Trade war pays off for Matthews
Home favourite Chris Matthews featured in arguably the fight of the night at Maidstone Leisure Centre, writes Craig Tucker. Matthews’ plan to be patient and stick to his boxing went out the window when opponent Harvey Hemsley (3-24-1) turned up for a war on Saturday night. The Maidstone fighter decided to trade with his more experienced opponent and came out on top, winning 39-37 on points after four non-stop rounds of lightweight action. It was his fourth straight victory since he turned professional last summer. Matthews, 21, said: “It was quite tough, harder than my other fights. He just kept coming at me. “He was strong. I just traded with him and kept doing the same things he was doing. “A lot of people said it was the fight of the night, which was nice. It was exciting, fighting in my home town. It felt different, better than Medway Park.” Matthews had been working on building up his punches with trainer Johnny Armour and their efforts paid off. He added: “I felt stronger in there, more powerful. “I’d like to thank Johnny and all my sponsors. “I’m having a week’s rest now and then it’s back to the gym.” Promoter Joe Elfidh was impressed with Matthews’ performance. He said: “Chris did well. I was a bit worried about that fight. “He was in there with someone a bit more classy than before and it was close. The kid caught him but Chris came back with some quality shots.” Matthews’ dad, Ray, who advised Elfidh to put on a show in Maidstone, said: “It was the best I’ve seen Chris box. “He was throwing four and five-punch combinations from the first round. It was a good night.”