SLOW BURNER
Some solid performances but this undercard didn’t exactly whet the appetite for the main event
BY the time Hackney’s Lawrence Okolie had taken his place in the ring, the majority of the 1,000-strong crowd had taken their seats. Some were just happy to be there, posing for selfies with their back to the ring while they waited for Anthony Joshua in the main event, but many more were roaring encouragement to the cruiserweight contender. They didn’t have to wait long to cheer the victory too as Okolie thrashed the mismatched Nikodem Jezewski inside two horribly one-sided rounds.
The Polish fighter was jetted in at short notice after his countryman Krzysztof Glowacki tested positive for coronavirus nine days before he was due to fight Okolie in a scrap for the vacant WBO title. His absence of course could not be helped and spoke of the problems assembling a decent undercard.
But Okolie, improving quickly under Shane Mcguigan, went about business professionally. A sharp right to the body decked Jezewski in the opening round. Clearly out of his depth, the muscled outsider signalled he was okay to continue, then reacted to a blow to the top of the head like he’d been tasered. His whole body shuddered nastily before his legs gave way. Frankly, enough was enough right there.
Referee Phil Edwards allowed it continue. Into the second and again Jezewski looked frightfully ill-equipped to withstand the force of Okolie’s punches. Another savage right hand hit the mark that sent Jezewski to the mat. Edwards called it off at 1-45 of the round.
Unexpectedly, Manchester’s Hughie Fury found himself in the midst of a scrap with Polish heavyweight gatekeeper Mariusz Wach. In later years Wach has developed a tendency to prioritise survival over victory, but he was in the mood here.
Fury took a heavy right hand in the first. The British contender’s head was snapped back by an uppercut in round two. Ringsiders whispered there might be a surprise in store as the action grew increasingly scrappy.
In the fourth, it got worse. A clash of heads split open Fury’s left eyebrow and referee Bob Williams immediately called for the doctor to take a look at the gaping wound. As the blood spilled, Fury (who was forced to fight much of his 2018 loss to Kubrat Pulev with a bad cut) went for broke. He raided his opponent again in the fifth but his work was often too rushed to be truly effective.
After being given a talking to by his trainer and father Peter Fury, and some excellent work on the cut by Kerry Kayes, Hughie found his groove in the sixth. After the cut was again okayed by the ringside doctor, Fury – realising he didn’t have the firepower to stop Wach – regularly switched stances and outfoxed the old stalwart. Not only that, he was aggressive whenever Wach got too brave.
When a battle-enlivened Fury stuck out his tongue at the final bell, there was no doubt about who had won the fight.
Two scores of 100-90 (Marcus Mcdonnell and Steve Gray) and one of 99-91 (Mr Edwards) confirmed Fury’s victory.
In a chaotic and occasionally exciting heavyweight 10-rounder, Airdrie-based Martin Bakole edged Russia’s Sergey Kuzmin via unanimous decision.
Round two thrilled as the pair exchanged. Bakole’s thumps to Kuzmin’s ample midsection reverberated around the arena like a football being wellied at a gym wall. But the narrow underdog rallied back with blows to the head.
The fight settled down after that. Bakole boxed behind his jab while Kuzmin looked for openings on the inside. Neither fighter was ever truly in control but the cleaner work was coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo man.
Both fighters have lost to Michael Hunter in the past and in truth looked some way off the division’s elite but Bakole put his punches together well and marches on. He sank to his knees in delight as scores from Yordan Ezekiev (96-94), Matteo Montella (97-93) and Mr Mcdonnell (98-92) were read out.
Northampton’s Kieron Conway
impressed as he stifled the enthusiastic Macauley Mcgowan en route to a wide unanimous 10-round decision. The Wythenshawe resident gave this everything, burrowing inside from the start, trying to unsettle the favourite.
But Conway retained control. Mcgowan did well to survive the eighth after being dropped by a left hook. Scores of 100-89 (twice) and 100-90 confirmed Conway as the winner. Mr Mcdonnell was the referee.
New Matchroom Boxing signing Florian Marku of Albania, trained by Don Charles, did not impress but was nonetheless unfortunate to only get an eight-round draw with Longton’s Jamie Stewart.
A sharp left hook to the body dropped the Scott Lawton-trained Stewart in the second but he was fighting back in the third. Marku struggled to cut off the ring at times but he looked like the winner after eight. Referee Mr Mcdonnell, however, scored the bout 76-76.
Opening the event at 5.10pm was Leeds super-bantamweight Qais Ashfaq
who stopped former Commonwealth champion Ashley Lane 20 seconds into the fourth. Bristol’s Lane protested the stoppage but he’d been dropped twice (in the first and third rounds) and was taking too many clean shots.
THE VERDICT A forgettable undercard but Okolie gets a chance to show off his firepower.