Report from the GB championships
The super-heavies close out an exciting GB championships
WHEN Frazer Clarke, who’s 6ft 6ins tall and tips the scales at around 17 stones, describes someone as “a huge unit,” you know he’s talking about a big lump. But Courtney
Bennett proved size isn’t everything defeating Scottish giant Nic
Campbell to become Great Britain super-heavyweight champion. The 22 year-old Londoner won a split decision after one of the fights of the night at the English Institute of Sport. For a round-and-a-half, Bennett was sharper, but midway through the second, the fight changed. Campbell landed a righthand clump during an exchange that forced Bennett to give ground – and the big Scot went looking for him. Bennett did a good job of beating Campbell to the punch from the outside, but the Scot kept walking him down and was dangerous with the right hand until the final bell.
Harris Akbar made it backto-back GB titles at welterweight with a unanimous points win over Scottish teenager Tyler Jolly. Akbar countered off the front foot smartly, always having the last word in the exchanges. Jolly appeared to feel a right hand in the closing 30 seconds, but rather than follow up, Akbar was content to dance to the final bell.
Another good bout was at flyweight, where tall southpaw
Kiaran Macdonald took a desperately close split decision over Scottish champion Matthew Mchale. At the opening bell, Mchale rushed from his corner and tagged Macdonald with a looping left hand, but for the rest of the round, it was all Macdonald as he smartly brought the Scot onto his punches. Mchale did much better in the second when he created openings with feints and going into the last, the bout looked to be up for grabs. The Scot did enough for me in a close round that he started and finished better.
At 75kgs, Lewis Richardson,
beaten in the final by Jordan Reynolds 12 months ago, was a split winner over Ramtin Musah.
Musah looked disappointed with the verdict. This was another bout that looked to be in the balance after two rounds. Richardson appeared to win the opener and a countering flurry early in the second after Musah fell short kept him in charge. That led to a rethink from Musah. He switched southpaw – and it proved a wise move. Musah landed the cleaner shots for the rest of the round, including a right hook that made Richardson grab. Richardson readjusted, getting his jab and his feet working in the last and hard though he tried, Musah struggled to land cleanly.
Southpaw George Crotty
outsmarted Patrick Allen-cripps
at light-heavyweight, winning unanimously on the scorecards. Crotty boxed well in the opener, making Allen-cripps falling short and countering. Allen-cripps got his feet closer in the second and found some gaps to the body, but every time he had any success, Crotty replied with twos and threes that seized back control. Crotty was busier in the last as well, until the final 30 seconds when he didn’t do an awful lot.
The light-welterweight final between Ryan Hart and Sean Spence went the latter’s way. Hart was cut on his left eyebrow in the last after heads clashed, not for the first time in a sometimes scruffy tussle. Spence landed a right hand on the wound moments after it opened and the doctor inspected it before allowing the bout to continue. After that, Hart went for broke and ran onto punches. There had been very few clean scoring punches in a cagey opening couple of rounds.
Outstanding female performer was probably Youth flyweight
Simran Kaur, who repeated a points win over Chloe Watson. Kaur drew Watson forward, beat her to the punch with jabs and right hands and then moved off. The second was closer as Kaur chose to stand her ground and let more combinations go, but she still got the better of the exchanges and got back to her boxing and moving in the last to put the bout beyond Watson.
Kaur boxes out of the Kings Heath gym and there was another champion from Northampton crowned, Far Cotton’s Laura Stevens unanimously outpointing
Omarah Taylor at 69kgs, repeating a victory in last season’s Elite semi finals. Stevens was all over Taylor from first bell to last, working her way inside behind a double jab and unloading combinations to body and head.
In the opening bout Helen Jones, with distant relative Colin Jones in her corner, boxed her way to a split points win over Scotland’s willing Stephanie Kernachan. Jones boxed and moved well, but was open to right hands when Kernachan closed the gap and the Welsh champion felt the pace in the last.
Only knockdown of a good night’s boxing came in the women’s lightweight match between Hannah Robinson and
Kimberley Rowe. Southpaw Rowe ended up on the seat of her trunks late in the opener after running onto a right hand and Robinson went on to win unanimously.