TAKA TAKEN OUT
George Storr sees Ghaz force a stoppage against Bembere
BRADFORD’S Hamed Ghaz headlined Mark Bateson’s Elland Road show in an arresting eight-rounder against Taka
Bembere. The Oldham man was elusive in the early rounds, but from the halfway point Ghaz began to get to grips with Bembere’s movement. Ghaz registered a swarming knockdown in the fifth, before going on the offensive for the rest of the fight. Referee Michael Alexander stepped in to stop the contest at 1-38 in the final round.
Leeds’ Jack Bateson brought a touch of quality to his father’s show in beating gutsy Glaswegian Scott Mccormack. Bateson’s footwork and range-finding was impeccable throughout. Referee Steve Gray marked 60-54. Liverpool’s former MMA fighter
Jack Mcgann fought to a draw with Stourbridge-based Emmanuel
Moussinga. Mr Alexander tallied 58-58. Meanwhile, powerful Leeds southpaw and ex-rugby league player Mick Learmonth stopped Latvia’s Florians Strupits, with Mr Gray waving the contest off at 2-26 in the fourth and final round.
Moston’s Michael Gomez Jnr was frustrated by Simas Volosinas’ consistent grappling, which resulted in the Lithuanian having a point deducted by referee Andy Brook. Gomez ultimately emerged a 40-34 winner. Elsewhere, Halifax’s Kyle Scully dropped Blackburn’s Naheem Chaudhry in the first and displayed slick skills in winning 40-35 for Mr Brook, while Leeds’ Billy Pickles applied educated pressure against Cardiff’s Rhys Saunders to earn a 40-36 win from the same referee.
Halifax’s Jack Sellars bounced back from two consecutive losses with a 40-36 victory over Northern Irishman
Casey Blair of Bangor. Coming off an unsuccessful Commonwealth female lightweight title tilt, local Sam Smith bested Poland’s Karina Kopinska 60-54. Leeds’ Ishmael Davis made an assured debut against another Pole in
Patryk Buczek, taking a 40-35 win. In a scheduled four-rounder, Zachary
Thompson retired on his stool after a tough first session against York debutant Michael Farera.
THE VERDICT A well-attended showcase of local talent.