CHOPPER HARRIS
Brave Murray is cut down in three in title tussle
HARRIS RALLIED, LANDING A BURST TO THE HEAD TO SEND MURRAY DOWN
AY HARRIS
Jmade a successful first defence of his Commonwealth flyweight title, flooring and halting Castlemilk’s brave Ross Murray in three rounds at York Hall on a British Warrior Boxing promotion. Down in the second and third, Murray was taking stick on the ropes when referee Marcus Mcdonnell called a halt after 2-48.
Murray was just one pound lighter than the champion at the weigh-in, but he looked about two divisions below his rival on the night – Harris (Swansea) had height and reach advantages, and used them well. He scored with long jabs in the first, and already it was clear Murray had problems. The challenger made a big effort in the second, trying to take the fight to Harris, but was trapped on the ropes and shipped a couple of solid head punches.
A cut appeared in the corner of Harris’ left eye, and the champion dabbed at it, clearly unsettled – but he quickly recovered and opened up to have Murray under pressure on the ropes. Then Harris crashed in a huge left to the body, and Murray went down in a neutral corner. He beat the count, and the bell stopped Harris from following up – and Murray came out aggressively for the third.
But Harris rallied, landing both hands, and finally a burst to the head sent Murray down on all fours. He clambered up at ‘eight’ and came forward gamely, but he was trapped on the ropes, and an unanswered burst to the head prompted Mr Mcdonnell to stop it.
Andre Sterling (New Cross) won the vacant Southern Area light-heavyweight title after a hard-fought 10-rounder with Clapham’s Kirk Garvey, referee Kieran Mccann scoring 96-94.
Styles clashed, with the shorter Sterling looking to come inside – there was a lot of tangling and headwork (for which Sterling incurred a severe lecture in the sixth). But both showed plenty of effort, and the fans really enjoyed it. Sterling sustained damage to the right eyebrow – from an accidental head clash, Mr Mccann ruled – and a swelling below the same eye.
The first two rounds were rather messy, but midway through the third Sterling launched the first proper attack – and Garvey hit back. The action continued, with Sterling landing a load to the head in the fifth and Garvey covering up. Both were spoken to at the start of the seventh, a session that saw Garvey coming back after being tagged by a left hook. In
the eighth Sterling tried going on the back foot, then opened up to have Garvey on the ropes, but Garvey hit back strongly.
Sterling kept up the pressure in the ninth, and got close, but Garvey countered grimly, and Sterling was warned for a blatant shot after the command to ‘break’. Garvey tried to jab at a distance in the last, but Sterling got close again. Although several rounds were hard to score, I agreed Sterling deserved the win because Garvey was forced to fight Sterling’s fight considerably more than Sterling was forced to fight Garvey’s.
There was a disastrous pro debut for Seaham’s Bradley Harris, who was blown away in just 50 seconds by Barry’s
Maredudd Thomas. Harris began aggressively, but walked on to a right counter that had him over for ‘two’. Thomas went straight back on the attack, and Harris tried to cover up, but he was taking punishment in a neutral corner, and referee Mccann signalled the end. It had been scheduled for four.
Seven more four-rounders completed the bill, with all going the distance and only one of the home fighters dropping a round. That was Sutton’s Tommy
Williams, who met stout resistance from Southwark’s still-winless Victor Edagha, but came through by 39-38 for referee Chas Coakley.
Edagha’s opening salvo seemed to surprise Williams, but he moved out of danger and then launched his own attack, a right to the head having Edagha unsteady for a moment. Williams kept up the pressure in the second, briefly switching to southpaw, and both were warned for headwork.
Edagha’s attacks were wild in the third but he was landing, and Williams grabbed for safety. There was a lot of missing in the last, and Edagha never stopped trying – that elusive first win should come soon.
Dan Morley (Epsom) took referee Mccann’s 40-35 verdict over Bradford’s
Naheem Chaudhry, who was put down in the third and finished with swellings under both eyes.
A Morley attack in the first had Chaudhry covering up in his own corner. He got away, and tried turning southpaw, but Morley kept up the pressure in the second. In the third, a left-right to the head had Chaudhry over, though he jumped up at once. Morley followed up, but Chaudhry held and was wrestled down, Mr Mccann correctly not counting. Morley stayed on top in the last, with Chaudhry being warned for holding. Slough’s popular Mohammed Wajid Khan had a winning debut, outscoring
Darren Snow (Dinnington) by 40-36 for referee Coakley. Khan pressed forward throughout, though Snow countered gamely. Snow finished with a swelling under the left eye.
Samuel Antwi (Stockwell) took referee Mccann’s 40-36 verdict over Atherton’s experienced William Warburton, who finished with a cut on the left eyebrow and a mark below the left eye.
Mr Coakley awarded 40-36 wins to Islington’s Ryan Charles over Manchester’s Taha Mirhosseini; London’s Mason Smith against Stockport’s Jamie Quinn; and Kingston’s Germaine Brown versus Middleton’s Darryl Sharp.
THE VERDICT The unbeaten Harris marches on.