WBO Intercontinental Lightweight Title: Kevin Mitchell TKO8 John Murray
The previous two fights on this card had both been disappointing in their own way so the crowd (and those at home) were very much in need of a decent fight and thankfully Murray and Mitchell provided just that.
Murray came forward from the opening bell. From behind a high guard he rarely took a backwards step early on as he hunted Mitchell down around the ring. Mitchell had come to box on the run, looking sprightly and energetic but happy to stand his ground when he was ready to trade punches, before slipping away again. The contrast of styles made for a great match-up with Murray unloading when he managed to close the gap or trap Mitchell on the ropes.
The first couple of rounds were fairly even though Mitchell's punches were noticeably crisper whilst Murray looked to outwork him inside. In the third round Murray caught Mitchell and slowed him down, allowing him to close the gap and apply some pressure in an attempt to wear him down. By the fourth though Mitchell was back moving quickly and holding his own in the close exchanges with the left upper cut starting to do serious damage, especially when thrown two or three at a time. By the sixth the clean punches were starting to take their toll on Murray as he began to mark up around the eyes.
In the seventh it became clear that Murray was starting to tire. The snap had gone out of his punches, the eyes were closing up and he was visibly tired. Mitchell was still looking fresh and moving well meaning that Murray was left punching fresh air. With under a minute to go Mitchell landed with a left and Murray started to wobble. He recovered only to be rocked again but was saved by the bell. As they came out for the eighth it was clear that he'd not recovered and Mitchell was looking to finish it. He landed a solid left hook and Murray dropped to his knees, making the count but only just convincing the referee that he was fit to fight on. Mitchell came straight at him and landed four decent shots, at which point it was waved off with Murray on the brink of going down again.
It was a great fight from the opening bell between two fighters with great respect for each other. Murray showed great heart and determination but was beaten by a technically better fighter as Mitchell showed the class that took him to a world title shot. At this rate another one surely won't be too far away.
WBO Super-Featherweight Title: Ricky Burns TKO1 Nicky Cook
An astonishing fight which had Cook's corner throwing in the towel in the first round without a serious punch being landed. With six seconds gone Burns landed an innocuous punch to the side of the head and Cook collapsed to the canvas holding his back. He took an 8-count whilst hobbling around and trying to stretch himself on the ropes before declaring himself ready to go on.
Before another punch had been thrown he dropped to one knee again and took another count whilst again holding his lower back, but once more decided he wanted to go on. Burns then managed to land a few punches to put Cook down for a third time, but somehow he was allowed to go on again, only to be saved from further embarrassment when his corner threw the towel in.
It was a farce of a fight which ended with Cook being stretchered out of the ring. Whilst one must have every sympathy for him, how could he have been passed fit to fight with a back in such bad condition? Burns has been robbed of the chance to have a proper defence of his title and the crowd were likewise short-changed.
British and Commonwealth Light-Heavyweight Titles: Tony Bellew UD12 Ovill McKenzie
This was the opening fight on the card and started with great cheers for the local boy Bellew but ended with isolated chants of 'boooo-ring' from the crowd. These two had previously been involved in a barnstormer of a fight, but as is so often the case, the sequel failed to live up the the original.
The fight settled into a pattern early on with Bellew looking to keep the fight at a distance and McKenzie close him down. Bellew was on the move for the entire time, happy to box on the retreat and occasionally step forward with a couple of jabs. McKenzie on the other hand was regularly moving forward and when he closed the gap threw punches in bunches, though in a wild manner rather than controlled aggression. Neither boxer was able to land anything of consequence in the first six rounds with Bellew doing enough half-decent work to be comfortably ahead on the cards.
As the bout wore on a few more punches were landed. A big right from McKenzie in the sixth threatened to spark the fight into life, but it soon settled back down again. In the eighth Bellew started to string a few punches together, but was still happy to stay at range and pick McKenzie off, towards the end of the fight holding centre-ring and cruising through the last few rounds.
Given that he was knocked down twice in their previous meeting it's understandable that Bellew wanted to be a little circumspect, but it became obvious early on that McKenzie wasn't a great threat and that should have precipitated a change in tactics. He rightfully won by a large margin on all the cards, but very few people watching would have been impressed, least of all Nathan Cleverly who had a ringside view of a disappointing contest.
WBO Intercontinental Welterweight Title : Frankie Gavin SD12 Curtis Woodhouse
Difficult to say much about this because Sky only showed edited highlights but after the fight Barry McGuigan said "[Frankie Gavin] could turn out to the the biggest waste of talent we've ever had". He laboured to a victory over a limited fighter and later admitted to not preparing properly, which has echos of failing to make the weight for the Olympics. If the talk of him being a potential world champion is to be accurate then it will require him to dedicate himself properly to the sport.
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