A surprise to nobody, some very questionable judging allowed a weight drained Josh Taylor to keep his four light welterweight championship belts after being outworked for the majority of the contest by Jack Catterall at the Hydro arena in Glasgow on Saturday night. A depressing end to an otherwise entertaining occasion but we’ve come to expect no less from this sport. The fight was quite scrappy with a lot of holding but Catterall was clearly doing the better work in the early rounds with Taylor unusually lethargic. Catterall continued to bank the rounds and seemed to have cemented the victory by dropping Taylor with a left hook in the 8th. Both fighters had a point deducted and Taylor rallied in the last three rounds but surely Catterall had done enough. He’d quietened an incredibly noisy crowd and won at least 7 rounds plus the knock down.

Not in the eyes of two of the judges for some reason. 114-111 and 113-112 to Taylor were unfathomable and even 113-112 to Caterall seemed a little generous to Taylor. Twitter will rage and all sorts of accusations will be thrown around but will anything actually change? Probably not. We’ll get the tired old arguments that you have to “rip the title away” from the holder rather than just win the fight or that the championship rounds should somehow count double in the scoring. I’ve honestly got no practical suggestion on how this gets fixed because I don’t think it’s possible to remove the subconscious bias that exists for the home fighter/champion no matter how good the intentions from the judges.

Before the malodorous judging spoiled things, the atmosphere at the Hydro had been noisy and fun.

The chief support was Robeisy Ramierez vs Eric Donovan at featherweight. Donovan was brave but the gulf in class was evident and Rameirez won by TKO in the third. Because of the early finish there was quite a gap before the main event so the DJ played all the school disco favourites that the crowd lapped up. It would have been nice to have the main event just start at 9:30pm but it seems that there’s some kind of law against that. Probably from the same law-book that says there has to be dodgy officiating to ruin everybody’s night with great regularity.

Prior to this Ebonie Jones fought to a draw with Effy Kathopuli, also at featherweight and then we were treated to the first Scottish heavyweight title fight in 71 years. A bizarre fight that was little above white collar standard featuring the chiselled former rugby player Nick Campbell and the decidedly un-chiselled Jay McFarlane. McFarlane had an upbringing that “troubled” doesn’t even begin to describe so he’s done well to be punching for pay at all really. What the fight lacked in quality, it made up for with the enthusiasm of the protagonists. On a few occasions it looked as though McFarlane and his bright green hair might be about to keel over with exhaustion and concerningly for his backers, the same could be said of Campbell a couple of times.

Eventually, in the 6th Campbell worked his way on top and I was thinking it might be time for the ref to step in but then McFarlane rallied and threw the kitchen sink at Campbell and backed him up to the ropes. That was the last hurrah for McFarlane though as Campbell dropped him in the 7th, a combination of a right hand and exhaustion so this time the referee did intervene to save McFarlane from further punishment. McFarlane’s fitness might be dreadful but there’s no questioning his heart. Campbell will also have to work on his fitness if he’s to progress above this level. Overall, it was an enjoyable night with a great atmosphere. It’s just a shame that the judging was the weak link and predictably so which makes it even more galling. On the upside I was able to make it back into Glasgow in time for a couple of pints of Juta in the Drum and Monkey which went some way to removing the nasty taste of the decision.

The post The Judges Don’t Work, They Just Make It Worse! first appeared on British Boxing Blog.

The most elusive prize and the man who holds this accolade leaves no arguments as to who is the man in the division! Since the start of the 4 belt era there have been a handful of men who have been able to accomplish this feat! Before we get into that, let’s have a look at the current landscape of the 17 traditional divisions in 2022.

Starting from the top and the heavyweight division! We were seemingly so close to getting that all British undisputed clash that we have long yearned for between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury only for it to be snatched away in a courtroom by an arbitrator!! Fury went on to have a fight of the year with Deontay Wilder and put a definite end to their trilogy where as Anthony Joshua’s world came crumbling back down as Ukranian Olyksandr Uysk produced in my opinion the performance of 2021 and left London with 3 of the 4 major belts! If common sense applies we will have a semi final heavyweight encounter in the first half of the year and then by the time the year is out we’ll have all belts aligned.

The cruiserweight division sees 4 champions who are all looking at very different landscapes. IBF Supremo Marius Briedis seems more intent on showing his creative side with raps, memes and tattoos to lure Jake Paul into a fight! Lawrence Okolie is desperately trying to get another champ in the ring before he outgrows the cruiser weight division and the WBA champion Arsen Goulamirian maybe his best best option after he makes his next defence on the 27th of this month. Ilunga Makabu was seemingly in line for Boxings golden ticket against Canelo Alvarez but that plan seems to have dissipated and he may also turn his attention to Undisputed
Just this week it has been confirmed that current unified champion Artur Beterbiev will match up with WBO kingpin Joe Smith jr in the search for there to be a last man standing at 175! With Canelo looking to face off against Dmitry Bivol also then we could be left with one man at the top of the mountain – A Beterbiev Vs Bivol in Russia or Canelo in Vegas is a mouth watering prospect for us fans

2021 will be remembered as the year Canelo swept aside all comers to earn the write and further rubber stamp himself as one of the greatest Mexican fighters of all time. Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant were no match for the ginger juggernaut who seemingly is looking to repeat this feat at 175lbs by the time he calls it a day on his career.
Middleweight is another division where there is no one who can take claim to be the man. Jermall Charlo who loves nothing more than a domestic dust up but doesn’t seem to have any interest in fights against fellow champions like Demetrius Andrade who give his fellow American 7 million reason to say yes but the hot headed, lesser talented twin Charlo declined. With Andrade not getting the big fights it is looking like he will step up to 168 and potentially Janibek alimkhanuly waiting in the wings to seize the WBO title. The elder stateman of the division who’s career is coming to an end, Gennady Golovkin is travelling to the land of the rising sun to face off against Ryota Murata to at least leave us with 3 champions but there seems no hopes of a undisputed champ anytime soon at 160
Another division where there is a real desire to see an undisputed champion as we get the rematch between Argentinian Bryan Castano and American Jermall Charlo. If Charlo gets the nod I don’t think it will be very long before he chucks all the belts up in the air but if Castano can do the job (and many thought he did first time around) there could be a undisputed champion at the end of 2022.

Yordenis Ugas pleads to the WBA to allow him to skip his mandatory challenge and get into this Unified title shot with inactive and injury recovering Errol Spence Jr. The truth is that these men are both petrified of getting in the ring with Terrence Crawford and whoever gets the victory in Texas I have no doubt will continue to avoid the Alabama phenomenon so although there should be a straight line to undisputed I wouldn’t hold my breath….

Sunday 26th of Febuary Jack Catterall gets the chance to capture Josh Taylor’s recently captured loot and walk away with all 4 belts! Taylors run to undisputed has not been done the easy way and it is hard to see him taking his foot off the gas and relinquish his hard work easily.

Lightweight is a division where lets be real we should have a undisputed champion but the WBC and their franchise belt has made undisputed disputed! The tattooed emperor George Kombosos Jr with 2 nations in his heart feels he is the man and is demanding his challengers enter his colliseum 8000 miles down under. With the ball in the court of Devin Haney and Vasyl Lomachenko it is a case of the first man to make a deal gets his shot.

Super featherweight and featherweight both have 4 seperate champions with no real sign of Undisputed in sight! Superstar in the making Shakur Stevenson will be looking to at least unify when he faces Oscar Valdez in April whilst Chris Colbert chases his shot. Potentially Kenichi Ogawa is being set up for a brit in Zelfa Barrett or Joe Cordina as they make a crack at the 130crowns. At featherweight the long hostage holding Gary Russell jr has thankfully being disposed of his crown by Mark Magasyo who is now being targeted by the other divisons bandit Leo Santa Cruz. I can see the winners of Mick Conlan and Leigh Wood facing either Kiko Martinez or Josh Warrington to clean up this division.
Super Bantamweight there is a perfectly balanced and belter of a fight with Stephen Coolboy Fulton and MJ Akhmadaliev as the 2 unified kins that need to be paried together like a burger and a bun to crown a king at 126

The widely regarded top 5 pound for pounder Naoya Inoue although considered as the best fighter at 118lbs will be looking to make himself undisputed against Joel Riel Casimero once he gets through his mandatory in Paul Butler (Yes Butler can win but will need to roll back many years to do so!). We all now the gentleman and never aging Nonito Donaire is very much up for a rematch with his Japanese friend and rival as soon as possible

Below Bantamweight the remaining 4 divisions have 4 champions but with some mega talented fighters such as Chocolatito, Juan Estrada, Julio Martinez, Sunny Edwards, Jesse Rodriguez and Kazuto Ioka all capable of going up and down in weight we may not get undisputed but could see some absolute fantastic battle royals with the unheralded smaller men.

In the 4 belt Era there have been 6 Undisputed champion (Womens divisions not included)

1. Bernard Hopkins unified all four middleweight titles in September 2004.
2. Jermain Taylor won all four middleweight titles from Hopkins in July 2005.
3. Terence Crawford unified all four light welterweight titles in August 2017.
4. Oleksandr Usyk unified all four cruiserweight titles in the inaugural World Boxing Super Series tournament in July 2018.
5. Josh Taylor unified all four light welterweight titles in May 2021.
6. Canelo Álvarez unified all four super middleweight titles in November 2021.

With two undisputed champions in 2021 there has been a push from fans and promoters to demand more of these fights. Great fighters such as Oscar De La Hoya, Floyd Mayweather Jr, Roy Jones Jr and Manny Pacquiao were unable to get the job done and fortunate men like Jermain Taylor were able to take 4 belts in one swoop so it can be a case of being in the right place at the right time… With 9 of the 17 traditional divisions having a undisputed champion then 2022 could truly be the year of the Undisputed.

If you want to stay tuned on how this all pans out then please subscribe to: https://www.youtube.com/c/MathiasonBoxing

The post The Year of Undisputed? first appeared on British Boxing Blog.

At any level, competitive and non-contact boxing training brings untold physical and mental benefits. This article focuses on the mental benefits of non-contact, recreational boxing.

1) Empowerment

Learning how to punch properly and unlocking your full power is an awakening. The moment you hear a full volume smack of your glove hitting the pads or bag, the exhilaration will have you hooked. Then learning how to harness your power while throwing bunches of punches gives your confidence a great lift and this transfers to daily life, boosting self-efficacy and the ability to deal with challenging situations better.

2) Uplifting

There are four things that can lift mood; a sense of achievement, enjoyment, closeness to others and somethings that’s beneficial to the body. Boxing has all four. It’s inclusive, social and something to look forward to. Whether it’s in a class, hitting the pads or holding someone’s feet while they do sit-ups, you’re never doing this alone.

3) Combat Depression and Anxiety

A spike in physical activity releases neurochemicals like endorphins and neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine. Endorphins are nature’s pain killer and act like a blissful sedative; serotonin regulates mood, dopamine signals reward and noreprinephrine enhances alertness, helping you focus. This cocktail of neurochemicals and transmitters drives communication between brain cells to better regulate physical and emotional health.

4) Stress Relief

Boxing is a proven way to de-stress and ease tension – hitting things is both fun and therapeutic. Exercise releases norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter) improving cognition and clarity of thought clouded by stressful events. Central and sympathetic nervous systems work together, improving the body’s ability to respond to stress. Exercise further helps balance stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline.

5) Active Meditation

When your body is busy, your mind is distracted and free. Co-ordinating combinations while trying to hit a moving target, takes focus and one has to be entirely present. This distraction is a break from the outside world and clears the mind.

At whatever level you’re boxing, it will put you on the edge of your physical comfort zone and this is where we grow. Each time you push one more inch, there is a cascade of mental benefits. The body only achieves what the mind believes.

Article by Max Fraser, Founder of REAL

High-performance sportswear, inspired by boxers

http://www.realpowerofone.com

@realpowerofone.com

The post MENTAL BENEFITS OF BOXING first appeared on British Boxing Blog.

It’s that merry time of year where we reflect on the year we have just witnessed and look ahead to what potential fights can happen and can fall by the wayside. Although we have seen some excellent fights on the world scene such as Fury v Wilder, Lopez v Kombosos, Chocalito v Estrada 2 to name but a few there were no real big British fights. Not since George Groves ruffled the feathers of the Matchroom establishment and Carl Froch back in 2015 we have not seen a big domestic rivalry get to the squared circle. Yes we have been teased with the prospect of Fury and Joshua and in the summer of 2021 it seemed we had ticked the box to finally get that one in the bag until a Judge in a arbitration courtroom scuppered the plans of the Saudi royalty and UK fight fans.

With the prospect of some quality domestic battles lined up for the early part of the year we reflect on some past big domestic rivalries of the last decade and look ahead at what 2022 could bring.

The biggest and most famous British rivalry of the last 10 years has to be Carl Froch and George Groves. Their rivalry made it to the back pages of all newspapers and managed to get national attention. The first of their 2 fights on the 23rd of November 2013 in Manchester was supposed to be a routine outing for the Nottingham man as he was looking to secure the bigger career defining fights against Gennady Golovkin or Julio Cesar Chavez (This was a big fight at the time!!!). With little expected of Groves pre fight, The young Londoner did his best to get under the skin of his opponent and brashly made it seem as this was his time. At the pre fight press conference Groves told Froch that he was going to hit him with 2 right hands which would transpire to be very true in the fight but at the time was scoffed at by Froch and the media alike.

On fight night all of the Cobras worst nightmares looked to become a reality when in round 1 Groves delivered on his pre fight prediction and dropped Froch with a gem of a right hand which seemed to put Froch to sleep only for the thud of the canvas to reawaken him. Groves continued to push on and out box Froch for the next few rounds and going into the second half of the fight 99% of fight fans even the most hardened of Carl Froch fans would have had him at a wide deficit But this was Carl Froch, maybe the toughest and most determined world champion we have has in the last 10 years who began to inch by inch get closer to Groves who on his end was slowly fading. Round 8 was a clear Froch round and a major shift in direction of where this fight was heading and this led into the controversial 9th. Froch gets to hurt Groves and follows up only for referee Howard Foster to jump in and save a very frustrated and angry Groves who believed that this one was stopped prematurely.

This led to a Massive rematch on the 31st of May 2014 billed as unfinished business as George Groves spent months lobbying the IBF to mandate him back into the ring with Froch and had his wish granted. The 2nd fight saw a more focused Froch in the build up and didn’t get involved with any of the mind games that Groves looked to employ and in the 2nd fight a more cagey encounter than the first saw Carl Froch deliver a shuddering right hand leaving Groves in a crumpled heap on the floor that conclusively drew down the curtain on not only of their saga but the career of the Nottingham man.
14th of July 2012 licensed to thrill a fight that was both shaken and stirred as following on from one of the most explosive post match interviews you will ever see, brought together to alpha male Londoners David ‘Hayemaker’ Haye and Derek’ Delboy’ Chisora fight it out at the Boyeln ground West Ham.

To get into this we have to go back to Vitali Klitschko and Derek Chisora fight on Febuary 18th 2012 and after Vitali successfully beat Derek Chisora a rather fresh David Haye turned up to the press conference to issue a challenge to the Ukrainian fully equipped with his bottle of Desparado (great choice!) which was to also have a active part in the following melee. Chisora being the man that he is started to chime in with a few choice words for Haye and after a few minutes of pleasantries Del boy made his way towards Haye for a few more personal words up close and was swiftly met with a right hand and as the brawl unfollowed caught a camera tripod to the head.

5 months later the fight was announced even with Chisora having his British Board of Control license revoked, the fight was sanctioned by the Luxembourg Boxing Federation. The fight itself attended by 30 000 frenetic fight fans witnessed a high pace 5 round affair that ended when Haye dropped Chisora twice in round 5 and forced the ref to jump in and wave the action off
The most recent Big British showdown we had was the 2 fight encounter between Tony Bellew and David Haye 3 and a half years after his fight with Derek Chisora where Haye announced his retirement from the ring, the Hayemaker set his sights on the Uks golden egg Anthony Joshua and was back to prepare for a last title tilt. At the start of 2016 Haye was back in the ring, coming back with 2 sub standard opponents in Mark De Mori and Arnold Gjergjaj.

Over the past 3 and a half years when Haye was away from the ring Tony Bellew had failed in his world title shot, getting battered in November 2013 in 6 rounds by Canadian Adonis Stevenson and was working his way towards his day with Destiny at Goodison Park against Ilunga Makabu where he picked up the WBC world championship at Cruiserweight.

In the mind of Tony Bellew it was time to cash out and the biggest money and most importantly winnable fight in the liverpudlians mind was Haye.

15th of October the night where Bellew bounced BJ Flores all across the ring defending his WBC title and with Haye ringside, The champ made it clear in no uncertain terms that he only wanted the Londoner next and with a few jovial insults – calling Haye Spongebob and insisting he was conning the British public with his ring return the negotiations for the fight began.
One month later the pair came face to face at the first press conference which ended with Haye landing a left hand and marking Bellew but the fight was announced and took place March 4th 2017. The bout started as a very cagey affair and was on a knife edge until round 6 where similar to the Greek god Achilies, the heel injury sustained by the main protagonist led to an almighty defeat and a brave battle to the end. Bellew who realised what has happened proceeded to bully and pummel Haye until getting his man out of there in the 11th round.
Fast forward 14 months and a much more humble build up from the usually raging aggressive Haye was looking to turn the tables but proved to be an absolute shadow of the champion he once was and was quickly taking out inside of 5 rounds by a ruthless and spiteful Bellew that closed their chapter on their feud.

Other honourable mentions have been: Haye v Harrison, Cleverley V Bellew and Quigg vs Frampton.

In the first 2 months of 2022 we are set to see a few battles of Britain in major fights covid 19 depending! Scotland will see Josh Taylor defend his 4 belts in a undispued title defence against Jack Cattrall. Loud, proud and angry welshman Liam Williams take on the enigmatic Chris Eubank jr. Last but by no means least, although this fight is years out of date Kell Brook finally gets the fight that he has spent in this authors opinion far too long chasing and which has hampered his career, Amir Khan!

But it is the potential of some monster heavyweight fights that are really whetting the appetite but what are the chances these happen? There should be a simple road to Undisputed in the heavyweight division but Boxing has a wonderful way of shooting itself in the foot. Anthony Joshua looks all set to take on Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk to attempt to become a 3 time Heavyweight champion – this is a mammoth task for the Londoner and will go into this fight as underdog and needing to revamp his style to get a much craved win.

Why Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury isn’t as simple a case as fighting in the spring to set up a undisputed fight for later in the summer highlights Boxing politics at its finest. Team Fury insisting on a 80/20 split where team Whyte are pushing for a 55/45 split. On top of this we have an arbitrator who will make the final ruling but that isn’t until March by which time Tyson Fury plans to have fought and if Uysk/Joshua goes ahead in April then Fury may look to make Undisputed rather than give Whyte his extremely over due title shot!

So potentially we could get Fury vs Whyte then Joshua or we could see none of these! Joe Joyce as a mandatory challenger will be aiming to get his shot at the backend of the year that would be delightful news for Frank Warren especially if Tyson Fury is still reigning champ come the end of 2022!

Could this be the year of massive British showdowns or will this be another year of disappointment – strap yourself in for the ride ahead!

The post Looking BBBack to the Future first appeared on British Boxing Blog.

Sky Sports and Boxxer’s first show was not without it’s teething troubles. Chris Eubank Jr’s opponent failing a medical on the morning of the fight meaning the main event would not go ahead could have been disastrous but the remaining fights still gave us a good show. There was a big back stage area with lots of camera stations and back drops set up for interviews and I nearly walked up the ramp for the fighters ring entrances when trying to find the press section. I’m very glad an eagle eyed security lady stopped me before I seriously embarrassed myself.

David Avanesyan vs Liam Taylor replaced the original main event and very much delivered for the five odd minutes that it lasted. Taylor was brave and landed plenty of his own shots but lacked the power to keep Avanesyan off him and delay the inevitable. The writing was on the wall when Avanesyan dropped Taylor with a left hook/right hook combination at the end of the 1^st round and even though Taylor tried to meet fire with fire in the 2^nd round, Avanesyan continued to throw the power shots and land the far more telling blows. Two hurtful left uppercuts then left hook, right hook, left hook landed clean on Taylor and the referee had seen enough and stepped in to save him from further punishment. There were a few grumbles that the stoppage was premature but the referee had it spot on for my money.

Jamal Le Doux and Germaine Brown had a good old tear up at super middleweight. Brown had the upper hand early before Le Doux came back into the fight. Plenty of action and both landed full blooded shots but a stoppage win never seemed likely. The 99-92 verdict was perhaps a little harsh on Le Doux but the right man won.

Ebonie Jones made an impressive debut in the paid ranks at bantamweight outpointing the much larger Vaida Masiokaite. Jones had sold quite a few tickets and showed some good footwork on her way to a 59-55 victory.

Earlier in the night, cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe made hard work of Krzysztof Twardowski. Riakporhe came out to Glad All Over by the Dave Clark Five as a nod to his Crystal Palace fan base which then changed into some young people music I didn’t recognise after only a few seconds. Riakporhe bossed the action throughout the fight but often found himself frustrated. A big right hand dropped Twardowski in the 8^th and final round but he survived to the bell where Riakporhe was given a 79-72 decision win. Riakporhe has been out of the ring for almost two years so some ring rust is to be expected but he should really be putting away opponents at this level. He faces Olanrewaju Durodola in London on Nov 20^th where I’d hope to see him land a bit more leather.

The post Sky’s the limit for Boxxer first appeared on British Boxing Blog.

The boy from ‘boro (technically Thornaby) battled hard yet came up short against the game Craig Derbyshire, of Doncaster. With Sunny Edwards having moved onto world titles, the domestic scene has now been left wide open and tonight’s victor will be as confident as ever, that he belongs in that discussion.

Trainer Imran Naeem had spoken of Joe’s maturity ahead of this crunch clash, and will be pleased his charge managed to hang in there against a relentless opponent.

A fantastic first round saw the home fighter dropped and Derbyshire suffer a cut above above right eye. With it all to do, Maphosa looked to get back to his boxing as the contest wore on.

Derbyshire, however, had other ideas and pressured his skilful opponent for most of the fight. Maphosa fought gamely but was constantly on the backfoot and was deducted a point for excessive use of the head, late on.

This didn’t ultimately affect the outcome as Derbyshire rightly claimed the vacant strap with split scores of 97-92, 93-95, 96-93. A fantastic win and performance in front of many travelling fans.  Derbyshire has done things the hard way in the paid ranks and is now reaping the rewards.

A raucous atmosphere had been steadily building for over an hour before the show opened with a local derby between Anth Ornsby and career apple-cart up-setter, Jordan Ellison. Those in attendance were treated to a Prizefighter style shootout for 4 rounds, after which Seaham’s Ellison was declared the winner, 39-37. Ornsby can consider himself unlucky – as he boxed well in spots – but the Road Warrior landed the cleaner shots to secure the win, living up to his much deserved moniker once more.

The very well travelled Fonz Alexander was next into the red corner but couldn’t complete the trick against Darlington prospect Henry Thomas. Alexander carried a significant weight advantage but Thomas caught him with a clean 2 punch combination to end the first round, and edge it on our scorecard. He continued to box and move well, although the contest never really caught ablaze.

The highlight was probably a confetti cannon accidentally going off at the start of the final round. Thomas managed to avoid distraction and take the contest 40-36.

Jordan Barker-Porter looked very sharp on her professional debut, tidily out-boxing her opponent for 3 rounds before piling on the pressure in the 4th. The stoppage wasn’t forthcoming however and would’ve been harsh, if truth be told. 40-36 could not be disputed though and signalled a comprehensive victory for the debutant. The future certainly looks bright for “JBP” and with the backing of MTK Global, she will definitely be one to watch.

Another boxer making their professional debut was Ewan McKenzie. He barely stopped throwing combinations for the full 12 minutes. Another comfortable debut win and if McKenzie was looking to impress, he certainly succeeded! The referee obviously agreed and scored this one 40-35, seeing enough for a 10-8 round although I’m not sure where exactly.

The first stoppage of the night came courtesy of Middlesbrough man Michael Webster. The powerful cruiserweight dispatched Pawel Strykowski after 1:35 of the very first round. A sensational stoppage which sent his fans down the A19 happy. Anyone who delivers knockouts on local shows has the potential to be a very valuable commodity and Webster fits the bill to a tee.

Adopted Geordie, Alex “The Black Diamond” Farrell shone bright once again, dismantling the durable Serge Ambomo in 6 rounds. The chief support contest was a one-sided affair from start to finish, with the cleaner work coming from the Greek (Farrell).

Ambomo looked dangerous – particularly when he loaded up with a left hook – but was often made to appear crude and reckless by a watertight defence. Farrell stepped up his assault toward the end of the 5th to back up the normally immovable Ambomo, before stopping him during the next.

Calm and composed, cool and classy, Farrell’s stock rises with each performance and it was a pleasure to see him back in the ring under the tutelage of Dave Binns.

All in all, a bittersweet return to boxing for the North East.  Not the result the home fans wanted but it was bloody good to be back!

The post Smokin’ Joe in firefight as Derbyshire defeats Maphosa first appeared on British Boxing Blog.

12 x 3 mins WBA Featherweight World Title
XU CAN v LEIGH WOOD WTKO12 (2:43)
(Beijing, China) (Nottingham, England)

Leigh Wood stopped Xu Can in the 12th and final round to claim the WBA Featherweight World Title in a big upset at the top of the bill on the first week of Matchroom Fight Camp in Brentwood, Essex, live worldwide on DAZN.

‘Leigh-thal’ created history by becoming only the second ever boxer from Nottingham to become a World Champion – following in the footsteps of former IBF Super-Middleweight World Champion Carl Froch who was watching on from ringside.

After only competing at British level throughout his career, Wood was thought to be up against it against Can, but it was clear from the opening bell that the powerful Ben Davison-trained puncher belonged on the big stage.
As the fight entered the championship rounds, Can tried to put his foot down as he felt his crown slipping, but he would pay for that approach in a memorable last session. A superb right hand dropped the Chinese fighter and after rising to his feet, Wood wasted no time in forcing the stoppage.

“It feels good you know, to get the stoppage over the line in a great and high-paced fight, the last round with six weeks’ notice, I couldn’t have done anymore,” Wood told Matchroom afterwards.

“I did say in an interview that I’m going to be catching him clean and it’s not down to me how long the fight lasts, it’s down to him pretty much. I could have sustained that all night. He took some big shots, big heart, credit to him but the accumulation has its effect as well. The shot I finished him with wasn’t as big as the ones I caught him with earlier on, but they took their toll, I caught him and got the stoppage.

“I had belief in my power, not only do I have big power, but I know how to get it off, how to set it up and how to mix it up. That’s the biggest factor in working with Ben, Lee Wylie and Barry Smith, they’ve really changed the game for me.

“He definitely wasn’t throwing 120 punches a round and that’s down to the game plan. Everyone was saying how are you going to do it, what are going to do, are you going to hit him hard, are going to hold him, it was down to the game plan. Even people watching don’t understand, but that’s a conversation for another day.

“Hopefully the younger generations see this and think you know what, he’s done it, World Champion, British, Commonwealth, European, hopefully people decide to go pick up a pair of boxing gloves and start their journey.

“Ben and Lee said to me they’ve never been so confident in someone getting the tactics right as much as me going into this fight. I thought that was a big statement, I was doing everything they wanted me to do. I executed it pretty much to perfection and credit to those guys for getting it right – I just do as I’m told, and it works.

“I’m easy, redemption with Dickens would be great for myself. Full confidence in Ben getting my tactics right for that fight, I had a bad night that fight, first southpaw I boxed as a pro, I’d like to put that right naturally.

“But if there’s bigger fights, I said I wanted the Navarrete fight he’s explosive like me, that’ll be absolute fireworks. People might slate me and say it’s a regular title, let’s fight for the super title, let’s unify – I want big fights.

“My career was stalled earlier on. In three years I’ve been British, Commonwealth, WBO European and now World Champion. My best years are definitely to come.”

12 x 3 mins European, British and Commonwealth Cruiserweight Titles
TOMMY MCCARTHY v CHRIS BILLAM-SMITH WSD12 (115-114 McCarthy, 115-114 CBS, 116-112 CBS)
(Belfast, Northern Ireland) (Bournemouth, England)

Chris Billam-Smith withstood a late fightback from Tommy McCarthy to edge out a narrow split points decision to add the British and European Cruiserweight Titles to his Commonwealth Title in an epic battle at the Matchroom HQ.

Belfast’s McCarthy started and ended the fight impressively but his low output in-between cost him the decision. Both fighters received a scorecard of 115-114, but a 116-112 verdict for Bournemouth’s Billam-Smith was enough to see him to progress to 13-1.

“It’s crazy, as Shane said, it’s been a bit of a tough camp towards the end – I had an injury and I haven’t sparred in 3-4 weeks,” Billam-Smith told Matchroom afterwards. “All that emotion came out, it was an interesting build up the fight, future fights, but I’m over the moon.

“It was a good shot, the best shot he landed all fight, I was with it, but it was a good shot, it buzzed me in a way, but I was in control, I could see, I knew I’d been hit but I just had to ride it a bit.

“I was really confident, the corner had it closer. In my head I thought I’d won probably eight rounds, but I wasn’t scoring it as I went along – so maybe seven. There was no way he won seven rounds, absolutely no way, that first round he landed one shot. It was a good shot, but I also had him hurt and hit him a lot more – those rounds should really go in my favour.

“He was harder to hit clean to be fair to him, but that was my own fault, I was loading up looking for one shot. Shane said that so the jab to the body was key, it was everything. It won me the fight, we watched the Askin fight today and that was the key – props to Shane.

“I sent the tweet out and it got him going, he built the fight really well. I played the villain at the beginning and just let him run away with it. All respect to Tommy, he was tougher and better than I thought he was.

“I’m so much better than that, I just walked back into the changing rooms and Shane has a massive go at me and said, ‘what was that?’ We know what I’m capable of but then I get too excited in there when I hurt someone. That’s because I’ve only had 14 fights, I’ve got a lot of learning to do but it’s a long process, I’m not the finished article and that’s the sort of fight I need.

“I was fit in there, comfortable in there, still ready to work in that last round and go up a gear which is good, but I’ve got to learn to be more articulate with how I go about things.

“They all work hard in the gym; I like to do the little 1% that they probably can’t be bothered to do. They work hard, Lawrence runs every morning, everyone’s a grafter in the gym but that comes down to Shane and Josh, they set such a high standard. You’ve got to be world class and act like a professional the whole time in that gym to survive.

“There was a group of twelve lads from Bournemouth that I kind of know and they all come up, to see them in crowd and to making the noise they did, it was really special. It’s so good to have fans back and some normality.

“I want a show in Bournemouth, I really do. We’ve tried it almost 18 months ago, it would be unbelievable to have a show down there. We’ve got the Bournemouth International Centre which Eddie had booked for last March which he couldn’t get an opponent for. I need a show in Bournemouth, I love my fans, they’ve been superb to me. I’ve been on the road, Riakporhe in London, Glover in Liverpool, here in London, I want to go home.”

4 x 3 mins International Lightweight contest
CAMPBELL HATTON WPTS4 (40-36) v JAKUB LASKOWSKI
(Manchester, England) (Siemianowice Slaskie, Poland)

Campbell Hatton extended his unbeaten record to 3-0 with a straight-forward four-round points win over Jakub Laskowski, from Poland.

The 20-year-old Mancunian, son of former double World Champion Ricky, banked more valuable rounds as he continued his development in the professional ranks.

“I was happy again really; I thought my defence was a lot better,” Hatton told Matchroom afterwards. “I was a bit more composed again, I think there were a few times where I’d hurt him and probably could have smothered my work fully and not caught him with anything. I managed to control myself a little when he was going. I didn’t quite get the knockout because I was smothering, and he was tricky, but it was exactly what I need. I need the rounds more than I need a stoppage.

“He was tricky customer, slippery, doing a bit of switching and some different looks. That’s the perfect fight and it has been matched perfectly for me to learn. There are people out there they could bring in and anyone could hit them and knock them over. That’s not how they’re matching me, we’re getting me people who are going to get the rounds out of me and give me different things to overcome – that’s what he did tonight.

“I think I showed some more classy work than I have before, working off my jab. My jab is one of my best shots in the gym and now I’m bringing it into play in the fights now.

“The first fight I was saying all week I was dead relaxed, but I had nothing to compare it to. The second fight I was more composed, and I was more composed this fight – next time it’s going to be the same pattern and even better.

“This was a different experience, it’s different to anything that I’m probably going to face very often in my career. It was different making the ring walk this time, you feel breezy seeing people tucking into their tea and having a pint. It was weird making my ring walk to that but as soon as the bell went it was just like any other ring and I just got to work.

“Gibraltar, the amount of media commitments I had to and how much time was invested into me on the media side, I think that set me up, so I’ve not had to do much really. We’ve got it all out the way in the first one, I’m never going to have to deal with anything like that again, the pressure will always be there but each time I’ll be dealing with it better. I’m dealing with the pressure like it’s not there now.

“You see all these opponents, if it was any other kid he was fighting with any other surname, I don’t think he would have been digging in half as much as he did there. They want to make a point, whether it’s to stop me, or just survive – they raise their game a bit when they know it’s me and I’ve got to do the same.”

10 x 3 mins International Super-Welterweight contest
ANTHONY FOWLER WTKO8 (2:12) v RICO MUELLER
(Liverpool, England) (Eberswalde, Germany)

Anthony Fowler was made to work hard for victory as he registered an eighth-round stoppage over late stand-in opponent Rico Mueller – setting up a tasty October 9 domestic clash with Liverpool rival Liam Smith.

The German, who arrived in the UK earlier this week to replace Roberto Garcia following an injury, had plenty of ambition at the start of the fight, but Fowler was always landing the heavy shots and the pressure finally told.

The Liverpudlian, who became a father during the week, has now won six fights in a row since suffering his one and only loss in the pros at the hands of Scott Fitzgerald at The M&S Bank Arena Liverpool back in March 2019.

“My next opponent is a really good fighter, much better than him, but I needed the rounds,” Fowler told DAZN afterwards. “I thought in round two I wobbled him but thought, ‘not today’. My last fight was three rounds and I thought, ‘I need rounds today’, so I stepped back and worked on a few things.

“The one thing I haven’t had in my career is rounds, I’ve always blasted my opponents out and haven’t really learnt much. I’m learning plenty in the gym but that’s where it counts, it means nothing in the gym.

“I’m from the south of Liverpool, Liam’s (Smith) from the north. It doesn’t bother me, I respect Liam a lot, he’s a really good fighter, ten times better than that lad tonight so I need to be on top of my game. I don’t turn fights down, since day one I’ve boxed anyone, I’ve asked for all these big fights, but it never happened for me.

“Even tonight, I wanted to box Roberto Garcia, a good, experienced veteran. Rico Mueller gaveca good fight and I’m happy he replaced Garcia because I said in the ring, ‘thanks for giving it your all’, after six rounds he was six rounds down and he was still trying.

“Liam is a much higher level, but I needed the rounds and that’s what I got.”

10 x 3 mins IBF International Super-Middleweight Title
AVNI YILDIRIM v JACK CULLEN WU10 (100-90, 98-92, 97-93)
(Istanbul, Turkey) (Little Lever, England)

Jack Cullen claimed the biggest win of his career by outpointing former World Title challenger Avni Yildirim over ten rounds to earn the IBF International Super-Middleweight Title.

‘Little Lever’s Meat Cleaver’ was in control from the opening bell as he used his long jab to set up further attacks on the Turk who shared the ring with pound-for-pound king Canelo Alvarez back in February.

Yildirim was looking to get back to winning ways after being stopped in three rounds by the Mexican in Miami but instead suffered the fourth defeat of his career at the hands of the 27-year-old from Lancashire.

Cullen outboxed and outfought ‘Mr Robot’ in front of his vocal support at the Matchroom HQ in Essex – with the final scorecards reading 100-90, 98-92, and 97-93 in favour of the Michael Jennings-trained fighter.

“I’m absolutely buzzing and listen; we came with a game plan, a couple of rounds in I wasn’t doing what I should have been doing, but I stuck to my game plan and it paid off eventually,” Cullen told Matchroom afterwards.

“I knew he was going to come forward, he’s a tough fighter and he comes to fight – that’s what he did tonight. Like I said with my game plan, using the jab and trying to not get caught with the right hand. I got caught a few times stupidly, but I got back on my boxing and got through the ten rounds.

“To be honest with you every fight I’ve seen him in he’s been one paced. It’s me not doing too much, using the jab, and letting him come forward, instead of me getting involved in a scrap – it worked. We stuck to the game plan, it worked, and I’m delighted.

“I’ve been working over and over, every day, it’s starting to pay off. Like I said, you’re going to see a different Jack Cullen and I think you did tonight.

“At the end of the day, I’m in this game to fight the best and anything can happen, anything is around the corner. It’s all about being switched on and ready, whoever you get offered you’ve got to take the fight with both hands and go for it.

“I have got a brilliant support, a lot of fans that love watching and supporting me. There were only 25 in there tonight, but it sounded like 100, it’s brilliant and I’m going to have a nice little rest – we’ll see. Hopefully Eddie will sign me now!

“It’s moving in the right direction, the direction I want it to go. Everyone said Yildirim is going to be a tough opponent and I knew that, but I knew I should be beating fighters like him because of where I want to take my career to.

“I will go with flow, who knows, I reckon there will be all sorts of people jumping out the closet wanting to fight me, but we’ll see.”

6 x 2 mins Super-Lightweight contest
SANDY RYAN WPTS6 (60-54) v KIRSTIE BAVINGTON
(Derby, England) (Pensnett, England)

Former amateur star Sandy Ryan made a winning start to life in the paid ranks as she outclassed Kirstie Bavington over six rounds in the opening bout of Fight Camp.

The Derby fighter, who is trained by Clifton Mitchell and managed by Paul Ready, was in control throughout and that was reflected on the scorecards as she emerged from the contest a 60-54 winner.

“It was a very good fight,” Ryan told Matchroom afterwards. “I’m over the moon and I’m so happy. I enjoyed every minute of that, the walk, everything, I’m just made for the pro game.

“I took my time; I enjoyed the ring walk – I enjoyed it so much.

“I wanted a tough fight, to prove the levels. I showed glimpses of it, there were times where she was a bit messy and holding. The pro game and each fight as it goes on, I’m going to get much better.

“Levels, I said that even if I had a bad day, she wasn’t going to beat me. It’s not disrespect to her, but I just know what I’m capable of. Boxing’s my life and I’m going all the way.

“I’ve got the right team behind, Matchroom, DAZN, Eddie Hearn, Paul Ready my manager and Clifton my trainer, that’s all I need – that’s my team. I don’t need a big entourage around me, this is all I need and we’re going all the way.”

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Cyrus Pattinson is expecting a “lively” professional debut when he locks horns with Yoncho Markov over six rounds at the Vertu Motors Arena, Newcastle on Saturday June 12, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the US and more than 200 countries and territories.

The former Team GB amateur standout inked promotional terms with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom last month and is set to begin his journey in the paid ranks at Super-Welterweight under long-time coach Graeme Rutherford.

“I went as far as I was going to go for Team GB,” said Pattinson. “I wasn’t getting the opportunities that could have led to major tournaments. I just feel like now is the best time to turn professional – I’m not getting any younger. I’ve got a lot to give in the pro game, so I’ve just got to commit and go.

“The last opportunity that I could have got for qualifying for Tokyo was taken away through the pandemic. There was no way of me going to the Olympic Games anymore, so it was just wasted time. I felt that I’d done as much learning as I could have done.

“I feel like if I’d have maybe gone to the 2016 Olympics, I would have turned professional sooner. I wouldn’t have been as ready as I am now to turn pro. I feel mature and I’m a man now. I feel like I’m ready more than ever. It’s finally time to get my professional journey underway.

“We’ve just been putting the work in at the gym, getting the rounds in, sparring fresh opponents. I got some good rounds in with Martin J Ward not long ago. We’ve been making good progress. I’m going to bring an exciting style to the pro scene.

“Me and Graham both said we didn’t want to do a four rounder for my pro debut. It’s six rounds and I wanted a lively opponent that’s going to bring the fight to me. I think that will help show the best of me. It’s going to be a lively fight.”

Pattinson vs. Markov is part of a big night of action in Newcastle as fans return in the North East, Lewis Ritson (21-1, 12 KOs) meets undefeated Argentinian Jeremias Ponce (27-0, 17 KOs) in a Final Eliminator for the IBF Super-Lightweight World Title, West Rainton’s Thomas Patrick Ward (29-0-1, 4 KOs) takes on Mexico’s Edy Valencia Mercado (17-5-6, 5 KOs) in a ten round Featherweight clash, Croatian Heavyweight sensation Alen Babic (6-0, 6 KOs) returns to action following a shoulder injury, Catford Super-Bantamweight Ellie Scotney (2-0) meets Spain’s Vanesa Caballero (4-9-3) over eight rounds, Birmingham Heavyweight Solomon Dacres (1-0) clashes with Spain’s Alvaro Terrero (5-11-2, 3 KOs) over six rounds, Benwell Welterweight Joe Laws (9-1, 5 KOs) fights Chris Adaway (10-69-4, 1 KO) over six rounds and Wallsend Welterweight April Hunter (3-0) meets Hungary’s Klaudia Vigh (3-27-1, 2 KOs).

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