bombs.

 

During a number of these skirmishes Khan sensibly grabbed hold until referee Lee Murtagh issued the order break. This tactic allowed Khan a little time in order to clear his head.

 

Soloninkini continued to push hard for the final three rounds, however Khan is one seriously cool character, he just got behind his jab and just plain boxed his way out of danger, each time the Georgian made a forceful foray.

 

After ten rounds of first class boxing from Khan, judges Ken Curtis 99-94, Obie Garnett 98-90 and Matt Hamilton 98-91, all scored in favour of the new International Masters Champion Tasif Khan.

 

Speaking from his home earlier Khan spoke about the fight as well as hinted at further Championship forays in the near future.

 

“Yeah, I won my first title.

 

It’s been my dream since I was a kid, winning a title, hopefully this will be the first of many, onwards and upwards.

 

Saying that I don’t want to take away the importance of being the International Masters Champion, that was like winning a World title to me that night.

 

I’ve had a tough two and half years, I’ve come through it, got back fighting this year and now have a belt, yeah I’m really proud of what I’ve achieved.

 

I was absolutely fine coming into the fight, training went well, I went away with Nadeem Siddique one of my coaches, he’s a professional himself. I had a good training camp abroad, went to Greece,

 

Came into the fight brilliant, working of my jab, using my jab more as I felt I had a good chance, I was finding it quite comfortable to be honest, I was finding him quite easily with the jab.

 

He was a tough kid, took some good shots to the body, I found I could walk him down, then I think it was either the third or fourth round I overstretched my right arm, I felt at the time I must have damaged my shoulder, I tried not to show it, but as the rounds went on I struggled to throw big shots.

 

It wasn’t hurting, it did limit me on my shots as the fight went on, but I think I got a little complacent and gave him the opportunity to catch me with a good shot, it didn’t hurt me at all, but had to see that round through, because I had won every single round but that round, I boxed smart and stayed at a distance when I could and other times let him punch himself out.

 

To be honest I feel I could have stopped him, with all the pressure and that decided to just box my way through.

 

I’m really appreciative of my fans as always, they travel down to London in numbers, if all goes well though my next fight will be a lot nearer to home, maybe even Bradford, but I’m always grateful to my fans, even those that are unable to travel to watch me fight in London or Liverpool.

 

Since day one I’ve had good support, a great fan base, but fighting away all the time makes it hard for everyone to be at every fight, so I’d really love to do something big in Bradford, or at least more local and fingers crossed we’ll get a big title on that show.

 

I’d like to thank all my team, Martin Stainsby, Bee, Junior Witter, Rio (Gianluca Di Caro), Johnny Eames and all those that work behind the scene, I can’t forget to mention my Missus, she puts in all the hard work and puts up with me when I’m on a diet and my family, who have all been so supportive.

 

Before I forget I want to make a comment, I’ve been boxing since the age of ten, I made my mind up as the years went on that I wanted to really do something in Boxing, I had no intention of just making up the numbers, I had no option, I want to do well and win titles, I want to put Bradford on the map, winning the International Masters title has put me in the right direction, as such I want to dedicate the win to my eldest brother Tahir Khan, because if it wasn’t for him pointing me in the right direction, he’d keep me fit and take me to the gym, he’s the first person to totally support me in boxing, always been there for me and he’s the one that made all this possible.

 

As I say if it wasn’t for Tahir, I wouldn’t be in boxing and I wouldn’t have this International Masters belt, thank you for everything Tahir, really appreciate everything you’ve done for me.

 

I’d like to say a big thank you to my sponsors, Kingsland Business Recovery in Bradford, Broadway Solicitors in Oldham, Kesser Jewelers in Bradford and Vyomax Supplements from Manchester, they’ve been brilliant getting behind me so I can concentrate on my boxing.

 

Finally I would like to say a huge thanks to Mark Lyons and Billy James-Elliott, who gave me the opportunity to fight for the title on their show.”

 

 

 

 

-END-

Fight Report: Ozgul and Khan Secure Titles In York Hall Thriller

Report by: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

Let’s face it, with the amount of column inches dedicated to Mayweather-Pacquiao over the past few weeks, you could easily be forgiven thinking that there were no other boxing events that took place on May 2nd.

Well, there was another fight card, and I’m pleased to say that I was at that event – the Mark Lyons and Billy James-Elliott promoted Lords of the Ring event at the iconic York Hall in London.

 

OK, admittedly York Hall in Bethnal Green doesn’t have anywhere near the cachet of being at such a mega fight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but when it comes to drama and excitement, sorry you just can’t beat small hall boxing, especially when it’s at York Hall.

 

When the event was announced it was due to feature fourteen bouts, but immediately after May-Pac was announced a significant number of the bouts were cancelled, as the fighters wanted to be ringside in Vegas, then in the final build up further fights were off the card, due to injuries, leaving a seven card fight show on the night, or was it.

 

The card was further reduced on the day, after one of the fights was cancelled on safety grounds – due to a 5kg difference in the weight between the two debuting fighters – and if that wasn’t bad enough Manny Muhammad’s opponent, Rafael Snow failed to turn up, leaving just five fights on the night.

 

First up was a six rounder between Liverpool based Russian hot prospect David Agadzhanyan, against Czech Republic’s Josef Redlich, who stepped in at the last minute to save the bout, following Ghana’s Isaac Owusu being forced to pull out due to illness.

 

It took Agadzhanyan just forty five seconds to send Redlich to the canvas for the first time and about the same again to put him down a second time.

 

Redlich was plain outclassed so no surprise that when he went down for the third time that referee Ken Curtis decided to call a halt to proceedings on the two minute and twenty five seconds mark.

 

I’ve seen Agadzhanyan in action a couple of times, including the excellent win over then unbeaten Daniel Bazo back in March, so was really looking forward to seeing him in action against Owusu, a tough uncompromising former Ghanaian Champion and Commonwealth title eliminator challenger, but that’ll have to wait until later this month when the rescheduled bout takes place in Liverpool.

 

Next up was WBF Inter-Continental Champion Paul Economides, in a non-championship six rounder, against another late replacement, Czech Republic’s Petr Gyna, following former British Champ Andy Bell pulling out the week prior and then the original replacement pulling out just two days before the show.

 

Economides is another class act, so no surprise that Gyna was on the canvas within just thirty seconds, on the restart Gyna decided that attack is the best form of defense, however in taking the fight to Economides he played straight into his hands, literally as Economides punished him with a big right, that sent the Czech down to the canvas for a second and final time, on the one minute and twenty five second mark.

 

With both the opening fights finishing early and the live TV broadcast not due to start until 9pm, the promoters had no option but to have quite long interval before the next bout, a six round Light Heavyweight contest between Champions TKO’s unbeaten Hackney based Turkish prospect Onder Ozgul and the entertainer himself Jody Meikle.

 

Throughout the first four rounds Ozgul just walked Meikle down, letting rip with massive right hands at every conceivable opportunity, Meikle is as tough as they come and seemed content to absorb the punishment dished out by the man dubbed ‘Little Mike’ by the Turkish fans.

 

Ever the joker, Meikle played down the punishment he was taking, happily playing to the crowd, as well as infuriating his opponent, by pulling faces and insinuating that there was no power in the Turkish lads shots, however by the fact that Meikle had toned down his antics, clearly showed that Ozgul shots were indeed having the desired effect.

 

Meikle toned down the playfulness of his tactics even further in the fifth, as Ozgul stepped up his attacks, putting even more power into his shots.

 

Right from the start of the sixth it was clear that Ozgul was intent on punishing Meikle even further, backing the Scunthorpe man onto the ropes before letting rip with big double handed flurries, one of which, a cracking body shot, literally knocking the wind out of Meikle and forcing him to take to one knee.

 

On the restart Ozgul went in for the finish, this time Meikle went defensive, no further playing to the crowd, to see it through to the final bell.

 

After six highly entertaining rounds Referee Ken Curtis scored the bout 60-53 in favour of Ozgul.

 

I thoroughly enjoyed the fight, I know it wasn’t a classic, but boy oh boy it was very entertaining.

 

The fourth bout of the night see Bradford’s Tasif Khan in Championship action for the first time, against Georgia’s Mikheil Soloninkini, for the International Masters Silver bantamweight title.

 

Khan started fast, boxing beautifully behind his jab the Bradford man kept his slightly more experienced foe on the back foot for the majority of the bout.

 

By midway point Khan slowed the pace slightly, at the same time keeping the pressure on Soloninkini, however about midway through the sixth, during a routine exchange Khan was a little slow bringing up his gloves, leaving an opening for the Georgian to let rip with a big right, which sent Khan to the canvas.

 

On the restart Soloninkini went full out in attack, Khan remained calm and got behind his jab again, the Georgian was well hyped and continued to come forward at pace before throwing huge bombs.

 

During these skirmishes Khan sensibly grabbed hold until referee Lee Murtagh issued the order break. This tactic worked and Khan was able to clear his head enough to turn control back round to himself.

 

Khan had his hands full for the final three rounds though, as Soloninkini had the bit between his teeth and was pushing hard, however Khan is a cool character and seemed content to box of the back foot each time the Georgian made a forceful foray.

 

After ten rounds of excellent boxing, the judges scorecards read – Ken Curtis 99-94, Obie Garnett 98-90 and Matt Hamilton 98-91, all in favour of Tasif Khan.

 

Jennifer Burton, the Northern Region Secretary of the Malta Boxing Commission, presented the familiar blue International Masters belt to the victorious Tasif Khan.

 

Have to say I thoroughly enjoyed the fight, even though it was quite one sided for a lot of the time, let’s face it that’s not a statement on the quality of Soloninkini, as his pedigree is well known, this kid’s a tough nut to break, as proved by having taken Jamie Williams the distance, when they fought for the Bronze Masters back in March, as well as fought the sensational Charlie Edwards a couple of weeks later, but to my mind the one-sidedness of the fight as well as the result shows just how good Tasif Khan fought.

 

The headline fight of the night see a rematch between Champions TKO’s unbeaten Hackney based Turkish prospect Siar Ozgul, yep brother to the aforementioned Onder, against Nottingham’s Matt Scriven and this time there was a Championship on the line – The MBC International Welterweight title.

 

When these two first fought, back in October last year, it was an out and out war, Ozgul won but the rounds were so close it could have been a very different result.

 

The bout started in a very similar manner to their October showdown, neither man wanting to concede any ground, however just before the end of the first round Ozgul let rip with a massive right to Scriven’s body, which forced the Nottingham man to cover up to see the round to it’s conclusion.

 

The shot to the body must have really hurt Scriven as he seemed more intent on defense, rather than full on attack, from the start of the second, a pattern that remained for the rest of the bout.

 

Ozgul made most of the running throughout, however Scriven more than held his own during the many skirmishes that ensued, although have to admit he was a little more cautious than during the opening round.

 

After ten rounds of superb boxing the judges scorecards were read out – Lee Murtagh and Matt Hamilton scored the bout 100-90 and Obie Garnett 100-88 all in favour of Siar Ozgul.

 

This was followed by the presentation of the MBC International belt to Siar Ozgul by his fellow Champions TKO gym mate and the current MBC International Super Bantamweight Champion Marianne Marston.

 

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed the event, especially the final three bouts, however I was a bit disappointed that some of the planned fights, such as those featuring Iain Weaver, Antonio Counihan, Mark Prince, George Hillyard and the aforementioned Marianne Marston, failed to materialize, because to my mind if they had taken place I feel this almost certainly would have been one of the best shows at York Hall this year, as it was it still was a highly enjoyable and entertaining evening of pugilistic action and a fitting prelude to the May-Pac fight, which promoters Mark Lyons and Billy James-Elliott arranged for the boxers, their teams and attendees of the event to watch live via satellite at a private function room.

 

Khan-Soloninkini Battle For Title Supremacy In London This Saturday

 

 

Bradford’s exciting Bantamweight prospect TASIF KHAN is set to challenge for his first title this Saturday, when he takes on Georgian #1 ranked MIKHEIL SOLONINKINI, for the vacant International Masters Silver Bantamweight Championship, on the Mark Lyons and Billy James-Elliott promoted LORDS OF THE RING event at the iconic York Hall, in Bethnal Green, London on May 2nd.

 

Khan earned the title shot with a pair of sensational first round stoppage wins earlier this year, following his return from a two year sabbatical from the sport.

 

In January this year, Khan dispatched Hungarian #2 ranked Richard Voros in just one minute and five seconds of the first round at the York Hall, then two months later followed up with an almost identical stoppage victory, this time in one minute and fifteen seconds of the first round, over the Czech Republic’s Ladislav Miko at the Grand Central Hall in Liverpool.

 

Originally Khan was to face Patrik Bartos, however the Czech lad was TKO’d by Andrew Cain, on the undercard of Derry Mathews WBA title fight, at the Echo Arena, a couple of weeks ago.

 

Bartos’ replacement, Mikheil Soloninkini, has been quite a regular figure on the UK scene, having fought here four times in the past year, including an unsuccessful challenge for the International Masters Bronze title, which he lost out on points to Jamie Williams back in March.

 

Speaking from his home earlier, Khan appeared unperturbed with the late change of opponent.

 

“It’s a shame, I had been preparing for Patrik Bartos, but what can I say he got stopped and has a twenty eight day suspension, these things happen.

 

I would have preferred if we’d known earlier who was going to replace Patrik, but three potential opponents backed out last week and then a fourth that had been proposed got knocked back by the MBC as not suitable.

 

Luckily though this new lad agreed terms on Tuesday and now the fight is set and ready to go, I can’t wait.

 

I’m not expecting it to be a quick finish like the past two fights, they were four and six rounders, this time I’ll have to pace myself just in case I have to go the full ten rounds, but if the chance comes, I’ll take him out early.

 

Trainings been great, always is, I’m ready and raring to go, can’t wait.

 

My fans are great so far this year they’ve come out in force to support me in London and Liverpool and Saturday they’ll be back in London again, I can’t thank them enough, they’re a great bunch that really get behind me, making plenty of noise, letting me know that they’re there, they’re really are brilliant and I’ll thank them the best way I know, winning the title.

 

I’d like to say a big thank you to my sponsors, Kingsland Business Recovery in Bradford, Broadway Solicitors in Oldham, Kesser Jewelers in Bradford and Vyomax Supplements from Manchester, they’ve been brilliant getting behind me so I can concentrate on my boxing.

 

Finally I have just been told that Mark and Billy (Promoters Mark Lyons and Billy James-Elliott) have arranged a function room so that everyone can watch the Mayweather-Pacquiao fight live after my fight, so if you haven’t got tickets yet, you know what to do, either call me or get down to York Hall on Saturday as there are still some tickets available. “

 

Tasif Khan versus Mikheil Soloninkini, for the vacant International Masters Bantamweight Championship, co-headlines the Mark Lyons & Billy James-Elliott Wise Guys Promotions LORDS OF THE RING event, that takes place at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on Saturday 2nd May 2015.

Sanctioning for this event will be provided courtesy of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) –www.maltaboxingcommission.com

Tickets priced £35 (Standard seating) and £65 (Ringside) are available direct from Tasif on 07756 311857, or at the venue on the night or pre-book on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or call the TKO ticket line on 07960 850645

 

Tickets for the after event private viewing of the Mayweather-Pacquiao super fight live via satellite, that cost just £10, will be available for purchase at York Hall on the Saturday night.

 

 

 

-END-

 

 

PHOTOS

 

6698 – Tasif Khan in action against Richard Voros at York Hall in January.

 

PHOTO CREDIT

Please feel free to use all photos supplied – photo credit is not required but should you do so, please credit – Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

Championship Boxing At York Hall Followed By Mayweather-Pacquiao Live Via Satellite This Saturday.

Have you got your tickets for the Boxing event of the Century yet? If the answer is no, then promoters Mark Lyons and Billy James-Elliott may just have the perfect alternative lined-up for Boxing fans – a night of Championship Boxing at York Hall, in Bethnal Green, followed by MAYWEATHER-PACQUIAO live by satellite from Las Vegas.

 

Kicking off the whole night of pugilistic action, sees a full card of Boxing at the famous Home Of Boxing in the Capital, including two Championship Battles.

 

Hackney, London based Turkish unbeaten star SIAR OZGUL makes his first tilt at a title when he takes on Nottingham’s MATT SCRIVEN for the vacant MBC International Welterweight Championship.

 

Main support sees Bradford’s sensational TASIF KHAN challenge for the International Masters Bantamweight crown, against Georgian #1 MIKHEIL SOLONINKINI

 

Heading up the support for the two Championship bouts sees Chester’s WBF Intercontinental Champion PAUL ECONOMIDES take on Nottingham’s GARFIELD MUSHORE in a non-championship six rounder.

 

Champions TKO’s unbeaten Light Heavyweight prospect ONDER OZGUL takes on the highly entertaining JODY MEIKLE, from Scunthorpe, in a six rounder.

 

Making his first visit to the Capital City will be Liverpool based unbeaten Russian star DAVID AGADZHANYAN, who will take on Czech Republic’s JOSEF REDLICH in a six round contest.

 

Former American Basketball Star, turned professional Boxer, MANNY MUHAMMAD will also be in action against a yet to be named opponent.

 

Making their debuts on the night are exciting young local talents ANDY CONA and DANIEL MENDES in action against each other.

 

Once the action is over at York Hall, then the lucky boxing fans attending the event can either go to the free after party at Spearmint Rhino, or go direct to the function rooms to watch the entire build up and of course the main event of the night MAYWEATHER – PACQUIAO

 

The cost for this whole night of Boxing heaven, believe it or not is just £45 or £75, as the cost for standard seats for the boxing at York Hall are £35 (Standard seated) and £65 (Ringside) and the cost for attending the function room to watch the Big Fight Live is just £10 extra (payable on the night)

 

Siar Ozgul versus Matt Scriven, for the vacant MBC International Welterweight Championship, headlines the Mark Lyons & Billy James-Elliott Wise Guys Promotions LORDS OF THE RING event, that takes place at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on Saturday 2nd May 2015.

Sanctioning for this event will be provided courtesy of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) –www.maltaboxingcommission.com

Tickets priced £35 (Standard seating) and £65 (Ringside) are available on the night, or to ensure a seat buy on-line atwww.tkoboxoffice.com or call the TKO ticket line on 07960 850645

Ozgul-Scriven II – Title On The Line For May 2nd York Hall Rematch

Back in October last year unbeaten Hackney based Turk Siar Ozgul and late replacement opponent Matt Scriven campaigned in one of the closest, all action, battles of the year.

 

It was a true small hall classic that really deserved at least to be nominated for the accolade of ‘Fight of The Year’, if not be the outright winner, however that was not to be as somehow it managed to slip under the radar of the majority of the British media.

 

On Saturday May 2nd, these magnificent warriors will once again enter the arena, at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, this time in a ten round contest and with the added incentive of a Championship being on the line – the vacant MBC International Welterweight title – on the Mark Lyons and Billy James-Elliott promoted LORDS OF THE RING event.

 

The October Ozgul-Scriven Battle Boyale was reminiscent of the first of the Mickey Ward-Arturo Gatti trilogy of fights that took place in 2002/3, without doubt one of the all time greatest trilogy of fights this sport has ever witnessed.

 

If Ozgul-Scriven II matches the intensity and drama of their first encounter, we could well have another action filled bout, one that equals any of the Ward-Gatti fights, right here in our own back yard, something no boxing fan, or British sports writer should miss.

 

To give an idea of just how sensational their first showdown was, here’s the write up on the bout from the published report by the Canadian Sports Channel fightnetwork.com.

 

“Fifth bout of the night see London based Turk Siar Ozgul in action against Nottingham’s Matt Scriven.

 

What a fight, without doubt the fight of the night, as both protagonists went to war.

 

Ozgul came out hard and strong, initially putting the Nottingham man on the back foot, however Scriven soon started to exert his authority and then the fireworks really began.

 

By the third round the non stop action started to take it’s toll on the Turkish youngster, which allowed Scriven to land some sensational power shots of his own.

 

The final round was a cracker, Ozgul backed Scriven into a corner and let rip with massive right hands, one of which sent Scriven’s mouth guard flying into the crowd ringside.

 

Once the errant mouth guard was retrieved and the bout restarted it was Scriven who went hard on the attack, one such attack late on in the round see Scriven land a massive right that shook Ozgul to the core, Ozgul sensibly went on the defensive for the remaining seconds to see his way to securing his fifth win.

 

Referee Lee Murtagh scored the bout 39-37 in favour of Ozgul, the correct verdict without doubt, but one that really doesn’t express how great this fight was or how close each and every round was.”

 

Siar Ozgul versus Matt Scriven, for the vacant MBC International Welterweight Championship, headlines the Mark Lyons & Billy James-Elliott Wise Guys Promotions LORDS OF THE RING event, that takes place at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on Saturday 2nd May 2015.

Sanctioning for this event will be provided courtesy of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) –www.maltaboxingcommission.com

Tickets priced £35 (Standard seating) and £65 (Ringside) are available direct from Siar at the Champions TKO Gym in Hackney – call Mehmet on 07825 618018 – on-line atwww.tkoboxoffice.com or call the TKO ticket line on 07960 850645

Championship Battle Headlines Wise Guys Promotions Inaugural Event On May 2nd

Eminent MMA promoter Mark Lyons has linked up with Britain’s youngest professional boxing promoter, eighteen year old Billy James-Elliott to create a new professional boxing promotions outfit – Wise Guys Promotions.

 

Their first event, titled LORDS OF THE RING, will take place at the famed York Hall, In Bethnal Green, London on Saturday, 2nd May 2015, and will be headlined by the vacant MBC International Welterweight Championship battle between Siar Ozgul and Matt Scriven.

 

Hackney based Ozgul and Nottingham’s Scriven are old foes, having fought each other as recently as October last year.

 

It was an all action, closely fought small hall classic, an enthralling, intense four rounds of toe-to-toe action, so much so that when Scriven approached both the event promoters and Ozgul’s management asking if he could be considered as Ozgul’s opponent for the title fight, all parties agreed in an instant.

 

Who wouldn’t, these two put on a magnificent display of the pugilistic arts, not too dissimilar to the classic Mickey Ward-Arturo Gatti trilogy of fights from 2002/3.

 

Control of the fight switched between the two warriors throughout, both gave their all for every second of every round, much to the appreciation of those in attendance, as was clear when the bout was voted the Fight of the Night and a clear contender for the end of year Fight of the Year accolade.

 

On that occasion it was Ozgul that rightly emerged victorious, by a 39-37 point margin, however that score line just didn’t reflect just how close each round was or give any insight in to just how thrilling the bout was.

 

Main support, for the Ozgul-Scriven Championship bout, sees Bradford’s Tasif Khan return to York Hall, the scene of his sensational first round stoppage victory over Richard Voros in January.

 

On May 2nd Khan challenges Czech Republic’s Patrik Bartos for the International Masters Bantamweight title.

 

Adding an added element of intrigue to this particular match up, is that both Khan and Bartos have a recent opponent in common, Ladislav Miko, what’s more both stopped Miko early in their bouts, Bartos late in the second and Khan with a sensational one minute and fifteen second of the first round knockout.

 

Heading up the support card sees Chester’s WBF Intercontinental Super Bantamweight Champion Paul Economides against Doncaster’s former British Super Flyweight Champion Andy Bell.

 

Economides comes into the bout high in confidence, following a sensational second round stoppage victory, over former Commonwealth title challenger Isaac Quaye, just last month.

 

What makes this victory so special is that Economides became the first person to stop the gutsy thirty seven fight veteran, a major feat indeed considering Quaye had previously fought the likes of British and Commonwealth Champion Don Broadhurst, British, Commonwealth and European Champion Kevin Satchell and WBO European Champion Iain Butcher.

 

Another top class match up sees Siar Ozgul’s older sibling Onder in action against Scunthorpe’s highly entertaining Jody Miekle.

 

Ozgul, who is unbeaten in four pro outings, has been building quite a reputation for himself, following top class victories over the likes of Lithuania’s Dmitrij Kalinovskij, Bighton’s Iain Jackson, Lithuania’s Remigijus Ziausys and most recently over the Czech Republic’s big punching Karel Horejsek.

 

Siar and Onder Ozgul’s Champions TKO Gym mate Jerome Haywood is set to make his second pro outing, against Scunthorpe’s Matthew Pepper.

 

Haywood came through a seriously tough test on his debut, when he faced and beat the highly experienced Lithuanian bruiser Rolandas Cesna at York Hall back in October.

 

Another of the Champions TKO squad, British #1 and reigning MBC International Super Bantamweight Champion Marianne ‘Golden Girl’ Marston will be undertaking her final domestic bout, before starting her preparations for her World title challenge against Australia’s WIBA Champion Shannon O’Connell, which takes place later this summer.

 

Back in October Marston clinically beat then European #3 and World #31 ranked Marianna Gulyas, to secure the coveted MBC International Crown, by a shut out unanimous points margin.

 

Former BBBofC Welsh Champion Lee Churcher will be making his first visit to the famed York Hall on May 2nd, where he will face a yet to be announced opponent.

 

Churcher comes into the fight off the back of a run of five solid wins, since last losing to Costas Osben back in July 2011.

 

Sensational unbeaten Featherweight David Agadzhanyan also makes his first visit to London on May 2nd.

 

Agadzhanyan, who has three stoppage victories from his four bouts to date, won the battle of the undefeated in his last fight, taking Czech Republic’s Daniel Bazo’s coveted ‘O’ with a superb 39-37 point victory in Liverpool in March.

 

Eric Mokonzo will be looking to secure his first pro victory, following his debut loss against Darren McKenna, when he faces debut boy Andy Cona, whilst Luton’s unbeaten Manny Muhammad, who was originally due to fight Mokonzo, will now face a yet to be named opponent.

 

On May 2nd Finsbury Park’s Mark ‘The Flash’ Alexander returns to York Hall, the scene of his magnificent third round stoppage victory over Lithuania’s Tadas Stulginkas back in October.

 

Making their pro debuts on May 2nd will be Nottingham’s Garfield Mushore and Canning Town’s Kimberley Leah.

 

Siar Ozgul versus Matt Scriven, for the vacant MBC International Welterweight Championship, headlines the Mark Lyons & Billy James-Elliott Wise Guys Promotions LORDS OF THE RING event, that takes place at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on Saturday 2nd May 2015.

Sanctioning for this event will be provided courtesy of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) – www.maltaboxingcommission.com

Tickets priced £35 (Standard seating) and £65 (Ringside) are available direct from any of the boxers taking part, on-line atwww.tkoboxoffice.com or call the TKO ticket line on 07960 850645

Great Start To The Year – Seven Wins Out Of Seven For TKO

We may only be just forty days or so into the New Year, but Johnny Eames and the Champions TKO team are already very, very happy with the way everything is going for them in 2015. First off, they secured new premises for the famous gym and now just over two weeks into the new Boxing year have had a string of seven successes for their ever growing stable of boxers.

 

Earlier today the aforementioned Mr. Eames took a little time out from his busy schedule to talk about the excellent start to the year, for his highly talented young prospects.

 

“Yeah, what a great start to the year for the Champions TKO boys.

 

First up we had four boys out at York Hall on the 30th January, unfortunately I couldn’t get to the show because my boiler burst and my house was flooded, but I kept in touch with everyone to make sure the boys were alright.

 

First in action was Antonio Counihan and from what I heard he put in another stunning performance, stopped his opponent in the third, after dominating the fight from the start.

 

As promised he now has an eight rounder in his next fight, on the Stephen Vaughan show in Liverpool on the 20th March.

 

Then hopefully he’ll get to do something up in Birmingham for an MBC International title or similar.

 

Next up on that show was Tasif Khan, boy did he shake the rust off, short and sweat, stopped his opponent in just sixty-five seconds.

 

From what I heard he put on a fantastic display, gutted I missed it but hopefully get to see him next time he’s out, which is also on the Stephen Vaughan Liverpool show in March.

 

Apparently the fight of the night was our Onder Ozgul’s, a real barnstormer Rio (TKO’s Gianluca Di Caro) said, all action and at a high pace as per usual from Onder.

 

This kid’s ready to move onto six rounders now, like his brother Siar, to be honest with you.

 

As I just said Siar did his first six rounder, again a cracking fight by all accounts, everyone’s so pleased with his performance on the night.

 

It sounds like he’s learned to judge his pace now, rather than go hammer and tongs for the whole six rounds, he paced himself nicely for the full six rounds.

 

On the following night we had Charlie Edwards, making his debut, and Tommy Martin fight for the English title at the O2.

 

Charlie, what can I say he was f**king tremendous.

 

For a kid having his professional debut, I was so impressed with his attitude and professionalism, he never wavered from what he had to do and the occasion never got to him.

 

When he got in the ring he was nice and cool, listened to every word that Brian (coach Brian O’Shaughnessy) said.

 

I told him that he didn’t have to impress, because he’s very good anyway, so no need to try and be good, as he is.

 

It was an absolutely perfect match for his first fight, not a walkover that some of the big names get, he was a very tough kid, who came to fight and really believed he could win, which played right into Charlie’s hands.

 

The kid got a systematic beating from round one to four, but that don’t take away from the kid’s own effort, because he was really trying and then Charlie caught him good with about six seconds to go and that was it.

 

It was just unbelievable, unbelievable I was just so impressed with Charlie.

 

Then we had our Tommy Martin, what can I say this kid walked into our gym two and half years ago now, just eighteen years old and I took a little gamble on him and I told his dad after his first fight, actually before the fight that I’d guarantee him ten wins and then I’ll let him off the lead, we delivered from our end, we got him ten out of ten.

 

I have to admit I was nervous going into the fight, obviously having trained his opponent, Ricky Boylan, previously so knew Ricky is a tough kid and thought he may outman Tommy, but it was totally the other way round, Tommy outmanned him to be fair.

 

Tommy slowed around the sixth round and I was worried that he had left something in the gym, but no problem he came back stronger.

 

I can honestly say I think Tommy only lost two rounds, perhaps one or two could have been shared, but that would be being kind to Ricky, that’s how much Tommy dominated the fight.

 

The scores were 99-92 and 97-93 twice, as you can see they were massively in favour of Tommy and rightly so.

 

Fair play to Ricky he never stopped coming, as we knew he would, but for me Ricky didn’t have enough movement, he was moving his head when out of range but wasn’t when he needed to.

 

Now onto our latest debutant, Mickey O’Rourke, but first I must thank all the fans that turned up for him.

 

He sold two hundred and twenty tickets but more turned up and bought tickets on the night, so probably had about two fifty turn out to support him.

 

They were great, very, very boisterous, they made it a great night for him.

 

Mickey was a bit nervous in the first round, once he got back to the corner Brian (coach Brian O’Shaughnessy) sorted him out.

 

Either way he still won the first round comfortably, the other kid made it hard for him, like holding all the time, but Mickey negated everything he tried to do.

 

Luckily the referee also was quick to break them up every time the kid grabbed Mickey, plus we got Mickey to let go with more than one shot to keep him from coming in to grab him.

 

He won the bout 40-36 but the way he boxed in the last round the other kid did well to hold on to the end.

 

In fairness the kid came up to me after the fight and said ‘Johnny sorry but if I didn’t hold him, he’d have stopped me.’

 

I’m happy with that, he was just doing his job and I think Mickey learned a lot from the fight.

 

The fans loved it, the first round as I said was a bit nervy but the next three rounds were exciting, Mickey’s going to be a crowd pleasing fighter, there’s no two ways about it, and I’m glad to be part of his journey.

 

My mate Colin sent him over to me and he’s been very well schooled at Dale Youth, which has made my job a bit easier and I look forward to his next fight on the 21st March.

 

I hope that all the fans that attended come again, as he needs all the support he can get as without ticket sales the journey stops and this kids too good for that to happen.

 

What can I say, fantastic results for all the boys and of course Champions TKO, seven out of seven, you can’t get better than that, hopefully we’ve set the trend for 2015.”

www.tkoboxinggym.com

 

FIGHT REPORT – HILLYARD SECURES WBU CROWN, OZGUL BROTHERS, KHAN AND COUNIHAN IMPRESS IN STYLE

ShyamBatraGeorgeHillyardMarianneMarston6858
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!

 

The Incredible Fighting Turks – Ozgul Brothers Return To York Hall On Jan 30th

On Friday 30th January boxing fans in London will once again be making their way to the famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London for the first pro boxing event in the Capital of the New Year – the Shyam Batra promoted ‘Legends and Prospects’, headlined by the Hillyard-Vosyka for the WBU International Middleweight Championship.

 

A large majority that will be making their regular pilgrimage to the shrine of the pugilistic arts in the Capital, will be doing so to support two Hackney based, Turkish born youngsters, Siar and Onder Ozgul.

 

Over the past year or so the brothers have been building quite a reputation for themselves, as two of the most exciting, all action fighters in the Capital, their fan base has been growing at an incredible rate, so much so that as soon as it is announced they will be boxing on an event, their ticket allocation is usually sold out in a matter of days.

 

So just what makes these two lads so special and such a draw for fight fans you may ask, well for a start the older of the two, Onder, was dubbed ‘Little’ Mike by the Turkish fight fans back in his homeland, as he has is likened, fight style, to a certain ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.

 

He was a regular member of the Turkish team that competed on the ‘World Series Of Boxing’ circuit, as well as racked up a numerous national and international accolades as an amateur.

 

Younger sibling, Siar, who also has a trophy cabinet crammed to the gills with the trophies and medals from his amateur career, is a little more refined in his boxing style, but still as with Onder presents an incredible forceful style of boxing that his opponents find very hard to cope with.

 

With five top class wins already under his belt, young Siar is the first to be stepping up to six rounders, as his team begin focusing on preparing him for the rigors of Championship boxing in the near future.

 

Following a normal day at the office, at the recently rebranded Champions TKO Gym in Hackney, Onder, Siar and their well known coach, former Commonwealth Lightweight Champion Mo Hussein, took a little time to talk about their upcoming fights as well as what the future may hold for the young stars.

 

Onder was the first to speak, “I’m comfortable with my training, I’m feeling really good and I’m determined to give a very good performance.

 

I don’t know about my opponent, I know he will come to fight and that is good for the fans, I’m ready for him and that’s good for the fans.

 

I’m ready to move forward, I came to England to fight for titles, I want to fight for titles that’s why I box, in the past things have happened that stopped me progressing but now I’m ready.

 

I’m not looking to be just an area champion, I want to be British, European and more than anything to be the World Champion.

 

When I am training that’s in my mind, train like a champion, I have big targets, I will be Champion.

 

The fans call me ‘Little Mike’ and I will not let them down, just like Mike Tyson I will be the Champion of the World, it doesn’t matter who they put in front of me I will win, boxing is my life.”

 

The highly affable Siar then spoke, “I have no problems moving up to six rounds, I was ready for six rounds before.

 

Now the opportunity has come up I’m very comfortable to do six rounds, even when I boxed at Light Middleweight, now I’m Welterweight I’m more ready than ever.

 

My aims are the same as Onder, I want to be World Champion, I will fight the best I can and earn the right to fight for titles.

 

God willing I will get the chance to fight for a title this year, English or International, I don’t care I just want to fight for a title as soon as Mo (Hussein) says I’m ready.

 

I’m ready for whoever they put in front of me to fight, I’m ready, no problem.

 

I’m happy with everything Mo is doing in training, I’m really, really happy, he’s a top trainer.”

 

Finally a smiling Mo Hussein spoke briefly about his young charges. “My thoughts on the two boys is I think they are both excellent prospects, I think the sky’s the limit and they are going to go all the way to the top.

 

They’ve already proved themselves, they train hard, they fight hard and live the life, there’s nothing to stop them.

 

The transition to the new Champions TKO Gym has been easy for them, it’s a nice gym and it’s local to them, it’s a bit more traveling for me but as long as the fighters are happy, I’m happy.”

Onder Ozgul versus Karel Horejsek and Siar Ozgul versus Vladimir Fecko will feature on the Shyam Batra promoted ‘LEGENDS & PROSPECTS event, headlined by George Hillyard versus Michal Vosyka WBU International Middleweight title clash, that takes place at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, on Friday, 30th January 2015.

Sanctioning for this event will be provided courtesy of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) –www.maltaboxingcommission.com

Tickets, priced £30 (Standard Seated), £40 (Gallery) and £65 (Ringside) – are available direct from Tasif – tel: 07756 311857 – from any of the boxers taking part in the event, on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or call the box office on 07960 850645