SMOOTH AS BUTTER

Jane Warburton sees skilful Buttery shut out Richards in style

IN the bill-topper at Kings Hall (Carl Greaves Promotions), Burslem’s quick-footed Kaash

Buttery dominated with speed and variety against Melksham’s tough Liam Richards, who still managed to grin through the punishment.

Urged on by a noisy bunch of supporters, Buttery clearly enjoyed the last two rounds, and it was no surprise when he was awarded a 60-54 points victory from refereefor-the-evening Kevin Parker.

Uttoxeter’s Josh Groombridge

returned to winning ways, having slipped up against Emmanuel Moussinga last time out in April. He landed thumping rights to win 40-36 against Paul Cummings

(Warminster via Northern Ireland), who was sporting a black eye before proceedings even began.

Rhasian Earlington of Newcastle-under-lyme recorded a 40-37 points victory over Swadlincote’s tricky Kent Kauppinen, who unloaded some heavy right hands from the off. Earlington kept jabbing and dodged a couple of dangerous flurries to secure the win.

Local Rob Fletcher took on Manchester-based Iranian Taha Mirhosseini, whose sometimes overenthusiastic swings almost sent him toppling over himself. It was during a sloppy last round that the bloody-nosed Mirhosseini was deducted a point, leaving the final score reading 40-35.

Wrexham debutant Martin Jones proved both popular and impressive in his first outing, scoring a 40-36 points success over Braintree’s Dylan Draper. It was a slower-paced fight for Hanley’s Jamal Le Doux, however, whose opponent, Lithuania’s Vaidas Balciauskas, threw very little. Unsurprisingly, Le Doux also emerged a 40-36 winner.

The surprise result of the night saw Derby’s Elvis Dube upset the applecart by outscoring hometowner Wesley Leavy 39-38. Dube was on a mission to keep punching no matter what, and his frenetic work rate saw him emerge victorious for the first time since April 2016 – some 18 fights ago.

THE VERDICT The only upset in the Potteries sees Dube secure a rare win.