JENKINS BACK IN THE GROOVE
CHRIS Jenkins got back to winning ways with a convincing victory over former unified world light-welterweight champion Julius Indongo in a match-up labelled a crossroads fight for the Welsh boxer.
The Garnant product knew this fight at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff was one he had to win. Last July he met the challenge of the undefeated Ekow Essuman and found himself at a loss when the referee stopped the fight in the eighth round.
Another defeat here could have signalled the end of his career.
Jenkins made his way to the Cardiff ring on Saturday evening accompanied by a cacophony produced by fervent supporters.
And while the Wales rugby result earlier in the day may have dampened the spirits of some, it was soon put behind them as the impassioned Welsh audience roared Jenkins into battle.
From the first bell it was clear that Jenkins’s gameplan was to walk down the Namibian, who at 38 years old was unlikely to be able to match the pressure and pace that Jenkins forced on him.
The opening two rounds saw Indongo try his best to thwart the perpetual forward motion of the Welshman, but to no real avail as Jenkins walked into range and found success targeting both the head and the body.
By the third round Indongo seemed far less sprightly in his evasive action and found himself trading punches with Jenkins more willingly than he had in the opening rounds and almost always coming off second best.
Jenkins, who by this point was well in control and brimming with confidence, walked into range almost unchallenged, delivering an array of punches that left Indongo returning to his corner on unsteady legs at the end of the round.
The ageing Namibian was always in for a tough night as Jenkins gave away nothing and made the former champion work from the opening bell.
Although Jenkins never looked in danger, Indongo showed enough resolve to claw back some control in the sixth and seventh rounds, but it was a case of too little too late as Jenkins turned the screw once more in the eighth and final round.
Referee Reece Carter scored
the contest 78-75 and raised the gloved fist of Jenkins as the convincing winner.
Jenkins, who talked openly about how close he came to leaving the sport altogether before this fight, was handed a route back into the domestic boxing scene and duly snatched it with both hands.
Undeniably, Indongo appears to be a shadow of what he once was, but Jenkins – by way of a classy, professional performance – walked away with a more than creditable win and a path back to being among the best of the British welterweights.
The former British and Commonwealth champion now has an opportunity for a title fight later this year.
Elsewhere on the card, Chris Eubank Jr knocked down Liam Williams three times in the opening four rounds before going on to secure a unanimous points win in a grudge middleweight contest.
Eubank, who had suffered only two defeats in his 33-fight career, was jeered as he made his ring walk but soon silenced the raucous home crowd when he put Williams down during the opening round.
Williams was sent to the canvas again during the second by a left hook from Eubank.
The fight appeared set for an early finish after another knockdown for the 29-year-old in the next.
Williams rallied in the sixth, but Eubank produced another telling blow in the 11th round to knock Williams down again to hammer home his domination on the judges’ scorecards, which read 116-109, 116-108 and 117109 in his favour.
“I wanted to teach this man a lesson,” Eubank said on Sky Sports following his victory.