CHESS MATCH
Catterall and Davies disappoint but Sharpwoodstock raises the spirits afterwards
IT was a blessing that the 12-round WBO Inter-continental super-lightweight title bout between belt-holder Jack
Catterall of Chorley and Hackney’s Ohara Davies didn’t close the show because, while a veritable chess match throughout, it didn’t exactly set the pulses racing.
For round after round the two, one southpaw and one orthodox, kept it at a distance and pecked away when best they could, each seeking to lure the other in and neither ever really rising to the bait.
At the finish Catterall was up on all three cards, 115-113 twice and a toowide 118-110, and in winning he secured a ninth successful defence. Howard Foster was the third man.
What followed, and closed the night, was much better. Archie Sharp turned in quite a performance at Leicester Arena, cementing his place amongst the leading lights in a red hot domestic super-featherweight division by dropping and outpointing Leicester’s unbeaten Leon Woodstock en route to snatching the WBO European title.
Not off to the best of starts after sustaining very early damage to the right eye, maybe from a thumb, champion Woodstock’s night quickly worsened when a cracking left sent him to the seat of his shorts in front of his own corner before the first round (of 10) was out.
Buoyant at having made such an early breakthrough, Archie oozed confidence and proceeded to open a lead that would ultimately prove too much for Leon, despite his best attempts in the much closer second half, to claw back.
Woodstock’s best work probably came in the sixth when just for a while one wondered if he was about to turn the bout on its head. But Archie weathered the storm and by the finish he was back calling the shots, forcing the gallant Leicester puncher to cover under fire.
All three judges had it 96-93 for the Welling man. Phil Edwards refereed.
Ibstock’s British super-featherweight champ Sam Bowen turned on the style on the big stage style to win the vacant WBO Inter-continental title against Argentinean opposition in the shape of Argentina’s Horacio Alfredo Cabral.
After taking a round or two to have a look, during which time he was tagged by a hefty and very early left to the head, there was a definite gear change at the top of the fourth. With Bowen’s confidence growing, the visitor - stopped only once in 24 previous outings - was despatched by a crunching left to the body which sent him down for the duration of referee Foster’s count with 53 seconds of the session still to run.
Greenwich heavy Daniel Dubois went the distance for the first time when he shared 10 what proved to be very onesided rounds against American Kevin Johnson.
The former world title challenger, having been forced to endure a particularly busy opening spell, offered very little by way of threat and spent long periods with his back to the ropes attempting to evade the advances of the younger man. No real surprise that Shaun Messer should score this one 100-91 to the Londoner.
Another 10-rounder to go the distance (overseen by Phil Edwards) for the interim WBO female flyweight title, between popular Leeds puncher Nicola Adams and game Mexican Isabel Millan, went the way of the former, the three scoring judges all having her ahead to the tune of 97-93 twice and 96-94.
The taller Latin lady, with her looping hooks that just kept coming, and more often than not just kept falling short, stayed busy right to the finish. Nicola, a good deal more measured and accurate with her own work, had to remain both adept and constantly on her guard.
Having gone past four rounds for the first time since making her paid bow, Ingle-trained Adams is now eyeing a tilt at the full WBO title and she may well be afforded a shot on the Warringtonframpton undercard in December.
Oldham’s unbeaten Mark Heffron proved too much for Ghana’s Aryee
Ayittey, halting him seven seconds shy of the halfway mark of a scheduled eight.
The African was nicknamed “Volcano” but seldom looked like erupting. Not particularly keen on the number of body shots he was shipping, his appetite for a scrap waned quickly, his corner tossing in the towel after their man visited the canvas for the second time in quick succession. That came as referee Foster waved it off with Ayittey still on the deck.
Only one of two scheduled sixes overseen by Mr Messer ran their allotted distance with Birmingham’s Raza Hamza needing less than a third of his bout to dispose of Barcelona-based Nicaraguan
Johnson Tellez. A left downstairs had Tellez writhing on the canvas and making no attempt to beat the count which ended with 21 seconds of the seconds remaining.
Leicester super-welter CJ Challenger notched his ninth paid win but didn’t have it all his own way against Bicester’s game
Scott James. It finished 60-57 in CJ’S favour, though I had it a fraction closer.
Both Tamworth’s Ryan Hatton and Thornaby’s Joe Maphosa maintained their 100 per cent records with fourround victories.
Light-heavy Hatton triumphed 40-37 (for referee Kevin Parker) against Poland’s
Przemyslaw Binienda in a frustratingly scrappy affair whilst Durham’s Maphosa employed fast hands to record a shut-out win over Hungarian Gyula Doduon the card of referee Messer.
A four overseen by Kevin Parker saw Leicester novice Callum Blockley outpoint Driffield’s experienced Danny
Little 40-36 to move to three unbeaten.