BY GEORGE!
Georgiev is blasted out in the opening round by ruthless Aslam
HARD-WORKING ex-pro Kieran Farrell’s promotional venture is coming on at quite a pace. A very well-attended 10-bout affair at Bowlers Exhibition Centre was his latest offering.
The main event was a scheduled eight between Bolton’s Osman Aslam and Bulgarian Georgi Georgiev, which proved a short-lived affair. The man from Sofia, some nine pounds lighter than Aslam, was floored twice in the 160 seconds that the bout lasted, before referee Darren Sarginson waved it off. Two decent rights to the head, followed quickly by a pair of lefts, sent the shorter visitor over, before a follow-up barrage on the resumption saw Georgiev sent to the canvas once more in centre ring.
Just one of three contests slated for six ran its full distance, that being the fight overseen by Steve Gray, who scored 60-54 in favour of Leeds’ Zahid Hussain against Georgia’s Khvicha Gigolashvili. Hussain had a little too much of everything for Gigolashvili, despite that fact that in the early stages Zahid had a tendency to fall in behind his shots.
The two sixes that went short saw a pair of Yorkshiremen have their arms raised by Mr Sarginson. First up was Leeds’ Reece Cartwright who, after making the knees of Georgia’s Giorgi Kandelaki dip in the first round, needed just three more frames to finish the job. A right to the body sent Kandelaki to all fours for the duration of the count with 46 seconds of the fourth remaining.
Victorious midway through the fifth of what had been an entertaining encounter, though not in the manner he would’ve liked, was Halifax’s Jack Sellars. The winner’s opponent – Bolton’s experienced Chris Jenkinson – emerged from a clinch with a particularly nasty cut to the left eyelid, which was the result of an errant elbow. Dropping to the canvas, Jenkinson was unable to see properly. Ninety-three seconds of the penultimate session remained when, with Jenkinson still crouching and his glove tight to his eye, it was waved off.
There were a couple of surprises among the remaining six contests, all of which were slated for four rounds. Dewsbury’s Syria-born centurion Youssef Al Hamidi, now in the twilight of his career, secured his first win in 17 months and 24 bouts. His victim was one-fight Ulverston novice Ryan Watson, who found Youssef just a little too much. Mr Sarginson scored it 39-38.
Mr Gray was in control of the clash that saw Latvia’s Dmitrijs Gutmans score a rare victory – the first outside of his homeland – over Heywood’s wellsupported Lee Clayton. After bagging the opener, Clayton was decked twice in quick succession in the next. The second such instance left him more than a little unsteady, which led to the third man’s intervention just 63 seconds into the round.
Warrington’s big-swinging Danny Craven sent Sheffield’s tough Nathan Hardy to the canvas with a right halfway through the opener, but was unable to finish the job as Hardy dug in and contributed well to what was by some distance the best four-rounder of the night. Craven was adjudged a 39-37 winner by Mr Gray.
Altrincham’s George Brennan
and Morecambe’s Reece Macmillan
both emerged 40-37 winners over Midlands opposition in the shape of
Jordan Turner (Sutton-in-ashfield) and Newark’s Fonz Alexander. Mr Sarginson and Mr Gray officiated respectively. Meanwhile, Liverpool’s James “Bam Bam”
Carney, in his first Bbbofc-licensed contest, proved too much for Leeds’ Russ Midgley, with referee Gray turning in a 40-36 card.
There was a surprise reunion when Sheffield’s Glyn Rhodes and Jean Charles Meuret, of Berne, Switzerland, were reintroduced on the night. The pair fought in Meuret’s hometown way back in 1991, with the Swiss winning via second-round KO.
THE VERDICT It is a quick night for Aslam, who wastes no time in moving to 8-0.