Liverpool’s unbeaten Middleweight prospect Martin Freeman made an emphatic statement on Saturday night, with his fourth round stoppage victory over Will O’Reilly at the Jubilee Sports Bank in his home city.
The 26 year old Liverpudlian exuded class throughout the contest, even when being forced onto the back foot by the ever moving forward all out attack tactics employed by O’Reilly, Freeman just adapted his tactics to counter and control the contest in sensational fashion.
The Liverpudlian’s power was the defining factor of the contest, especially in the fourth, when a massive right from Freeman shook O’Reilly to the core, forcing the Mancunian battler to stagger back onto the ropes and cover up just as the contest approached the minute mark of the round.
In an instant Freeman stepped forward and let rip with a scintillating bombardment of massive lefts and rights, O’Reilly covered up and absorbed the first couple of shots on the gloves and arm, but Freeman’s power and precise placement ensured that the Liverpudlian’s Exocets began to power their way through the Mancunian’s guard with little resistance, after a couple of particularly venomous head shots referee Chris Kelly stepped in and stopped the contest on the one minute and two second mark of the fourth round.
Following the fight Freeman said;
“I am really pleased with my performance from Saturday night.
“Yes it was a tough fight and my opponent not only took some of my best shots but he also gave some good punches too!
“I’m definitely glad I got some good rounds in too as I won my last two fights in the first round.”
Freeman’s gym mate Lee Cooper was also on the card and secured a shut out points victory over Kyle McNicholas.
Both Freeman and Cooper will be back in action on the next Kyle Gallagher promoted Victory Fight Club event at the Jubilee Sports Bank on 28th March 2020.
Promoter Kyle Gallagher announced earlier today that unbeaten Welterweight prospect Jonny McConville, is set to challenge Chandigarh India’s Neeraj Goyat for the Professional Boxing Council (PBC) International Silver Welterweight Championship, at the Jubilee Sports Bank in Liverpool on Saturday 8th September 2018.
McConville is in fine form and comes into this Championship contest off a first round stoppage win over Belfast’s Michael Kelly back in March this year, his third stoppage win in as many contests, the other stoppage victories being over Marty Kayes in December 2017 and Will Cairns in September 2017.
However McConville is in no doubt that this will be the toughest fight of his young career to date, his esteemed opponent on the8th September is not only far more experienced but also Championship experienced, having been crowned the World Boxing Council (WBC) Asian Boxing Council Welterweight Champion following his victory over Nelson Gulpe in New Delhi back in May 2015 and successive successful defences against Ben Kite in New Delhi back in October 2016 and then against Allan Tanada in Mumbai in August 2017.
By time Goyat faces McConville he may have successfully defended his title for a third time, as he is currently in camp preparing to defend his title in Canada later this month.
His esteemed opponent’s Championship successes do not seem to have fazed McConville one iota, as he made clear when he spoke earlier.
“I’m very grateful for this opportunity it’s something we have been working and training very hard towards.
“I am very excited to fight for my first title and to put on a show against such a decorated and experienced opponent as Goyat.
I want this so bad, I am definitely ready for this.”
Jonny McConville versus Neeraj Goyat for the Professional Boxing Council (PBC) International Silver Welterweight Championship will take place on the Kyle Gallagher promoted Victory Fight Club event at the Jubilee Sports Bank in Liverpool on Saturday 8th September 2018.
Tickets for the event are available from any of the boxers competing or direct from the VFC Ticket Line on 07711 098025
On Saturday night, whilst most British boxing fans were either at the Manchester Arena or watching BT Sport as Tyson Fury made his long awaited return to the ring, a large number of local boxing fans still made the pilgrimage to the Jubilee Sports Bank in Liverpool for local promoter Kyle Gallagher’s latest offering.
Over the past few years Gallagher has built himself a very good reputation for putting on quality shows, one where the local fans know they are in for a great night out and watching well matched all action fights featuring local prospects and on Saturday normal service resumed.
Headlining the show was local unbeaten prospect Martin Freeman, against seriously tough opposition in Latvia’s Dmitrijs Ovsjannikovs.
On his last appearance, on a Gallagher promoted show back in March, Ovsjannikovs secured victory over Freeman’s gym mate Mitchell Walsh, via a second round TKO, which added an extra bit of spice to this particular bout.
The opening round see Freeman on the front foot, Ovsjannikovs seemingly content to counter for the majority of the round, with the occasional attacking foray whenever the opportunity arose.
Initially it was more of the same in round two, however as the round progressed Ovsjannikovs began to get a bit busier, actively taking the fight to the Liverpudlian, but all said and done it was still Freeman’s round.
Freeman’s movement in the third was poor, he was limping at times, and Ovsjannikovs clearly noticed this and started to be more assertive in his approach, so much so that often he would corral Freeman in a corner before letting rip with a flurry of shots.
Freeman’s corner were screaming at their charge to get out of the corner, can’t blame them as it was this tactic by Ovsjannikovs that led to their man Walsh being stopped by the Latvian back in March.
Freeman made it through the round, but now was just the one round up as the third was clearly Ovsjannikovs’.
Freeman’s corner worked frantically on his leg during the break, but when the opening bell for the round rang it was clear to all that the injury was really troubling the Liverpudlian.
The fourth mirrored the third, Ovsjannikovs controlling the proceedings, but Freeman dug in deep and survived the round. Again in the break Freeman’s team worked hard on their charge.
With the scores equal going into the fifth Ovsjannikovs went on the offensive once more, however Freeman, whilst still limping, didn’t just settle for countering, oh no, he decided if it was do or die and started to plant his feet once more and let rip with big shots, so much so that Ovsjannikovs reverted to a defensive approach and countering at times, much to the relief of Freeman’s corner I would think.
The sixth and final round was a stormer, again Ovsjannikovs went hard on the attack in an attempt to back Freeman into a corner, however the Liverpudlian wasn’t having any of it and some excellent toe to toe slugging ensued, it was a thrilling final round, control switching back and forth throughout until the final bell.
After six hard fought rounds Referee Chris Kelly’s scorecard read 58-56 in favour of Martin Freeman.
The penultimate bout of the night sees Widnes, Cheshire’s Jamie Oldfield, in action against Belfast’s Marty Kayes, in a four round Welterweight contest.
Oldfield came into the fight off a first round stoppage win over Edgars Sazanovics on his pro debut back in March, whilst Kayes, a well- known and always busy opponent, came into the fight off the back of two excellent points victories in April, his first wins since July 2016, some sixteen fights previously.
Right from the off it was Oldfield that took the fight to Kayes, the Irishman though stood his ground and countered effectively and so began a fantastic all action round.
It was a great round, you just couldn’t take your eyes off the fight for a second as these two warriors went to war, both digging deep into their arsenals of shots, each time one of them seemed to be taking control, the other would counter with equal force to wrestle control.
Great round just couldn’t split them, definitely a drawn round in my eyes.
More of the same in the second and third, although in both Oldfield seemed to just about secure the rounds due to more effective attacks. I must just mention a couple of exchanges, where Oldfield and Kayes went toe to toe exchanging double handed combinations, both guys letting rip with 10-12 punch combinations at the same time, wow, really enjoyed those.
The fourth and Final round was more or less a mirror image of the first, again I couldn’t split them, score-wise, and was mightily chuffed that I had scored it the same as the Referee Chris Kelly – 40-38 in favour of Jamie Oldfield
Another local debuting fighter, David Tayor, was next up, against Latvia’s Vladimirs Slikovs in a four round Super Middleweight contest.
Both protagonists came out hard and fast, both battling hard for centre ground, what’s more it was clear that neither had any intention of backing down for a second.
Throughout the first round it was hard to split the two, each time either let rip with a shot the other countered in similar fashion, no surprise that even Referee Chris Kelly couldn’t split them on his scorecard.
Round two was once again an all action round, Slikovs maybe being more on the front foot, however even though Taylor was having to defend more often, it was he that landed the most shots, more importantly the most telling shots.
More of the same in the third, with Taylor clearly winning the round, however the fourth, whilst similar to the previous rounds, except now Slikovs was able to get his range right and land some big shots.
After four all action rounds Referee Chris Kelly’s scorecards showed just how close this bout was, as they read 39-38 to David Taylor.
Following the interval local debuting lad Steven Sunners faced Latvian Eduard Belas in a four round Middleweight contest.
Right from the off Sunners went on the attack, however Belas is as savvy as they come and used his experience to keep Sunners from landing a serious shot initially.
However Sunners kept calm and used his jab to great effect to fashion a good opening early in the round and landing a cracking body-shot.
Belas changed tactics and went on the offensive. Sunners didn’t seem that concerned and just kept jabbing to the head, forcing Belas to keep his guard high.
After a few more exchanges, Sunners threw a neat combination, creating just enough of an opening to slip in another good solid shot, this time with the required effect of sending the Latvian to the canvas.
Belas made the count, immediately after the restart Sunners was all over the Latvian like a rash, letting shots off whenever an opening presented itself.
It wasn’t that long until another chink in the Latvian’s armour appeared, Sunners reacted immediately and again sent Belas to the canvas.
Belas again made the count and defended well until the end of the round.
Round two started in much the same way as the previous round ended, with Sunners in full flow and Belas covering up and defending with an occasional shot of his own.
However, after about fifteen seconds or so Sunners landed a big right hand that sent the Latvian heavily to the canvas, Referee Chris Kelly immediately waved the fight off, he didn’t even start the count, instead summoned the medical team to enter the ring and attend to the stricken Belas.
I’m pleased to say Belas was OK and when he eventually rose to his feet, received a warm round of applause from all in attendance.
Official time of the stoppage was just 22 seconds of the second round.
Just prior to the interval the fifth fight of the night pitted local lad Craig Kennerdale against Prestwick, Scotland’s Leon Roberts in a four round Welterweight contest.
This much anticipated contest between two highly rated young fighters was expected to be a cracker, but it turned out to be much more than that it was a sensational fight between two equally matched warriors.
It reminded me very much of the classic Battle Royale between Carl Frampton and Ian Bailey in Belfast a few years back, after that one the entire crowd at the King’s Hall were on their feet applauding both warriors, and it comes as no surprise that after their fight on Saturday night that Kennerdale and Roberts also received a standing ovation from the crowd in Liverpool, boy oh boy they deserved it one hundred percent.
As with Frampton-Bailey, it was non-stop action throughout, Kennerdale and Roberts fought magnificently for every second of each round.
These two serious talents really went for it throughout the contest, control switching between them with such regularity you just couldn’t take your eyes of the fight for a second.
On many occasions this battle had the highly vocal fans standing and applauding the action, especially a couple of double handed exchanges, where both protagonists not only matched each other punch for punch but also flowing combination for combination.
Referee Chris Kelly scored the contest 40-37 in favour of Kennerdale, which to be honest whilst the correct result just doesn’t reflect just how close every single round was.
Loved every second of this fight, it really was something special, so if you get the chance try and watch the video, which I have been told will be on YouTube later this week, definitely well worth watching.
Have to say this was my first choice of Fight of the Night, just as you would have already read above there was definitely more than one contender for that accolade.
The fourth bout of the night pitted Bradley Muldoon against debuting David Calveley in a four rounder.
Prior to the fight there was quite a bit of talk about this match-up on social media, apparently they had fought twice previously, word was that it was the debuting Calveley that had won both.
Right from the opening bell it was Calveley that went straight on the attack, Muldoon initially covered up but soon began to utilise his jab effectively to prevent the hard charging Calveley to corral him against the ropes.
Throughout the round it was Calveley virtually bossed the round from start to finish, effectively keeping Muldoon on the back foot.
More of the same in the second and third, but the fourth was a much more closely fought round, one in which Muldoon held his own.
After four rounds of action Referee scored the contest 40-37 in favour of Calveley, however that wasn’t the end of the matter, as Muldoon protested that it was supposed to be a six rounder and called for the fight to be declared a no-contest. Apparently the promoters running sheet in the changing room showed it as a six rounder not the four as announced at the beginning of the fight and listed by the commission on the schedule.
Liverpool’s Dean Ferreira versus Latvia’s Andrejs Konovalovs in a four round Super Featherweight contest was the third fight on the card.
Ferreira seemed determined to make a big statement in this fight, coming out hard and fast right from the opening bell and letting rip with big shots, Konovalovs initially covered up, but soon realised he’d have to fight his way out of danger and proceeded to do just that.
Ferreira though is as tough as they come and he soon wrestled back control and backed his Latvian foe back onto the ropes before letting rip with fast double handed shots to send Konovalovs down within the first thirty seconds or so.
Konovalovs made it to his feet almost immediately, on the restart Ferreira went straight back on the attack.
Konovalovs got behind his jab in an effort to keep the hard charging Liverpudlian at bay, but that didn’t last for long once Ferreira started targeting the Latvian’s body and on around the one minute mark Ferreira let rip with a big shot to the Latvian’s lower rib, which sent Konovalovs down like a sack of potatoes.
Konovalovs was clearly in distress so referee Chris Kelly stopped the count on three and waved the contest off so the medical team could attend to the Latvian.
Official time of the stoppage was 1 Minute and 3 seconds.
The second fight of the night pitted debuting Lee Cooper against one fight veteran Kyle McNicholas in an all Merseyside four round Super Middleweight contest.
Cooper approached the opening round in determined fashion, taking the fight to McNicholas right from the off.
Throughout the fight Cooper was well and truly on the front foot and very, very focused, Cooper controlled the proceedings more like an established prospect than a debuting fighter.
Don’t get me wrong this wasn’t a one sided contest, far from it, McNicholas fought hard for every second of every round, just Cooper’s performance was exceptional.
After four excellent action filled rounds referee Chris Kelly rightly scored the bout 40-36 in favour of the debuting Lee Cooper.
The opening fight of the night featured Warrington’s Ben Hough in action, against Blackpool’s Malcolm Richardson, in a four round Cruiserweight contest.
Right from the off Hough got behind his jab, Richardson responded in kind, however Hough just doubled up his jab and began to back Richardson up towards the ropes.
What followed next was about a minute or so of engaging action, which see Hough on the front foot with Richardson defending his position, then just as Richardson went to let rip with a shot Hough got through the Blackpool man’s excellent defence with a big right, that sent Richardson down heavily to the canvas.
Immediately referee Chris Kelly waved off the fight and the medical team entered the ring.
I’m pleased to say Richardson was perfectly OK, but must praise both the referee and medical team for the prompt actions, as the way Richardson went down it did look like a full on knockout.
Official time of the stoppage was 1 minute and 16 seconds of the first round.
Once again a great event from Kyle Gallagher and his team, word is his next event will be in September and from what I’ve heard on the grapevine this will be a ‘don’t miss’ event as not only will top prospects from his stable be in action, but also featured on this event will be a number of unbeaten prospects from abroad.
On Friday evening, just 24 hours before local hero Tony Bellew’s showdown with David Haye, Merseyside fight fans turned out in force for a little pugilistic aperitif at Hanger 34 in Liverpool for an event hosted by local promoter Kyle Gallagher.
Boy oh boy were they in for a cracking night of boxing to whet the appetite for the big fight, as in terms of action and drama the fights themselves were quite possibly not that far off being on par with those from the 02 in London the following night.
Heading up the event was local unbeaten prospect Dayle Gallagher, in action against Northern Ireland’s Michael Kelly, however as the Liverpool lad had elected to open up the professional element of the show, for a change I’m starting the report from the first fight rather than last.
Right from the off Gallagher took centre ring and began to pressure his more experienced opponent. Kelly though used his vast experience to good effect to contain the fast starting scouser.
As the round progressed opportunities arose for Gallagher to let rip with some cracking body-shots, Kelly though is well schooled defensively wise, which prevented the young prospect getting too many opportunities before the end of the round.
Round two was a much more open affair, so much so that there was some great toe-to-toe action, much to the delight of the assembled crowd.
Gallagher started to get into a good flow in the third, often backing Kelly up before letting rip with short sharp flurries to body and head. The Irishman held his ground and comfortably boxed his way out of trouble on numerous occasions.
More of the same in the fourth, albeit being fought at higher pace compared to the earlier rounds, Gallagher backing Kelly up before letting rip with combinations to body and head, as before Kelly countered with good effect.
With the fans egging their man on, the pace in the final minute or so was nothing short of frenetic, with both men landing some seriously heavy shots as they slugged it out.
After four highly entertaining rounds, it was Dayle Gallagher’s hand held aloft by Referee Matt Scriven, who scored the bout 40-37.
Following Gallagher-Kelly see local lad Jonny McConville making his professional debut against Northern Ireland’s Phil Townley.
What a fight, McConville really was impressive in his controlled approach, taking the fight to the Irishman and dictating the proceedings for much of the time.
Considering it was his debut pro contest, the youngster had the confidence to showcase his skills to great effect, throughout the fight McConville was able to cut off the ring in style before landing some classy combinations as well as some seriously big shots.
Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t all one way traffic, Townley is always game for a good scrap and was more than happy to trade shots, landing some crackers of his own, but it was the young Liverpool lad that was definitely in control.
Townley got cut from a big punch late in the third, which seemed to ignite the blue touch paper for the young Merseysider, who noticeably stepped up the pace.
In the final round McConville kept up the pressure, backing his opponent up on numerous occasions before letting rip with big shots, followed by some classy combinations.
In the final thirty seconds of so of the round McConville stepped up the pace once more and backed the Irishman onto the ropes before letting rip with a torrent of power shots, Townley struggled to counter so opted to cover up, with no counter punches in sight from the Irishman, referee Matt Scriven had no option but to step in and stop the fight on the two minute and forty five second mark.
Next up was the highly anticipated Heavyweight bout between Sean Turner (1-0-0) and Belfast’s debuting Ryan Kilpatrick.
What a cracking contest, for as long as it lasted that is, both lads went to war right from the opening bell. The crowd were on their feet as the big men went toe-to-toe, each letting rip with a salvo of powerful exocets.
As the clock edged towards the second minute, Turner found the slightest of openings, stepped back a touch and let rip with a massive shot to the body to send the big Irishman to the deck. Amazingly Kilpatrick managed to get back to his feet before the count concluded.
Right from the restart Turner went on the attack, letting rip with further big shots, the final salvo producing a pin point accurate massive shot to the oblique that sent Kilpatrick to the canvas for a second time.
Unfortunately no matter how hard the Irishman tried to get up in time to beat the count again, he just couldn’t do it, leaving referee Matt Scriven no option but to wave off the contest on the one minute and twenty six second mark of the first round.
Side note on this bout, both men really did excel, the quality of the shortened fight was nothing short of sensational. I for one can’t wait to see both fighters in action again and hopefully in the future against each other once more.
The final fight of the night see unbeaten Craig Kennerdale in action against the highly entertaining and experienced Irishman Marty Kayes.
Right from the off Kayes went on the front foot, taking the fight to his younger opponent. The savvy Irishman then proceeded to make life as difficult as possible for Kennerdale.
Kennerdale responded well and as the round unfolded managed to get himself on equal ground, which wasn’t easy as Kayes kept digging into his well stocked locker for shots, and let’s say entertaining ‘professional’ moves, to throw a spanner in the works and disrupt the Merseysider’s game plan.
As the second round progressed Kennerdale began to turn the tables on the Irishman, showing Kayes that he too has a well stocked bag of tricks and clever moves, so much so that for long periods of time he was able to keep the wily Irishman on the back foot.
More of the same in the third, however the forth was a much closer fought affair, with the upper hand being equally shared between the two protagonists throughout the round.
After four highly entertaining, action packed rounds Referee Matt Scriven scored the contest 40-38 in favour of Craig Kennerdale.
Top class event featuring closely matched all action fights, what more could anyone ask for, as such plaudits to promoter Kyle Gallagher for hosting what can only be described as the perfect prelude, for the Merseyside fans that is, ahead of the impending big London fight night.
The subject of this interview is Dayle Gallagher, who is proving to be one of the most exciting young prospects to emerge on the Merseyside boxing scene over the past few years.
On Friday March 3rd Dayle is set to compete in his toughest fight to date, a six rounder at the Hanger 34 Club in Liverpool, against Belfast’s Michael Kelly, a proven Championship campaigner, who in the past year or so has fought France’s Mohamed Larabi for the WBF International title and more recently Scotland’s Lee McAllister for the WBF Inter-Continental belt, as well as competed on huge televised events in Russia and Sweden.
Unbeaten in four outings to date, two by early stoppages, against Alekseis Nikitenko, in May 2015 and Jak Johnson in December 2016, and two by solid points decision, Marty Kayes in April 2016 and Phil Townley in June the same year, Dayle has already caught the eye of some of the biggest names in the sport, including two time World Champion Amir Khan.
In fact courtesy of Mr Khan and his team, Dayle firmly earned his place in the History books of the sport, as the very first winner of a Professional Boxing contest in Pakistan, following his excellent win over Belfast’s Phil Townley back in June last year.
More on that later, as right now I think its time to get on with the interview.
Gianluca
Thank you for talking with me today Dayle, whilst obviously this interview is regarding your professional career, especially the upcoming fight against Michael Kelly on March 3rd, I would like to start the interview off with you telling the readers a little about your non-professional boxing, especially your amateur career, which I have understand started out with a victory over one of the top guys in the division at that time.
Dayle
I started boxing at the age of 14, after training for over a year I had a few inter-club events before having my first amateur bout which was on short notice to represent Liverpool my home city, which was against the Welsh number one at the time in his home city Wrexham.
I always remember my coach saying no one wants to fight this lad so go knock him out, and in the second round after putting him down twice already the referee had no choice to stop it.
I was told by numerous of people I had a bright future in the sport but my focus at the time was to become a professional football player which ended in a real bad injury and after 18 months of physio and rehabilitation on my injury.
I finally got back into boxing for fitness and immediately fell back in love with the sport, after just a few months of training I took a white-collar fight in Newcastle.
After winning that I got loads of good feedback and realised I need to start taking this serious and see how far I can go in the sport, I won Northern area, British and European titles on the unlicensed scene then realised I need to turn to the professional side of the game.
Gianluca
Your pro career got off to a flying start, with a stoppage victory over Latvian Aleksejs Nikitenko, firstly how did it feel boxing in the professional ranks for the first time and secondly can you give your view of the fight please?
Dayle
Even though I had been in the ring plenty of times before, my professional debut had me more nervous then any other fight, but the feeling couldn’t of been better.
The fight didn’t last long about 1 minute I think before the referee had to interfere and call a halt to the fight which led to my first win in the professional ranks and is a day I will never forget.
Gianluca
It was almost a year before you were back in the ring, against Marty Kayes back in April last year, but even with such a long time between fights you were in top form, beating Marty on points. How did you manage to keep motivated during this time and again please give the readers your view of the fight?
Dayle
It was very hard because I was going through a lot of complications with my promoter at the time and couldn’t fight and I thought I might never fight again, but after a long period out, my brother helped me and got me a fight.
I knew a lot about Marty and knew it wouldn’t be easy knowing how experienced he was, but I wanted to show everyone that even with all this time out how good I can be and got the win and felt like I’d never had time out of the ring.
Gianluca
Your next fight, against Phil Townley, came just a few months later and what’s more was overseas on an historic event, the first Pro Boxing event ever to take place in Pakistan. Can you please tell the readers firstly how this came about and also tell the readers not just about the fight but also the whole experience?
Dayle
I didn’t really believe it was true when I first found out about Pakistan. I had just come back from my holiday and next minute am on the phone to Amir Khan’s uncle about a possible fight in Pakistan.
Even though I knew I wasn’t at my fittest or at my preferred weight I couldn’t miss out on the opportunity so I stepped up two weight classes just for the opportunity.
Within a couple of hours of the fight getting offered to me I was in Bolton at the Amir Khan Academy filling out all my paper work and my visa and literally three days later was on a plane going to fight in Pakistan.
On arriving in Pakistan I was treated like royalty, my bags where collected and carried for me. I was greeted by the Pakistan Army and Police and escorted to my hotel.
I could never thank the people enough from Pakistan on how they made my time there so welcome, it’s a great country with great people even when I fought they where screaming my name, so much so that I thought I was back in Liverpool with a home crowd.
It was one of my most amazing experiences of my life and one that I will have for the rest of my life as I made history as the very first professional boxer to fight and win on Pakistan soil.
Gianluca
Your fourth fight, against Jak Johnson back in December and on home turf once more, was both dramatic and I would expect anti-climatic for you. I was there so know all that occurred but could you enlighten the readers about the dramas that unfolded that night from your view please?
Dayle
If you’ve seen the whole fight it looks like I wasn’t too happy at the end but that’s because am a fighter and all I want to do is fight.
I trained so hard and felt in the best shape of my life so when the fight was over In 30 seconds it annoyed me but that’s just something I have to deal with its boxing and fights can be over with one shot.
After watching it back I was happy with my performance and I’m blessed with punching power that can pop someone’s shoulder out of its socket with one shot.
Gianluca
On the 3rd March you’ll be in action once more at the Hanger 34 in Liverpool, where you are due to face Ireland’s Michael Kelly. Do you know much about Michael and his fighting style and also how do you see this fight panning out?
Dayle
I know about the people he’s fought and what he’s achieved I know it will be a tough fight but that’s why my team and me asked for the fight.
I don’t watch my opponents on old fights because they could turn up an box a completely different fight so I like to figure them out when am in there.
I think it will be an entertaining fight for people to watch, but I see it ending with a knockout, if I hit anybody at welterweight with one of my power shots in eight-ounce gloves I will be shocked to see anybody still standing there in front of me.
Gianluca
So out of the fights you’ve had to date, whether pro or not, which has been your favourite and why?
Dayle
My favourite has to be Pakistan making history and challenging myself, it was a big risk stepping up two weight divisions but I like a challenge and this is why I’m in this fight game, and also boxing in front of two time World Champion Amir Khan and getting great feedback from him, you can’t ask for anything better than that.
Gianluca
How would you describe your fighting style?
Dayle
My fighting style I believe is different to the average British style boxer which I think makes me stand out more, I’m a counter fighter with power, I’m a southpaw and I know I can be a nightmare for any boxer out there on the boxing circuit.
Gianluca
Should you be successful on the 3rd March, you will be unbeaten in five, whilst perhaps it’s still a bit early to be thinking of Championship accolades, I’m sure that you must have been thinking about opportunities like that already, as such could you please outline your future plans for the readers.
Dayle
I’m in the sport to win titles, it’s a dream of mine that I know I can achieve and when the opportunity comes I will take it.
I will keep climbing the ladder winning fights and when my team think the time is right, I will get my title shot and I will become Champion.
Gianluca
I’m sure you must have been an avid watcher of pro boxing even as a youngster, as such my next question is which fighters, past or present, have had the most influence on you and your career?
Dayle
Growing up from a young age I used to watch videos of Roy Jones Jr, I love his cockiness and confidence.
I always wanted to be an entertainer and give people the feeling I had when watching him.
My favourite fighters that I like to watch a lot of now is Floyd Mayweather, Adrian Broner, Chris Eubank Jr and Errol Spence Jr, these are the type of fighters I like to take a lot from and try to make into my own style.
Gianluca
Moving away from the fights etc., who are the main people that make up Team Gallagher?
Dayle
Even though I’m the one who gets in there to fight I couldn’t do it without my team, from my brother Kyle who prepares me for every fight, to all my teammates at engine room.
It’s not just my team though; my sponsors also help me to get ready for fight night, Goodness Grill, who prepares my food, which help me with my diets. Spartan Dynamic who train me for my strength and conditioning and get me in great shape and make me feel stronger than ever.
James Harris who helps me with everything behind the scenes like interviews.
My friends my family and my girlfriend these all help me behind the scenes when I’m moody from weight cutting and preparing for fight night.
But the most important people on my team are the people who believe in my dream and buy tickets off me for my fights, because what a lot of people don’t realise without ticket sales fights can’t happen and I will always be thankful to every last person who buys a ticket from me!
Gianluca
Where do you train and what is your training schedule?
Dayle
I train in Engine Room Boxing Club, Sports Direct Fitness and Spartan Dynamic, my normal routine for fight night is 6am I wake up have a banana then straight to Sports Direct Fitness for my running.
I like to get between 4-6 miles in every morning then I will do a bit of bag work and get a sauna, then I will go home and rest then at 10:30am depending on which day Monday, Wednesday, Friday I will be at Engine Room until at least Midday working on my boxing.
Tuesday and Thursday I will be at Spartan Dynamic until Midday working on my strength and conditioning, then I will go and pick up freshly prepared meals from Goodness Grill and then have work from 2:30pm until 9:30pm.
It’s a hard routine to maintain but for my dream it’s all worth it.
Gianluca
What would you say your favourite part of training is?
Dayle
I don’t really have a favourite part of training; my favourite part is probably getting told I’m finished because it’s really hard work.
It’s an addiction training that I couldn’t go without, but if I had to choose one thing it would probably be sparring. It’s the closest thing to fighting and there’s nothing better than landing devastating punches on opponents.
Gianluca
Outside boxing, what is your favourite sport?
Dayle
Outside of boxing my favourite sport is football, I love to watch my team Everton but any game in general I will just watch for entertainment
Gianluca
Besides sport how else do you relax outside boxing?
Dayle
Boxing is constantly on my brain when I have spare time I watch boxing videos or talk about it to people who don’t really care but it’s in my blood and I just can’t help it
Gianluca
These days Social Media is very much an important tool for professional sports people; do you utilize Social Media to engage with your fans?
Dayle
I find social media is very important these days for professional athletes and I always interact with fans, because anybody who takes time to ask me anything about my career deserves a reply, I’m not a big name in the sport yet so to have people asking me questions about my boxing really means a lot to me.
Gianluca
Finally is there anything you want to say to your fans?
Dayle
Thank you to everyone who follows my career and believes in me it won’t be long until I’m at the top, thank you.
Dayle Gallagher versus Michael Kelly headlines the Kyle Gallagher Fight Club Promotions event at Hanger 34 in Liverpool on Friday 3rdMarch 2017, which will be broadcast on BOOM TV. Tickets are available from boxers competing or call Fight Club Ticket Line 07711 098025.
Hugely popular Liverpudlian star will put his Cage Warriors featherweight world title on the line in the main event at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on April 1.
The fighting pride of Liverpool Paddy ‘The Baddy’ Pimblett will make his eagerly-awaited return to action in the main event at Cage Warriors 82.
Defending CW featherweight world champion Pimblett will take on fellow Brit Nad Narimani as he bids to further cement his position as one of the UK’s fastest-rising MMA stars.
Pimblett captured Cage Warriors gold when he knocked out French veteran Johnny Frachey for the vacant title at CW 78 in Liverpool last September.
He followed up his title win with a successful defence of his belt, edging out The Ultimate Fighter semi-finalist Julian Erosa at Cage Warriors Unplugged at the BT Sport studios last November.
Aged just 22, Pimblett returns to his stomping ground at the Echo Arena looking to continue his remarkable rise as one of the MMA world’s hottest young prospects.
He’ll face a stern test against Narimani, who enters the bout with a 9-2 pro record and took the previous Cage Warriors featherweight champ Alex Enlund all the way to the scorecards in a closely-contested battle at Cage Warriors 73, with just one point separating the two after five hard-fought rounds.
Narimani comes into the bout with Pimblett riding a two-fight win streak, with victories over Jeremy Petley (first-round KO) and Daniel Requeijo (third-round submission) setting up his April 1 clash with ‘The Baddy’.
Speaking ahead of his hometown return, Pimblett said: “I won the title in Liverpool, so there’s absolutely no way I’m going to lose it here.”
“This is my city, my arena and my title. Expect another huge party – and another huge win – when I come back home to defend my belt.”
Cage Warriors President Graham Boylan said: “Paddy’s the hottest prospect in the sport on this side of the pond and the prospect of seeing him defending his featherweight world title in front of his hometown fans is a mouth-watering prospect for MMA fans.
“Nad will take him to the limit, just as he did with our previous featherweight champ Alex Enlund, so expect a tough test and a great matchup.”
Tickets for Cage Warriors 82 are available from the Echo Arena, from just £25: bit.ly/CW82tkts
CAGE WARRIORS FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP is Europe’s leading and longest-running mixed martial arts promotion. An Irish-owned brand with offices in the UK & Ireland, CWFC is the sport’s fastest-growing organisation, having staged 80 events in 12 countries across three different continents since its establishment in 2002. Home to some of biggest stars of MMA’s past, present and future.
On Friday night, at the Kyle Gallagher (Fight Club) promoted event at the Devonshire House Hotel in Liverpool, the British & Irish Boxing Authority (BIBA) successfully sanctioned their inaugural event, since taking over the British and Irish operations of the Malta Boxing Commission (MBC) earlier this month.
The first bout of the night, see Lee Clayton make his professional debut against two-bout veteran Thomas Murry.
The two combatants went at it hammer and tongs from the off, both men vying for centre ring with a passion. As the round progressed into the second minute Clayton began to dominate, letting rip with vicious body shots whenever the opportunity arose.
By the third minute Clayton stepped it up even further and then on around two minute thirty mark Clayton landed a peach of a body shot to send Murry down. The Mancunian lad initially attempted to rise but was clearly in a lot of pain and motioned to Referee Jimmy Byrne that he couldn’t continue and the bout was waived off at the 2 minute and 42 second mark.
Local lad Dayle Clayton faced Belfast’s Marty Kayes in the second bout of the night. From the opening bell right through to the closing bell of the bout these two warriors battled it out much to the delight of the packed house, after four very closely fought rounds Referee Jimmy Byrne scored the bout 40-36 in favour of Dayle Gallagher, whose record now stands as 2-0.
Third bout of the night see Hyde, Cheshire’s Will O’Reilly make his professional debut against Newark, Nottingham’s Vaclav Skromach.
Again another full on war from start to finish, both men giving their all for the full four rounds, as with the Clayton-Hayes bout each round was very close, in this case so close that Referee Jimmy Byrne scored the bout 39-37 in favour of debut kid Will O’Reilly.
Next up see Liverpool’s Lee Boyce against Castlerae, Ireland’s John Waldron. Another cracking all action bout.
Boyce dominated the majority of the first round, using his exceptional movement to keep the Irishman out of range, before moving forward and letting rip with clean sharp shots to body or head.
Many in attendance thought it was going to be an early finish, after Waldron was sent down following a vicious body shot in the first, but the Irishman is of much tougher stock, as proved in the second round which Waldron won.
Third and fourth rounds were full on Battle Royales with Boyce capturing one and Waldron the other, so after four sensational rounds of boxing it was clearly going to be close, so no surprise that Referee Jimmy Byrne’s scorecards showed Boyce the victor by a very close 38-37, the first round knockdown being the difference. A seriously great fight and surely a rematch in the future should be on the cards.
The fifth bout of the night saw former England Amateur star Nathan Russo making his debut against the equally talented and also debuting James McDonald.
The first minute or so of the bout was sensational to put it mildly, first one lad dominated the other and then visa versa, however as the round progressed Russo began to get major success with vicious body-shots and big lefts to the head, so much so around the two minute thirty mark Russo stepped it up even further, forcing McDonald to cover up much more than he had in the early parts of the round, then just as the bell to end the round was about to be rung Russo let rip with a huge left to the head, sending McDonald straight down and out.
Referee Jimmy Byrne realized the instant the punch landed it was a knockout and dived straight to the prone lads side to check his condition before signaling to the ringside medical team to enter the ring to attend to the injured warrior.
The crowd stood respectfully quietly, as did Nathan Russo, as the medical team went to work on the prone McDonald, but when eventually McDonald was assisted to the stool some two or three minutes later the entire crowd to a man (or woman) stood and applauded.
Although James McDonald seemed to be fully recovered, he was taken to hospital for checks to be on the safe side.
The final bout of the night see local lad Jay Carney against pro debuting Jak Johnson, from Newcastle.
Everyone was expecting this to be a serious good fight, as these two lads had fought each other previously in the amateurs, and they were to proved right.
What a first round, these two really went for it, both lads boxing beautifully throughout. Early in the second Johnson began to take control, landing some pinpoint perfect shots, Carney though is as tough as they come and weathered the onslaught and as the round progressed fought back magnificently and began to regain control.
Around the two minute thirty mark Carney stepped things up and started landing some big shots, causing Johnson to cover up, however this tactic opened up the body, which Carney took advantage of, throwing a huge body shot to send Johnson down.
As with Thomas Murry, initially Johnson tried to rise but was too winded to do so. Referee Jimmy Byrne waived the fight off on the two minute forty five second mark of the second round.
Following the event British & Irish Boxing Authority Vice President and CEO Gianluca Di Caro spoke briefly about the event.
“We couldn’t have asked for a better event to launch the British & Irish Boxing Authority, Kyle (promoter Kyle Gallagher) had put together a fantastic show, he’s without doubt one of the UK’s best promoters, his attention to detail is first class.
The venue was superb and the matching of the bouts was first class and more importantly, well to us, featured both British and Irish boxers, so we are over the moon he has chosen to be with the British & Irish Boxing Authority.
I have nothing but praise for every single fighter tonight, every single one of them fought their hearts out and put on a great show.
I am pleased to report that James McDonald is fine, but have to admit I was worried as it looked quite serious at the time, and to be honest if it wasn’t for the quick reactions of Jimmy (Referee Jimmy Byrne), John (Dr John Oates) and Chris (Trauma Medic Chris Say) and his team it could so easily have been.
With our first event done and dusted, it’s onwards and upwards. Events are coming in thick and fast, so much so that next weekend we have two events, Lee Murtagh’s event at the Aria Suite in Leeds, that will feature the pro debut of the excellent Sophie Varley as well as a full card of well matched bouts on the Friday and on SaturdayThomas Melville’s quadruple WBF title headed show at the Lagoon Leisure Centre in Paisley.”
Khan-Quaye Title Fight Support For Roy Jones Jr-Tony Moran September 12th in Liverpool
Bradford’s Tasif Khan is just over a week away from the biggest fight of his career to date, when he faces two time Commonwealth title challenger, Ghana’s Isaac Quaye, for the World Boxing Federation (WBF) International Super Flyweight Championship, on the Stephen Vaughan promoted LEGEND event, at the Aintree Equestrian Centre on Saturday 12thSeptember, which is headlined by Roy Jones Jr’s first ever UK fight, against Tony Moran.
Khan, who only returned to the fray, following a twenty five month sabbatical from the sport, in January this year more than made up for his time out of the ring with three top class wins.
In the first of these bouts Khan disposed of Richard Voros in just over a minute of the first round, he then followed that with an almost identical time victory over Ladislav Miko in March, which lined him up for a shot at the International Masters title in May, against Mikheil Soloninkini, which Khan secured with an excellent unanimous points victory.
To describe Khan’s excitement about getting this opportunity to fight for the WBF title so soon after his return is an understatement, but when compared to his feelings about fighting for the title on the undercard of Roy Jones Jr versus Tony Moran made that pale in comparison, as he made clear when he spoke about the upcoming event.
“When I first got told I’ll be fighting on the Roy Jones bill, it was absolutely amazing, yeah amazing to fighting on the same show as Roy Jones.
I grew up watching him fight, in my eyes he’s one of the greatest fighters ever, not because of the accolade of titles that he’s won, the number of belts he’s won, from Middleweight upwards, but it’s unheard of to say to anyone these days that a middleweight is going to go all the way up to Heavyweight and win a World title and in those days the best fought the best, Roy Jones for me is one of the all time best fighters and to be on the same bill as him is all credit to the MBC (Malta Boxing Commission), Stephen Vaughan and Francis warren and I can’t thank them and everyone involved in this massive event enough and obviously for letting me fight on the event.”
Khan then went on talk about his opponent on September 12th – Isaac Quaye
“I’ve got full respect for Isaac Quaye, he’s got a good record, he’s been in with the best and he’s a tough Ghanaian as we know, so come September 12th we will be ready for him.
I can’t believe this, it’s been a short journey, but a sweet journey, the only difficult time I’ve had was the time away from the ring, I had a gap of about three years but obviously the MBC, all those involved with the MBC and the team around me have pulled together and gave me these opportunities.
My last fight gave me the opportunity to get my first belt (International Masters) of my career, so onwards and upwards.
I don’t look past any opponent and always train accordingly, we know Isaac Quaye is a tough opponent and in terms of World ranking he’s a lot higher than me, so it’s a win, win situation for me because I’ll prepare, like every fight, as if I’m the underdog, no doubt he’ll be coming in as the favourite and look to upset me and the crowd.
I have full respect for him outside the ring, but inside the ring I have no mercy for anyone, I want to go in their and cause damage as I want to win, so let’s get it on.”
Tickets, priced £40, £60, £100 and VIP Ringside £150 for the Stephen Vaughan Promoted Roy Jones Jr. versus Tony Moran MBC International Cruiserweight Championship headed LEGEND event at the Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool on Saturday September 12th 2015 are available now, buy on line atwww.tkoboxoffice.comandwww.vaughanboxing.tvor call 0333 200 0905.
The open to the public press conference for the Stephen Vaughan LEGEND event, headlined by the Roy Jones Jr. versus Tony Moran MBC International and World Boxing Federation (WBF) Intercontinental Cruiserweight championships bout, will take place at 1:30pm this coming Wednesday, the 22nd July at the BIERKELLER, 6 Thomas Steers Way, Liverpool One, L1 8LW.
In addition to Roy Jones Jr and Tony Moran in attendance will also be many of those that will be in action on the night, including;
Paul Economides, who will be defending his WBF Intercontinental Super Bantamweight title against Prosper Ankrah.
Tasif Khan, who will be challenging Isaac Quaye for the WBF International Super Flyweight championship.
Nick Quigley, who faces undefeated Nathan Decastro
Antonio Counihan, who faces Ghana’s Michael Ansah
Undefeated Liverpool based Russian hot prospect David Agadzhanyan.
Lee Boyce, who takes on Scunthorpe’s Matthew Pepper.
Unbeaten Jay Carney, who faces unbeaten Mathew Fitzsimons from Belfast.
Local prospect Dayle Gallagher, who faces tough opposition from Matt Scriven
Unbeaten Heavyweight Rob Beech, who will take on Blackpool’s Mathew Ellis
Plus local prospects Lee Monaghan, Lee Milner and Carl Donohue, who will all be making their pro debuts on September 12th.
Tickets, priced £40, £60, £100 and VIP Ringside £150 for the Stephen Vaughan Promoted Roy Jones Jr. versus Tony Moran MBC International Cruiserweight Championship headed LEGEND event at the Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool on Saturday September 12th 2015 will be available for purchase at the press conference or are available to buy on line at www.tkoboxoffice.comand www.vaughanboxing.tv
Stephen Vaughan Jr. announced earlier today that 5 Division World Champion Roy Jones Jr. will be coming to Liverpool, England to headline his upcoming event at the Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool on Saturday 12th September 2015.
Jones Jr, claimed his first World title with a unanimous points victory over Bernard Hopkins at the RFK Stadium in Washington DC back in May 1993 for the IBF version, which he successfully defended against Thomas Tate before challenging and beating James Toney for his IBF Super Middleweight crown in 1994.
Jones Jr. successfully defended the Super Middleweight title five times, against Antoine Bird, Vinnie Pazienza, Tony Thornton, Eric Lucas and Bryant Brannan, before moving up to Light Heavyweight to successfully challenge Mike McCallum for the WBC interim World Light Heavyweight title in November 1996.
Four months later Jones Jr. was back in the ring again, to challenge Montel Griffin for the WBC World Light Heavyweight Crown, however instead of securing the win Jones jr. was disqualified striking Griffin after he went down on one knee in the ninth round.
In the rematch in August ’97, Jones Jr. finally secured the WBC Light Heavyweight crown with a first round knockout to add his third World crown in a third division.
In July 2008 Jones Jr. added the WBA Light Heavyweight title to his collection after unifying the WBC and WBA Light Heavyweight championships with a unanimous points victory over reigning WBA champ Lou Del Valle.
Jones successfully defended both the WBC and WBA titles against Otis Grant and Richard Frazier, before unifying the division with the IBF Light Heavyweight belt with a points victory over Reggie Johnson in 1999.
In January 2000 Jones Jr. started off the new Millenium with a unified defense victory over David Telesco, which he followed up with a successful defense of the three titles with a eleventh round stoppage victory over Richard Hall in May.
In September 2000 Jones Jr. added the IBO version to his collection after defending Champ Eric Harding retired in the tenth round of their bout at the New Orleans Arena.
Jones Jr. successfully defended the four titles against Derek Harmon in February 2001 before successfully challenging World Boxing Federation Champion Julio Cesar Gonzalez for his crown as well as adding the vacant IBA version to his collection.
Jones Jr. successfully defended his six Light Heavyweight titles against Glen Kelly and Clinton Woods, before surprising most observers when he moved to the Heavyweight division to successfully challenge John Ruiz for the WBA World Heavyweight crown in March 2003.
In November of the same year Jones Jr. went back to the Light Heavy ranks and successfully defended his WBC, WBA and IBO titles against Antonio Tarver, six months later the pair would face off against one and other again, this time it was Tarver that emerged victorious and claiming the WBC, WBA, IBO, IBA and vacant World Boxing Foundation titles.
In September of that year Jones Jr. lost the IBF version to Glen Johnson following the Floridian being knocked out in the ninth. In October 2005 Jones Jr then unsuccessfully challenged Antonio Tarver for the IBO Light Heavyweight title.
With no World titles in his possession Jones Jr successfully challenged Prince Badi Ajamu in July 2006 for the WBO NABO Light Heavyweight Crown and almost one year to day later beat Anthony Hanshaw for the vacant IBC Light Heavyweight World title.
In March 2009 Jones Jr beat Omar Sheika for the vacant WBO NABO title, which he successfully defended against Jeff Lacy before unsuccessfully challenging Danny Green in December 2009 for his IBO Cruiserweight crown.
It would not be until December 2013 that Jones Jr. was to be in World Championship action once more, when he travelled to Moscow to successfully challenge Zineddine Benmakhlouf for the vacant WBUv World Cruiserweight title.
Jones Jr Successfully defended the title against Courtney Fry, Hany Atlyo and most recently Paul Vasquez.
Next up for the legendary five division World Champion, when he fights in Liverpool on September 12th, well at this point there are a number of opponents in the hat, so we will have to wait a short while until terms are agreed with some of those names.
Tickets for the Stephen Vaughan Promoted Roy Jones Jr. headed event at the Aintree Equestrian Centre in Liverpool on Saturday September 12th 2015 will go on sale shortly, call 0333 200 0905 and the tickets will also be available on line atwww.tkoboxoffice.com and www.vaughanboxing.tv from next Monday.