BROWNED OFF

Andy Whittle sees veteran Mccauley given a hard night

A HEALTHY and at times vociferous crowd were on hand to witness the first show at the Mercia Banqueting Suite for 12 years, a show reduced from seven bouts to five in the preceding days.

Northampton’s unbeaten Drew Brown, winner last year in Manchester of the welterweight Ultimate Boxxer Tournament, looked sharp in the evening’s curtain raiser against Stourbridge veteran Kevin Mccauley, who in going down 60-54 was given a harder night than he sometimes encounters.

Also over the six-round distance, and initially set for four before some mid-bout consultations, was a 58-56 victory for popular local David

Seymour - though I thought his bearded Georgian opponent Khvicha Gigolashvili, who remained on the front foot and pressing for the most part, had done more than enough to warrant having his arm raised at the finish. A cruiserweight six saw Coventry southpaw

Joe Sherriff dominate en route to a shut-out 60-54 success against gangly Lithuanian Dmitrij

Kalinovskij, an ever-present jab being the tool that kept the visitor at bay and condemned him to his 50th pro defeat.

The two remaining contests, both over four, saw Coventry pair Troy James and River

Wilson-bent triumph. James took a 40-38 decision over Plymouth’s tough, tough Chris

Adaway, who took two absolutely cracking hooks to the chin in the third before rallying towards the end of the session and then gave as good as he got in the last.

Meanwhile, ticket-seller Wilson-bent had too much of everything for outclassed Pole Daniel

Urbanski, who had his work cut out after being floored by a trio of body shots late in the first and cut by the left eye in the next.

Trialist referee Chris Dean was the man in the middle throughout with Shaun Messer scoring from ringside.