HIGH RANKIN
Hannah wins her Spurs with hard-fought triumph over Lindberg, writes Andy Whittle
THE words Tottenham and titles are seldom heard in the same sentence these days but there were two being contested here, both vacant and both on the same night in the first ever show to be held in the Banqueting Suite at the sparkling new stadium where what had initially been quite a lengthy Fightzone card had fallen for various reasons to just five contests come fight night.
Main event at super-welterweight and with the WBA belt up for grabs pitched Glasgow’s Hannah Rankin in against more experienced Swede Maria Lindberg who, no stranger to London fight fans, had been KOD in three by common foe Savannah Marshall at the Copper Box early last year.
There was to be no such early setback this time though for the 44-yearold Malmo resident who, while beaten in a contest somewhat closer than the scores at the finish might suggest, pressed throughout and enjoyed her fair share of success behind the jab along the way before ultimately succumbing in a contest competitive right to the very last.
Without a great deal of daylight between the pair what was swinging it Hannah’s way was the fact that the better, more telling shots, were being landed by her, the left hook and right hand in particular. A fact duly noted by judges Erkki Meronen, Grzegorz Molenda and Terry O’connor who scored 98-92, 97-93 and 97-93 respectively at the finish.
Hannah puts her heart and soul into the fight game and, with tenacity, selfbelief and an ever-increasing skillset, she has proved herself to be one of the best female fighters on the planet. Her joy when the scores were read was a delight to see. Watford’s Bob Williams was the man in the middle.
Twenty years after his dad was crowned Central Area featherweight champion Manchester’s Michael Gomez Jnr completed a family double by securing the super-featherweight version of the title, not much more than three rounds being needed for him to see off Sheffield’s
Sufyaan Ahmed who had weighed heavy at the weight at the first attempt.
Arsenal fan Ahmed, boxing at the home of his team’s fiercest rivals, might have made the better start but he soon found himself on the receiving end with the Mancunian, more than willing to trade, hooking increasingly to both body and head.
The end came with Gomez, sensing he might be on for an early night, switching it up a gear and whaling away with both hands, the barrage leaving referee Kieran Mccann with little option other than to call a halt with 59 seconds of the fourth gone.
Up at cruiserweight there was a return after fifteen months for East Kilbride’s hardhitting David Jamieson and not for the first time he emerged an inside the distance winner, needing just over a round of a bout slated for six to halt Dudley’s still winless
Dave Preston, who had come in at the eleventh hour.
The man from the Midlands had already visited the canvas after being tagged by a punishing left downstairs and when, just moments later, a right sent him sprawling once more, referee Chas Coakley deemed enough was enough. Just 74 seconds of round number two had elapsed.
If the Scot’s win had been a quick one, then that of one fight Tadworth novice
Nathon Mizon proved even quicker, with him needing just 108 seconds of a scheduled four-round contest to put paid to any hopes Czech southpaw Jan Prokes had of upsetting the applecart.
Setting out full of intent against an opponent with only one win to his name, Mizon was quickly in the driving seat and the heavily tattooed visitor, wilting under fire, showed no appetite for beating the count of Mr Coakley, having dropped to one knee.
The main event wasn’t the only ladies’ bout of the evening, there was a debut outing over six-twos at super-welterweight for Glasgow’s Lilyella Craw-simpson who, in against another Czech, Ester
Konecna, proceeded to take every session on the card of Southend referee Coakley.
THE VERDICT Rankin, with her resilient spirit and desire to fight anyone, is a credit to British boxing.