Big Time Boxing, Saturday June 25th

WBA Super-Middleweight World Title: Felix Sturm MD12 Matthew Macklin

It's never been easy to go to Germany and win a title, and it's just possible that had the fight been elsewhere then Macklin would have walked away with the belt. Having said that, it's not that he was robbed, more that it was a very difficult fight to score.

Macklin had the better of the early rounds, crowding the Champion and reducing the gap so much that for the majority of the time they were head to head and all the work was done inside. The pattern was set during these rounds with Macklin working harder and landing more punches, but Sturm able at times to step back, gain himself some room to work, and then land the classier and cleaner shots.

As the fight wore on Macklin slowed down and this gave Sturm more space and with that the fight slowly started to move his way. Macklin was still putting the work in but was being caught more often and more cleanly

The pace hardly let up all fight and by the time the bell went to close the 12th it was difficult to know which way it would go. In the end the judges opted for quality over quantity and so Sturm kept hold of his belt. However Macklin showed he belonged at this level, and on another day in another country could now be World Champion.

WBC Intercontinental Welterweight Title: Kell Brook UD12 Lovemore N'Dou

As an Ingle fighter whose hero is Naseem Hamed you would expect Kell Brook to have a similar swagger and unorthodoxy about him but in this fight he showed he has orthodox skills that could take him a long way. Up against an operator who has fought at the highest level he dominated the fight from the opening bell with heavy, accurate punches and speed that was too much for the older man.

Fighting in an orthodox stance for the majority of the fight Brook used the jab to good effect, going straight through the guard of N'Dou, and often either doubling it up or following it with a straight right. He kept his distance well, continually moving, and landed enough shots early on to slow N'Dou down, to the extent that at the halfway mark there was talk of a first ever stoppage.

Having never gone beyond seven rounds it was a journey into the unknown for Brook but apart from a breather in the 9th he kept the pace up and never looked tired or in trouble. N'Dou by contrast had to dig deep after being hurt in the tenth and rocked again at the end of the eleventh, however he maintained his record of never having been stopped, albeit staying upright at the end by sheer force of will (and a certain amount of holding).

This was a highly impressive performance from Brook and a clear sign that he's on his way to greater things. He won all but one round against a fighter who has fought the best but may have gone one fight too far. This was a fight between two men who are going in opposite directions, and it's possible Brook may go all the way to the top.

Saturday Fight Night - June 18th

British Middleweight Title: Martin Murray TKO5 Nick Blackwell

There was a noticeable size difference between the holder Murray and the challenger Blackwell and early in the fight it became apparent that there was a quality difference to match. Blackwell came in with only 8 previous fights under his belt, and though he may be one for the future he was a level below Murray, who looks like he is ready to move up.

There early couple of rounds were a scoping-out exercise. Murray held the centre of the ring with a high guard, solid base and economy of movement that had an easy confidence about it. Blackwell was more active, always on the move and throwing regular combinations, most of which were absorbed on the hands and arms. Murray picked his punches, landing regularly to head and body.

In the third the fight opened up as Murray started to throw more combinations. Blackwell landed a few to the head but Murray walked through them and worked the body. Once it became apparent that Blackwell didn't have the power to hurt Murray the fight started to become more one-sided. In the fourth some big shots started to land and they were all thrown by Murray. Blackwell was increasingly ragged and looked tired, spending a lot of time on the run and occasionally dropping his shoulder and barging forward in an attempt to buy himself some respite. The corner debated pulling him out but gave him one more round to make an impact, but the fifth was more of the same and they were right to throw in the towel before he took any serious damage.

Murray looked calm, controlled and was never troubled in this fight. Though he never put Blackwell down he sapped all his energy by working the body and had exhausted him by the end of the fight. Blackwell looked sprightly early on but was still raw and was in a level too high for this stage of his career.

Lightweight: Anthony Crolla TKO1 Herve de Luca

De Luca was a last minute replacement who had never beaten anyone with a winning record, so this was all set to be a stroll in the park for Crolla, and proved to be just that. De Luca was static and had very little punch power so Crolla could pick his punches without worry and dropped the Belgian with a left hook to the body within the first minute. Thirty seconds later it was deja vu as another left to the body put de Luca on one knee and it was clear the fight wouldn't last long.

Crolla continued to work the body and de Luca was marking up on both sides of the ribs due to the sheer number of body punches that were making it round his elbows. It was finally ended when a gem of a left came up under the ribs and was reminiscent of Ricky Hatton in his pomp. An easy work-out for a fighter ready to challenge for domestic honours.

IBF Youth Featherweight: Joe Murray UD12 James Ancliff

You would expect a fight between a former Olympian on his way up and a a journeyman who stepped in at three days notice to be one-sided and over fairly quickly. That was half right as Murray won by a wide margin on all cards, but it was a far harder fight than the result shows.

Ancliff is a scrappy fighter with poor footwork and no settled base, meaning he throws a lot of arm punches but very little else. Murray was a quality operator who was first to the punch all fight and looked to throw punches with a fair amount behind them. The problem was that with as many punches as Murray landed, and he landed a lot, Ancliff just took it all and came back for more. A lesser man would have been put away within a few rounds, but the Aberdeen fighter looked to be made of granite.

Every round had a similar structure as Ancliff came out punching while Murray countered and relied on his speed to be first to the punch. He won every round clearly but still never looked like putting Ancliff on the floor; whether or not this was due to a lack of power will have to be assessed against another fighter.

Joe Murray is a quality operator and will knock out boxers with worse punches than he threw tonight, but Ancliff is the sort of fighter that saves bills up and down the country and deserves credit and recognition for stepping up and putting in a hard 12 rounds and remaining game all the way through.

Saturday Fight Night , June 11th

British Heavyweight Eliminator: David Price TKO2 Tom Dallas

Dallas stepped in at a week's notice for this fight, having fought just 8 weeks ago, and never looked like troubling Price. Price is a tall and rangy boxer and got his left jab working early on meaning Dallas struggled to get in range to land any decent shots. Price controlled the first round and the jab was regularly followed up by a right before moving back out of range.

Price was landing regularly as the second progressed and looked completely unruffled. Dallas was still struggling to make any real impact on the fight, save for a decent right to the body, when with 30 seconds left in the second round Price landed a gentle left to set up a right cross which caught Dallas flush on the jaw, sent him sprawling to the canvas, and ended the fight.

Price was never in trouble, was able to pick his punches behind his left jab and had the look of a quality operator.

British and Commonwealth Flyweight Titles: Chris Edwards SD12 Paul Edwards

A cracking match up between a 35 year old who is used to going the distance and a 24 year old who had never gone beyond 6 rounds. Veteran Chris Edwards seems to only have one gear: forward. From the opening to final bell he advanced behind a high guard and threw punch after punch, though few were of great quality or power as he was never properly set. The fight changed and swung on how Paul Edwards boxed over the course of the fight.

For the first half of the fight Paul was the better boxer. He moved well, put in the better quality punches, and caught Chris time after time as he advanced, with a combination of both head and body punches. In the fifth he started to drop his guard and wait for Chris, knowing he would beat him to the punch and landing some quality upper cuts. The problem was that though he never looked in trouble, he also never looked like hurting his opponent. This was underlined in the sixth when he landed an upper cut flush on the chin which Chris took yet continued coming forward unabated.

Having given his best shot and not stopped the relentless march Paul began to tire, and in the middle rounds his work was noticably slower and sloppier with Chris now in the driving seat and landing the better punches. As the fight wore on Paul looked heavily fatigued at times and was unable to land anything substantial, being solidly outworked by the older man. By the final round it impossible to guess how the judges had scored it and both boxers came out punching. It was an all-action finale with a lot of punches thrown and very little defence, and could easily have been called either way.

When the scorecards came in there was only one round in it on all three of the judges' cards, with Chris getting the narrow win. It was a fight which never dropped in pace thanks to the constant forward movement of Chris, and though Paul flagged as the fight progressed his second wind towards the end of the fight was almost enough to give him the win. A definite contender for a rematch and with a little more punch power and conditioning, Paul would start as favourite.

Prizefigher - Welterweights, Tuesday June 7th - Semis and Final

Semi Final: Junior Witter UD3 Kevin McIntyre

Both of these fighters won their quarter final comfortably but Witter was able to move up a level to do the same thing again. He went on the offensive from the opening bell and made McIntyre seem pedestrian and occasionally clumsy with his greater speed and power. He was able to land combinations early on and staggered McIntyre mid way through the first round, and shortly afterwards landed a right to the body that floored him.

The second round followed much the same pattern with all the pressure coming from Witter and McIntyre unable to land any significant blows. Whenever he got in close then Witter would hold and spoil making it difficult for any effective work to be done. In the third Witter resorted to staying on the outside and countering as McIntyre pushed forward looking for the knockout he needed, but never looked like getting. Another comfortable win that meant Witter reached the final with only two rounds of hard work behind him.


Semi Final: Yassine el Maachi MD3 Colin Lynes

Though el Maachi may style himself like Naseem Hamed, he's a long way behind on ability. He was unable to match his first round performance against a much better opponent as Lynes was able to block or move away from the one-punch efforts, and return with shots of his own. This time the clash of styles brought a scrappy affair with el Maachi's lunges often ending in the boxers being tangled up and separated by the referee, meaning there was little rhythm in the bout. Lynes was solid in his orthodox style and landed on the counter, as well as being the aggressor more as the fight progressed.

The rounds were close but it seemed to most observers as if Lynes had done enough quality work to take the fight, and though he was two points ahead on one scorecard, he was one point down on the other two, bringing boos from the crowd and surprise from the Sky studio. el Maachi landed few serious punches of note and was lucky to get through to the final, where the underdog role awaits.


Final: Junior Witter - Yassine el Maachi

Given that there were two unorthodox fighters with a tendency to lunge in and not a hint of a guard in sight, this was always going to be an odd fight to watch. It could have been an explosive spectacle but in the end there was more wrestling than boxing. Each fighter hit the canvas at least twice and Witter ended up going headfirst through the ropes and onto the floor ringside, yet not a single knockdown was registered.

After ten seconds Witter rocked el Maachi with a right and followed up with the look of a man ready to end it early, but was then caught himself after 1:20. As both boxers realised the other had the power to hurt them they became a more circumspect and the fight was reduced to each of them taking turns to dive in, fail to hit the target, and then engage in a spot of grappling. In the second round barely a punch was landed worthy of the name. It was the third round that made the difference as el Maachi landed a few solid body shots without anything of great quality coming back.

With a minute left in the fight Witter lunged in, only for el Maachi to move out of the way and encourage him past, at which point he stumbled and fell through the ropes, hitting a cameraman and ending up on the floor ringside. He was straight back up and into the ring uninjured, but it provided a fittingly farcical note to what was as messy a bout as you could ever wish not to see.

Prizefigher - Welterweights, Tuesday June 7th - Quarter Finals

Kevin McIntyre UD3 John Wayne Hibbert

McIntyre came into this fight the significant favourite and showed why by comfortably controlling the first two rounds. Hibbert was always coming forward but was too ragged an unable to make his mark against the southpaw McIntyre, who found it easy to move and counter. In the third Hibbert knew he needed a knock down so came out swinging but though he caught McIntyre with a few shots there was no great power behind them. McIntyre was able to take it fairly easy and progress with plenty left in the tank.


Junior Witter UD3 Nathan Graham

This was every bit as one-sided as you'd expect from a fight between a former world champion and a man who until a year ago was centre-forward for Aylesbury. Witter was too quick to be caught and too smart to put a lot of effort in. He stayed at distance and countered, then held and spoilt whenever Graham managed to get within range. All the quality shots came from Witter and Graham didn't have the nous or experience to work out how to make his mark.


Colin Lynes UD3 Bobby Gladman

Another one-sided bout but Lynes put in the performance of the night so far. He moved well from the beginning, putting together decent combinations and rocking Gladman early on. Lynes was unable to get close to Lynes and was regularly beaten to the punch, often taking shots in batches. Lynes worked hard and looked good, whilst taking very little in return.


Yassine el Maachi UD3 Peter McDonagh

el Maachi fights in a style that I'm obliged to call Hamed-esque, no defence but his reactions and big single punches from all angles, and it made for a good contrast against the orthodox McDonagh. This was the most keenly fought quarter final bout, with McDonagh a game fighter who kept coming despite taking a number of big punches but he couldn't pin el Maachi down. When he did managed to get him on the ropes el Maachi was still able to work well inside and land punches, whilst also taking a few. He used the most energy of all the first round fighters and that may come back to haunt him.

Atlantic City, Saturday June 4th

Super Middleweight WBC Title: Carl Froch MD12 Glen Johnson

The pattern for this fight was set in the second round, but the beginnings could be viewed in the first. Froch fights with a low left hand and Johnson looks to detonate the big right, so it was no great mystery as to what he'd be catching Froch with.

After a cagey first Johnson went on the offensive and moved forward all round, something he'd continue to do for the rest of the fight. Froch skipped around the ring and fought mainly on the counter. Whilst the attacking intent came from the American, he was regularly caught by quality punches. The first big right was landed in the third, but Froch took it and returned fire.

This was one of the more frustrating aspects of the fight. Froch was clearly landing better punches but too often he was doing it on the run, and in response to being caught. Froch was unable or unwilling to impose himself out on the fight and take centre-ring, and seemed to produce his best work in response to being caught, rather than in exchanges he initiated. He also had an irritating habit of walking away from Johnson whilst looking over his shoulder.

As the fight wore Johnson became tired and his work rate dropped, meaning towards the end of the fight Froch was able to stop moving and dominate periods. There were still some ferocious exchanges, but by the end Froch was always coming out on top of them. The only concern was whether or not Johnson's constant forward movement would swing the close rounds in his favour over the quality punches of Froch, but despite one judge scoring it level it turned out to be a fairly comfortable win.

Super Middleweight: Rayco Saunders UD8 Edison Miranda

This was a fight that promised early on to be one-sided, and that largely proved to be the case. Miranda was making a comeback at a heavier weight, and brought something of a showman nature in. Fighting with a low left and a permamantly cocked right he spent the first couple of rounds circling Saunders who was holding centre-ring with a high, tight defence but not a lot of aggresive intent.

The fight broke into life in the third when Miranda found a way through with a couple of straight rights which hurt Saunders. Miranda spent most of the round chasing Saunders round the ring, landing more blows, but unable to put him away. The left hand was a useful jab but tended to be used mainly to set up the big right. Saunders still hadn't recovered in the fourth and spent most of the round on the run again.

The rest of the fight slightly petered out as Saunders recovered enough to regain the centre of the ring and the early pattern re-established itself. Miranda out-worked and out-punched Saunders, and never looked in trouble, even when he was caught at the end of the seventh. All in all a decent work out against an ageing journeyman.

Copenhagen, Saturday 4th June

Super Middleweight: Mikkel Kessler TKO6 Mehdi Bouadla

This was a mis-match from the first round. Two similar fighters in style, both upright with a high basic guard and fighting behind a jab, but there the similarities ended. Kessler was faster to the punch, more accurate and harder hitting. Bouadla was high on bravery, but that was all he could match Kessler with.

From the opening round Kessler was first to the jab, took very few shots back himself and as it went on his dominance increased as he showed himself to be a level above the Frenchman. Whilst the left jab was prominent early on it was the right hand that did the major damage, and it was an overhand right that put Bouadla on the canvas for the first time in the third. It could easily have been stopped as the punches continued to come in for the rest of the round, but Bouadla made it to the bell.

The knockdown had taken its toll though as Bouadla was static in the fourth and far too easy to hit, being floored again with a right hook to the body. He came out firing in the fifth giving it what looked like one last shot, but though Kessler took a few shots, he gave more back. Finally in the sixth he put an end to it by putting Bouadla down twice in short succession, the second one prompting the ref to wave it off, something that should really have been done after the first.

All in all a fairly easy night's work for Kessler, who showed himself to be a class apart.

Cardiff, Saturday 4th June

Lightweight European Title: Gavin Rees UD12 Andrew Murray

This was a fight between a tall man with a high guard and a short stocky one with a left hand that dropped down and a right that was primed for action, so it was no surprise that the first half was dominated by the left jab. Few people would have predicted that it was the shorter man who dominated though.

Rees was too fast for Murray in the first half of the fight, able to get into range, fire off a few punches, and then retreat out of the way before Murray was able to land. In fact Murray was struggling to land at all, with punch after punch falling short. By the fourth round Rees was in total control, able to drop his guard completely at times, wait for Murray to advance, and then get his punches off first before moving away.

Round Six was all Rees with combinations stopping Murray in his tracks and it looked like it was only a matter of time before he was put down, but the fight was about to change as Rees fell off a physical cliff. The signs were there in the seventh that he was either taking a breather or the tank was empty, and in the eighth it was shown to be the latter, so much so that he was docked a point for holding in an attempt to slow the fight down.

The rest of the fight was a case of Rees holding on and hoping he had built up enough of an early lead, whilst Murray was able to land decent punches for the first time. Though he dominated the later rounds, it was not enough as he was unable to really hurt Rees, and a second wind in the last round meant that the Welshman was able to land enough punches to stop Murray from really unloading.

In the end Rees' early work proved to be enough, but it leaves serious questions about his conditioning.

Super-Bantamweight Celtic Title: Carl Frampton UD10 Robbie Turley

Frampton came into the fight with the belt and the big reputation as a man who is starting on a path that will take him a long way. He has a high guard and a measured, economical style, tending to wait for an opening and pick his punches whilst trying to hold the middle of the ring. Robbie Turley was as different as possible, active, awkward, switching stance, but with no firm base and so lacking punching power.

The first few rounds set the course for the fight with Turley moving around the ring and throwing a lot of punches. Most of them missed, but there was rarely a moment when he was static. Frampton was waiting for the opening and then landing with regularity, initially with single punches more than combinations.

As the fight progressed a cut opened up over Frampton's right eye but Turley didn't have the ability to capitalise and work on it. Whilst Turley was always the most active, the quality work and punches came from Frampton. On a few occasions he managed to rock Turley, and in R7 there was a knockdown, though it owed as much to a slip as to a punch.

Despite having a point deducted for a late blow Frampton was never in trouble and as the fight progressed he started to put together some heavy combinations, especially in the last round. Turley managed to see it through to the final bell, but was rightly a long way behind on the scorecards.

A tough fight for Frampton who had to take a fair few shots and against a stronger hitter could have found himself in more trouble. The cut would not have been welcome, especially as his other eye looked roughed up too. He'll have harder fights in the future, but probably not for a while.

Saturday Fight Night, May 28th

Commonwealth Bantamweight Title: Jamie McDonnell UD12 Nick Otieno

McDonnell was defending both his European and Commonwealth titles against the Kenyan, but took a while to settle into the fight properly. He had the height and weight advantage, but was forced onto the back foot from the opening bell. Otieno had a compact defence with no extraneous movement and pushed forward at every opportunity, forcing McDonnell onto the move in a pattern that continued for first few rounds.

It looked from early on as if neither man had the power to properly hurt the other, and so it transpired. In the fifth McDonnell put together his first decent combination , which stoppedOtieno in his tracks for the first time, if not actually hurting him. Up until then the rounds had been fairly even with neither man making major inroads.

As the fight wore on McDonnell tried to be more physical in stopping Otieno marching forward, catching him with a few more punches, and generally getting the better of exchanges, even though he had to take a few shots on the way out. At no time did he look in trouble.

The tenth was his best round and a number of good combinations seemed to take a fair amount of the fight out of Otieno, and for the rest of the bout McDonnell was fairly comfortable. Though it was a decent performance in the end the first half was not a great advert for his skills.


English Junior Welterweight Title: Nigel Wright UD10 Nicki Smedley

This was a case of an old pro out-experiencing a younger prospect. Smedley came in with a decent reputation and had a touch of the Ingle swagger about him, but failed to find the tools to get past a veteran with better basic skills.

Wright is a southpaw with a solid stance and simple defence, whereas Smedley often had his hands low and looked to just sway out of the way of shots. The problem is that he didn't have the balance to then counter-punch effectively, but Wright had the ability to close the gap and crowd him out.

The best combinations came from Wright who would lead with a feint to put Smedley out of position before throwing combinations, whereas Smedley too often threw single punches without a firm footing. As is the way with punchers he managed to catch Wright properly once, but it was in the last round and by then he was a long way behind on the scorecard.

It was a fairly comfortable night for the older boxer all in all, but Smedley will need to learn how to get inside a defence and keep better balance and poise when coming under attack. One to chalk down to experience.