THREE AND OUT

Allen Payne watches Iain Wilson’s tidy little Friday Fight Night show

GLASGOW MARCH 25 ★★★★☆ WHOLE SHOW ★★★★☆ ATMOSPHERE

ST ANDREWS SPORTING CLUB returned to the Radisson Blu in Glasgow for a Friday Fight Night with three-weight belt-holder Ricky Burns speaking at the top table. Glasgow’s

Bobby Morrell brought an army of support as he took on Noiraix’s Mohamed Cherif Benchadi in the nominal bill topper.

Both carried enough power to keep their opponent cautious as the crowd roared with each scoring blow. Despite the raucous fans behind him, Bobby stayed composed – picking his shots nicely and took his time to unleash attacks. At times he found his chin tested but never troubled and it only encouraged the hometown fighter to respond with controlled aggression to punish Benchadi with solid combinations. “The Tartan Spartan” entered the professional ranks with a reputation of being heavy-handed and so it proved in the fourth round as he dropped the Frenchman on two occasions. The second coming at the final bell to allow the bout to go to Kenny Pringle’s scorecard, which read 40-35.

Mark Butler made the trip from Brighton to take on East Kilbride’s Josh Sandford with no intention of coming to lose. The undefeated pair faced off, with both men having success as they traded blows on the inside, across the four rounds. Although made to work throughout, Josh landed the cleaner work and finished strong to move to 2-0 and have his hand raised with a 40-36 win on Pringle’s scorecard.

Glasgow’s Michael Mccrone entered the ring brimming with excitement and confidence for his professional debut and it showed in the first round with moments of showboating, his opponent Alejandro Torres from Tenerife was quick in bringing him back to life with a few big shots. The Govan lad settled and displayed good movement and shot selection to earn a shutout by Kenny Pringle.