BRILLIANT BATESON
Jack turns on the style to score a wide victory over tough opponent, writes Jacob Kilbride
LEEDS
JUNE 18
★★★★★ WHOLE SHOW
★★★★★ ATMOSPHERE
JACK BATESON recorded a career-best professional win after outboxing Diego Alberto Ruiz to a clear 10-round decision victory. Ruiz earned a shock draw with bantamweight world No. 8 Lee Mcgregor four months ago, yet was never close to replicating that against former English 122lbs champion Bateson.
Deploying all the classy skills that saw him win numerous honours as a Team GB amateur, Bateson quickly settled into a smooth rhythm, boxing smartly from long range behind his disciplined jab before scoring with sharp three-punch combinations.
While never hurting Ruiz, as the Argentinian frequently and visibly gestured, the Leeds fighter was in total control through a decisive first four rounds. Ruiz began to work his way back into the contest from the fifth, having managed somewhat to close the gap to the elusive home fighter.
Despite the South American’s increasing pressure, mainly via stinging body shots, Bateson relished the task at hand. With a beaming smile, he ducked, weaved and expertly countered his way off the ropes through rounds eight and nine as Ruiz failed to negate Bateson’s volume and movement. The visitor’s frustrations were summed up when Ruiz’s corner slammed the canvas at the end of the ninth before being given a stern finger-wagging from referee Howard Foster.
The final round was Ruiz’s most successful as an increasingly confident Bateson unwisely chose to stand his ground and conceded plenty of punishment for doing so, although a stoppage never appeared close. Judges Jan Christensen (98-92), Terry O’connor (98-93) and Erkki Meronen (97-93), unanimously favoured Bateson.
Fans at the Elland Road Pavilion were also treated to victories for Bateson’s Probellum stable-mates Ohara Davies and Archie Sharp as part of a stacked 10-fight card promoted by Mark Bateson.
Taking on Abdessamad Nechchad, Davies displayed plenty of patience through his rangy left jab through the opening four rounds before bringing his right hand into play from the fifth onwards.
The Hackney puncher followed up a head-jolting counter right in the sixth with a counter left a round later, dropping the Spaniard to the ropes.
As the bell sounded to start the eighth of a scheduled 10, Davies was intent on an early finish, which duly came when a spiteful right hook initially dazed Nechchad before he stumbled to the canvas. Bravely, he rose to his feet but Foster rightly waved it off at 0-37.
Davies, who has lost to only superlightweight champion Josh Taylor and world number four Jack Catterall as a pro, is seeking fights against either seventh-ranked Sandor Martin or former European title challenger Lewis Ritson.
Sharp is also seeking a major fight later this year, having called out the best at super featherweight in Shakur Stevenson, Óscar Valdez and Joe Cordina. But on the evidence of a laboured 10-round unanimous decision win over Romanian Alex Rat, such blockbuster clashes would be huge step-ups for the unbeaten Sidcup man.
After a competitive first dozen minutes, Sharp delivered his best work in the fifth, as a crisp right upstairs stunned Rat before a thudding shot to the body from the same hand had the Eastern European briefly holding on. Sharp struggled to kick on and while able to find the odd eyecatching single shot – the best of which was a well-placed straight right in the penultimate session as Rat retreated to the corner – his frustrated head-shaking told the story of the 10 rounds.
Foster (99-91), O’connor (98-93) and Andy Brook (98-92) scored wide for Sharp, in a Reece Carter-officiated bout.
Alongside Bateson, there were four other Leeds victories, the most impressive of which was Ishmael Davis’ stoppage of Hungarian Gabor Gorbics at 2-35 of the fifth slated for eight.
Even after four one-sided rounds, Brook’s intervention from a body-shot combination was premature and led to vocal complaints from Gorbics.
Harry Fryer claimed a 60-54 decision over Sheffield’s Karl Sampson while Koby Mcnamara and Lenny Davidson both won 39-37, against Luke Merrifield (Shrewsbury) and Fonz Alexander (Newark) respectively.
Brook oversaw those three bouts and had York’s Michael Fafera a 40-36 winner in his first fight for two-anda-half-years with Darryl Sharp of Manchester.
EX-GB amateur Nico Leivars eased past Manchester’s Stephen Jackson 60-54 while Halifax’s Joe Garside beat Welshman Phil Price 40-37, Foster scoring both.
THE VERDICT A controlled and impressive career-best performance from Bateson.