POLE POSITION
Osueke has far too much for Polish visitor Kulczyk
LAWRENCE OSUEKE’S first stoppage triumph of his professional career was one of the many highlights of this breathless eight-bout bash at a packed Lancastrian Suite. After beginning pro life with four consecutive points wins, the Newcastle man halted Poland’s Kamil Kulczyk at 1-48 in the third of a scheduled six. Osueke oozed class, and it was no surprise when ref Darren Sarginson intervened.
Kyle Redfearn rarely requires the ref’s scorecard and the Ferryhill fighter totted up his fifth stoppage success out of seven when Ron Kearney mercifully ended a pounding for Jindrich Velecky at 1-36 of the second of six rounds. The outgunned Czech was the only visitor to show no ambition on this Steve Wraith/phil Jeffries promotion which produced two away wins and a draw. In the other six-rounder, Bedlington’s
Darren Reay let a hard-earned lead slip as Russian teenager Boris Shikunov’s late spurt earned 57-57 from Mr Kearney.
The event began and closed with North East derbies which brought victories for the away corner. Trimdon’s Jay Hughes edged a war with Kris Pilkington, Mr Sarginson going with Hughes’ quality over the Gateshead pocket battleship’s aggression, 39-37. Meanwhile, Newcastle’s
Zaki Shirzad went from 0-90mph in six seconds of his debut, only to run out of gas as Darlington’s Adam Hutchinson returned to the pro arena after a sevenyear absence with his first ‘W’, 39-37 for Mr Kearney.
North East prospects Joe Hill and
Chad Ellis extended their 100 per cent records, though not without a fight. Hill, from Redcar, held off a strong challenge from Manchester’s Sam Omidi,
Mr Sarginson marking 39-38, while Spennymoor’s Ellis gained a 40-37 verdict from Mr Kearney after a gripping contest with Bolton’s dangerous Chris Jenkinson.
Newcastle’s Manchester-based Dean Laing sent his fans home happy after beating Latvia’s Raimonds Sniedze
40-36 (Mr Sarginson).
THE VERDICT Hughes vs Pilkington deserves a repeat showing after setting the tone for an event in which, refreshingly, all bar one of the away contingent came to win.