THE JOY OF SIX

Hodgson starts fast and never lets up to go unbeaten in a half-dozen bouts

NEWCASTLE

JULY 23

★★★★★☆ WHOLE SHOW

A SHORT right to the head which sent Nicaraguan Cristian Narvaez over backwards in the opening round at the Gateshead Hilton signalled the intent of North Shields prospect

Tommy Hodgson – with a one-sided encounter to follow. No surprise, then, that referee Ron Kearney scored 60-53 at the finish.

A suspected dislocated knee, coming 39 seconds into the third of a scheduled six against Romania’s Octavian Gratii, made it one to forget for Thornley’s former Northern Area champion Darren Surtees. This one goes down as a technical draw.

Russian Viktor Vezhlivtsev hadn’t been halted in 18 previous outings but he found Macduff ’s Billy Stuart too much of an ask. With their man under heavy fire, his corner threw in the towel with just under a minute of the sixth and final round remaining.

Having a first outing in almost two years, Glasgow’s Craig Macintyre maintained his 100% record when third man Mr Kearney adjudged him a 59-55 points victor over another Russian, Rustem Fatkhullin.

Kerry Haley made her debut and delighted her supporters by taking the 60-55 decision of Mr Kearney after six-twos against Karina Szmalenberg (nee Kopinska).

Urged on by an excitable army of supporters, Seaham’s Adam Hepple was another to claim a maiden scalp, with referee Kearney having him a four-round victor over experienced Mohamed Cherif Benchadi.

The man from Roubaix was counted after shipping a right in the third and then floored by a body-head combination in the last.

Wallsend’s Anthony Ornsby banked a sixth victory, taking all six rounds against Poland’s Jakub Laskowski. Meanwhile, Doncaster’s Harrison Hobson, in his second contest, secured a shutout over four against Mexican Fernando Valencia.

Another fighter returning from a lengthy layoff, Newcastle’s Basi Razaq, triumphed 40-36 against Nicaraguan Berman Sanchez.

FULL RESULTS

Tommy Hodgson, 6-0, w pts 6 Cristian Narvaez, 16-45-6 (1); Darren Surtees, 13-1-0-1TD (8), tech d 3 Octavian Gratii, 8-27-3 (4); Kerry Haley, 1-0, w pts 6 Karina Szmalenberg, 14-52-4 (3); Craig Macintyre, 13-0-1 (5), w pts 6 Rustem Fatkhullin, 8-38 (3); Billy Stuart, 12-1 (5), w rsf 6 Viktor Vezhlivtsev, 1-18 (1); Anthony Ornsby, 6-1, w pts 4 Jakub Laskowski, 4-18-1 (2); Harrison Hobson, 2-0, w pts 4 Fernando Valencia, 9-39 (5); Adam Hepple, 1-0, w pts 4 Mohamed Cherif Benchadi, 4-17 (2).