RYDER-SIROTKIN
Ryder wins eliminator but Cheeseman steals the show at the Copper Box
The in-form “Gorilla” puts himself firmly in the mix for a world title shot
JOHN RYDER has put himself on course for a world title shot. After a run of good wins, over Patrick Nielsen then Jamie Cox, he cleared the last hurdle, halting Andrey
Sirotkin on a lively night at the Copper Box in a final eliminator for the WBA super-middleweight title.
Ryder started off quietly, tracking after the Russian but not getting his shots off. Instead Sirotkin stayed orthodox and exploited the Islington man’s southpaw stance. He whipped his right through John’s guard. He landed and quickly moved away. If failing to control the opening third of the contest was frustrating for Ryder, it prompted him to switch his activity up a gear. As he applied pressure in the fifth round and Sirotkin started to wilt. Ryder hammered him with heavy left crosses. He ignored the blood leaking from a cut over his left eye and pressed on. By the seventh he had the Russian reeling. Ryder continued the assault, a final right hook to the body left Sirotkin on his knees, halted at 2-54 of the seventh round by referee Terry O’connor.
Ted Cheeseman’s rivalry with Asinia Byfield culminated in a thrilling British super-welterweight title fight. Reading’s Byfield switched from stance to stance early on, flipping jabs into the Bermondsey man’s guard like he was tossing out Frisbees. But Cheeseman impressed, his aggression constant yet intelligent. He cut off Byfield’s space, stayed up close and weaved his head away from punches, ready to fire off his own combinations, scoring with eye-catching uppercuts and heavy right hands.
He broke through in the fifth round with a right hook slamming Byfield to the canvas. Cheeseman continued to drive him across the ring. Asinia found shots to sling back at him but had to call on all his reserves of resilience to finish the 12 rounds. Ultimately Cheeseman had dominated, winning 117-110 for Steve Gray and 117-111 for both Terry O’connor and Victor Loughlin. Howard Foster refereed.
Chatteris featherweight Jordan Gill put in a superb performance to wrest the Commonwealth title from Ryan Doyle. Gill moved well, jabbing sharply. In an outstanding fourth round, Jordan wobbled the champion, only for Doyle to unleash a tremendous right hook. Gill came back at once with a powerful left.
In the sixth, just as Doyle was having a good round, Gill drove in his left uppercut, the weight of it enough to knock the Mancunian off his feet. Gill squeezed him out of the fight in the next session. He slashed a right hook round, to shake up Doyle. The following assault hammered Ryan into the ropes as Gill hit the body, the head and prompted referee Victor Loughlin to end things at 1-32.