A HAPPY BIRTHDAY
O’maison claims English 140lb title on the day he turns 27
BIRTHDAY boy Sam O’maison had another cause for celebration after securing the vacant English super-lightweight crown on promoter Clifton Mitchell’s show at Bramall Lane. A third-round stoppage win was the local man’s reward against Grimsby’s Kevin Hooper who, having previously held the lightweight version of this title, had stepped in at fairly late notice following the withdrawal of Coventry’s Jordan Cooke.
Ryan Rhodes-trained southpaw Sam marginally had the better of two see-saw opening rounds, and he made the breakthrough early in the next by catching the incoming Hooper and sending him down with a short right.
Kevin was up as referee Shaun Messer reached a count of ‘eight’, but he quickly came under renewed fire. With the scent of victory in his nostrils, O’maison duly slammed home three immediate rights and a single left. With no sign of the pressure abating, Mr Messer decided that enough was enough, with 96 seconds of the third having elapsed.
A quartet of four-rounders, all overseen by Howard Foster, formed the undercard, with all but one finishing 40-36 in favour of the home boxers. Loua Nassa, Razaq Najib and the returning Jayce Dixon came out on top against Sheffield’s Kieran Holman, London-based Swede Edward Bjorklund and Islington’s Jordan Grannum respectively.
Sheffielder Nicolie Campbell returned from a two-year sabbatical and looked good in consigning Nottinghamshire-based Pole Patryk Buczek to an early debut defeat. A series of body shots preceded a spell of pressure which saw Buczek twice under fire in a neutral corner, before being halted 70 seconds into the second.
THE VERDICT O’maison celebrates his birthday in the best possible style.