ON RED ALERT

Kyle back with a bang, writes Roy Kelly from ringside

KYLE REDFEARN returned to the winner’s enclosure in spectacular style on MTK’S debut North East event. The 28-year-old clinched a third-round knockout of Norbert Szekeres in a six-rounder. Redfearn had tasted defeat for the first time in his career last time out in October against Nick Hannig in a battle of light-heavyweight KO specialists. But the Ferryhill man, one of the stars of MTK’S Gateshead gym, floored Szekeres late in the third at the Hilton Hotel with a wicked left hook to the body. To the Hungarian’s credit, he climbed off the deck by the time Ron Kearney had reached ‘nine’, but he was not ready to box and the referee correctly counted him out at 2-52. Redfearn had teed up the finish perfectly with some punishing work to the body and accurate head shots.

The penultimate bout of the plush dinner show promised much as unbeaten Thornley super-lightweight Darren Surtees faced Lewis Ritson victim Oscar Amador over six. It looked like delivering when the Barcelonabased Nicaraguan let both hands go in round two to the head of Surtees, who had dominated the opening session in some style. However, twice Amador reeled away in agony holding his right fist and after the second occasion, referee-for-the-night Kearney called a halt at 2-25. Oscar had dislocated his thumb, robbing the sell-out audience of what was turning into a cracker.

The event, which raised money for Macmillan Cancer Support, began with onesided four-round points wins for undefeated MTK boxers against opponents with only one victory between them. Mr Kearney scored Trimdon’s Jay Hughes a 40-36 winner over Blackburn’s Naheem Chaudhry, while Chad

Ellis, from Spennymoor, was equally dominant against Belfast’s Alec Bazza, who visited the canvas in the last but made it through to the end of his eighth trip to the North East, losing 40-35.