THE RYAN KING
Matthew pips Upton to claim the English 154lb crown
PLAGUED by last-minute withdrawals, former British and European superlightweight champion Pat Barrett saw his latest offering at Bowlers Exhibition Centre – surely the coldest UK venue in regular use at this present time – reduced to just four fights. It was a good job then that the punters were able to enjoy plenty of alternative entertainment while waiting for the evening’s action to commence.
A young lady vocalist – very good too, followed by a trio of dancing girls resplendent in iridescent wing-type attachments and Dr Martens boots, made way for a fashion show – yes, a fashion show. Then, three young guys – a rapper accompanied by two energetic dancers – all seemed to go down well, before it was, at last, time for the fistic fare to begin.
Middleton’s Matthew Ryan claimed the vacant English super-welterweight title in the bill-topper, a majority decision being his reward at the conclusion of 10 intriguing rounds against wellsupported Londoner Sonny Upton. The visitor, who was more industrious off the back foot in the early rounds, kept it competitive throughout, and raised his arms at the finish feeling that he had done enough.
I didn’t feel there was a great deal of daylight between the pair. Just when the slightly taller Ryan – who was always looking to find a gap in Upton’s defences – had seemingly gained the upper hand after stronger seventh and eighth sessions, Sonny dug in and came on again late.
Two of the judges – Ian John Lewis and John Latham – scored for Ryan, 97-93 and 96-95 respectively. Darren Sarginson, meanwhile, had it level at 96-96, as did I. Howard Foster was the referee.
The only thing dropping quicker than the temperature inside the arena was Hungarian Ferenc Zsalek. He lasted all of 115 seconds of his contest – fancifully scheduled for eight – against tall and deceptively heavy-handed Hamburgbased Russia native Mohamed Soltby.
It had all been fairly placid until Soltby – boxing outside of Germany for the first time – uncorked an innocuouslooking right upstairs, hot on the heels of a precise left uppercut. Zsalek, with blood dripping steadily from his nose, fell to his knees and down onto the canvas. Referee Sarginson aborted his count at ‘eight’ to allow medics to give Ferenc a quick once-over after he had plonked disconsolately back down on his stool.
A six-rounder between local rivals and old amateur stablemates Chris Monaghan (Salford) and Oldham-born
Sam Omidi got off to quite a start, with both boxers being floored in the opener. Monaghan, having been decked by a purposeful right to the head inside the opening 15 seconds, rallied from the halfway point in the session, and scored a knockdown of his own late on in the frame when two solid rights forced Omidi to touch down momentarily in centre ring.
The two men vied for supremacy for the rest of the bout, and while I thought Chris – busier in the middle rounds – might have done enough to win, referee Latham saw it all square at 58-58, with Omidi coming on strongly in the last.
Manchester’s Lyndon Arthur, not for the first time, triumphed inside the distance. The man facing him, Croatia’s
Toni Bilic, had won just one of eight previous outings. It was somewhat predictable then that he folded inside schedule, with trialist referee Jamie Kirkpatrick intervening with 100 seconds of the fourth and final round remaining. The stoppage was called when the visitor was felled, for a second time, in a neutral corner by a right uppercut. Bilic had initially hit the canvas as early as the second round when a right hook had seen him drop quickly to one knee.
THE VERDICT A quartet of entertaining bouts help warm the spirits of the spectators.