EARLY NIGHT

Mcloughlin gets a stoppage in only his second pro contest

WHEN pro boxing made its debut in Bingham back in early February, the temperature inside the venue had been positively glacial. Thankfully, this time the paying punters didn’t need their scarves and mufflers as they bore witness to six contests, all overseen by referee Kevin Parker, and all but one of which ran its distance.

The early finish came in the only scheduled six-rounder of the night – a six-twos between one-fight Lincoln novice Jordan Mcloughlin and Torquay veteran Ali Wyatt. This one finished 18 seconds into the penultimate session, after the vastly more experienced Iran-born Wyatt, having already visited the canvas in the second session, was downed for a second time.

Another Lincolnshire fighter, cruiserweight Dan Cooper, having won his first five in the paid ranks, had to settle for a share of the spoils at the completion of his four against towering Lithuanian Dmitrij Kalinovskij – a regular visitor here who does come to fight. Third man Mr Parker saw things all square at 38-38.

The remaining quartet of bouts, all boxed over four rounds, saw home boxers triumph over experienced opposition.

Gedling’s Leigh Wood, returning for the first time since claiming the Midlands Area featherweight title with an early stoppage win over Lee Glover 15 months ago, eased back into things against durable Lithuanian Simas Volosinas. Wood floored Volosinas in the last en route to a 40-35 win. Meanwhile, Nottingham’s Botswana-born Ekow Essuman

secured his fourth straight win with a shutout 40-36 success over Lithuania’s Arvydas Trizno, who just a week earlier had handed Kurt Grieve a first-round stoppage loss.

Newark’s Chad Sugden

returned to winning ways by dominating on his way to a 40-36 win against Latvian Raimonds Sniedze, but Nottingham debutant Omari Grant didn’t have things all his own way against Reading’s busy Ibrar Riyaz. It finished 39-38 to Grant.

THE VERDICT It is standing room only in Bingham Leisure Centre on this night.