GOLDEN BROWN
The inaugural Ultimate Boxxer champion is crowned
MANCHESTER APRIL 27 ★★★★ ULTIMATE BOXXER ★ REST OF THE BILL ★★★★ ATMOSPHERE
ULTIMATE BOXXER, the brainchild of Benjamin Shalom that has garnered the support of Carl Greaves, the named promoter, as well as patronage from Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton and Anthony Crolla, held its inaugural show at the Manchester Arena in front of approximately 3,000 fans.
On the undercard, Sale’s Sam Hyde stopped Lithuania’s Dmitrij Kalinovskij in the fifth of a scheduled six. It was the result of an utterly misplaced surge of confidence from the visitor, who came out seeking to find Hyde in the fifth only to cop a series of right hands, forcing referee John Latham to intervene at 2-30.
It quickly became clear that Stockport’s Dale Arrowsmith would struggle to get a round in even if he had just announced he was getting married. Therefore, it was no surprise when referee Mark Lyson turned in a 40-36 card in favour of Ashton’s Ryan Oliver.
The final undercard fight was also set for four rounds as Sale’s Ben Sheedy
ate a few counters en route to a win over Emmanuel Moussinga, from Cameroon by way of Stourbridge. Latham had it 39-37.
Appetisers over, it was time for Ultimate Boxxer. The first quarter-final was done with before it had a chance to really begin as Northampton’s Drew Brown beat Jimmy Cooper. A right hook floored the Totton-based Cooper, who got up at the count of ‘eight’ only Phil Edwards to wave it off at 2-23.
In the second quarter-final, Birmingham’s Kaisee Benjamin
switched stance early on, while the Wednesbury-based Sam Evans applied pressure. More of the same followed, with Evans losing cohesion and rhythmic quality in a hurried third and final round. The three judges (Edwards, Michael Alexander and Latham) turned in matching scores of 29-28 for Evans. Lyson was the referee.
Former white-collar boxer Tom Young
of Leeds harried Nottinghamshire’s Ben Eland throughout. Young took it by 30-27, 29-28 and 30-27 on the cards of Edwards, Alexander and Lyson respectively, with Latham the referee.
The last of the quarter-finals ended in disappointment for Andy Kremner.
The Oldham boy started slowly against Sunderland’s Isaac Macleod and by the time he came to life in round three the fight had slipped away from him.
Cut in the second, Macleod managed to get through the third, even threading through a few shots as the pace dropped. Latham and Lyson had it 29-28 for Macleod, while Edwards scored it by the same margin for Kremner. Alexander officiated.
After fans were ‘treated’ to an MC set from Big Narstie, Brown met Evans for a place in the final. Both produced a messy, tired start before Brown’s better movement and jab came to the fore, allowing him to take an entertaining split decision win: Alexander’s 28-29 tally was overturned by two scores of 29-28 from Latham and Lyson, with Edwards reffing.
In the next semi, Young came out firing once again, scoring an early knockdown after Macleod suffered a delayed reaction to a right hand to the temple. Macleod fired back only to leave himself wide open for a clean, almost languid, flicked left hook. Macleod hit the canvas and referee Lyson wisely stopped the fight at 1-15 of the first.
True to what he had shown thus far, Young came out firing in the final, pushing Brown onto the back foot and forcing him to work reactively to stem the flow. However, a right hand in round two from Brown forced Young onto the ropes, where he was far less effective.
With it all to fight for, both men showed desire in round three and it was a case of going with what you liked; Young went for it and Brown showed a bit more savvy when required.
Boxing News had it 29-28 for Young, yet all three judges saw it for Brown, handing in scores of 29-28 (Lyson), 30-27 (Edwards), and 29-28 (Alexander) to crown the maiden Ultimate Boxxer
champion and the first recipient of the Golden Gown, which was presented to the winner by Hatton.
THE VERDICT With a few tweaks, particularly a more intimate venue and no Big Narstie, this format could be marketed to and well received by those who enjoy fast-paced boxing.