ALL THE ACTION
Gill ‘The Thrill’ and ‘Leigh-thal’ Wood both win early
Jordan Gill-emmanuel Dominguez, Erislandy Lara-brian Castano and more
THERE was double cause for celebration when, in the first show of any significant size at the East of England Arena, best friends and fellow featherweights
Jordan Gill and
Leigh Wood delighted their supporters by securing highly impressive, quickfire victories in their respective 12-rounders. With Wood’s win already banked, Gill (Chatteris) made his entrance to the sound of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and duly disposed of experienced Mexican
Emmanuel Dominguez in a fraction under eight minutes.
Having stayed on the front foot and bossed the opener, Gill twice rocked his rival in the second before closing the show in the next. An accurate burst initially floored Dominguez in centre ring, before a short right had him over again. The Aguascalientes native gamely rose to continue, but just moments later referee Robert Williams stepped in to halt it as Jordan moved in for the finish. The official time was 1-55.
Nottingham’s Wood found himself in against Ghanaian Abraham Osei Bonsu, challenging for the Commonwealth title vacated only recently by Gill. Like his mate, Wood was in no mood for hanging around either, dropping the usually durable African twice in his own corner with body shots in the second round. On the second such occasion, Accra’s Bonsu was unable to rise before Howard Foster’s count of 10 at 2-43.
After going the distance on his debut, tall Walworth cruiserweight Richard Riakporhe had won seven straight inside the distance, with only two opponents making it past the halfway stage. Could Belfast’s well-schooled Tommy Mccarthy halt the Londoner’s run? The answer proved to be in the negative, with Riakporhe triumphing at 2-45 of the fourth (set for 10), having decked the Northern Irishman earlier in the round with a powerful burst of blows. Until that point, things had remained close, but having made the breakthrough, Riakporhe wasn’t about to allow Mccarthy to escape. A couple of big rights and a single left were sufficient to prompt referee Michael Alexander to intervene.
Touted American Anthony Sims Jnr is another noted for inside-schedule wins. Like Riakporhe, only his debut foe had made it through to the finish, and of those 16 that had since shared a ring with him, 10 hadn’t made it out of the opener. On this night, Argentine Mateo Veron had his name added to the ever-extending list of those defeated early by the Plainfield, Indiana resident. Already way behind on the scorecards, the Garin fighter was floored by a weighty right early in the sixth, and then sent to the canvas by another short right around a minute later. Veron did manage to haul himself upright, but Mr Williams had seen enough. He waved it off, despite Veron’s shrugs, at 1-54. It had been set for 10.
Following a fine amateur career, Montrose’s John Docherty has made a tremendous start to life in the paid ranks. He did his growing reputation no harm at all by stopping fellow southpaw Yailton Neves (Manchester via Portugal) with just one second of the second stanza remaining. Referee Williams rightly stepped in to halt both a Doherty onslaught and Neves’ suffering in a bout slated for four. Neves had been down midway through the first. He was softened up by a vicious right to the body, before being sent sprawling by a fine left uppercut. From that point onwards, it was just a matter of time. Docherty has now recorded four straight stoppage wins and hasn’t yet been taken past the second round.
Sultan Zaurbek was a late addition to the bill. The Sutton-based Kazakh turned in an eye-catching six-round performance to dominate Nicaraguan
Lesther Cantillano. After being given something of a lesson by the southpaw stylist, further incoming assaults saw Barcelona’s Cantillano having to defend himself in his own corner as the final bell loomed. Having just shipped a couple of excellent left uppercuts, he looked relieved when it was all over. Mr Williams didn’t need to consult his card at the end, which unsurprisingly had Zaurbek taking every round (60-54). It was bout number five for former top amateur Qais Ashfaq, and it was win number five, too. The Leeds technician proved too savvy for seasoned Tanzanian Fadhili Majiha. Despite tending to lunge in and fall short regularly, Majiha did have his moments in an improved secondhalf performance, after being picked apart from a distance in the early stages. Referee Foster scored 60-54.
In the show-opener, Northampton’s Kieron Conway went in with Budapest’s tough, bearded
Gabor Gorbics. Pressing behind the jab, Conway deservedly took the 80-72 decision of Mr Williams.
A pair of fours, overseen by Mr Foster, pitched popular Cambridgeshire boxers Joe Steed and Bradley Smith in against Barcelona-based Nicaraguans Miguel Aguilar and Oscar Amadora respectively. Wisbech’s Steed, who looks like one to watch, earned a polished 40-36 success, while Smith, from St Ives, claimed a 39-37 victory.
THE VERDICT Young talent aplenty wow the Cambridgeshire crowd on this Matchroom Boxing promotion.