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Kevin Mitchell Interview - Talks Murray, Lora, Burns and Rios

Photos and Interview Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

This coming Friday WBO Inter-Continental Lightweight Champion Kevin Mitchell is set to face Spain based Felix Lora in a non-championship bout at the famous York Hall in Bethnal Green, London.

27 year old Mitchell returns to the ring for the first time since stopping John Murray in July last year at the Echo Arena in Liverpool and this fight is said to be a warm up ahead of a challenge for Ricky Burns’ new acquired WBO World Lightweight crown.

With such an important bout waiting in the wings ‘Mighty’ Mitchell will surely be looking to impress in front his home crowd, in similar style to his utter destruction of arch rival John Murray last year.

Earlier today I caught up with Kevin at the pre-fight media workout at his home gym - the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town, London - to talk about the John Murray fight as well as the upcoming fight against Felix Lora and more.

But first, for those that have forgotten the Fight of the Year winning showdown at the Echo Arena in Liverpool back in July, when young guns Kevin Mitchell and John Murray had a true Western style shoot out, here is quick recap.

From the moment Dagenham gunslinger Mitchell confidently moseyed his way into the arena to the chants and jeers of Manchester’s top gun Murray’s fans it was clear that this was a very different ‘Mighty’ from the one that was gunned down big time by Aussie shootist Michael Katsidis last year.

Mitchell’s resolve and intent was obvious to all, no more was he willing to play second fiddle to Murray. Right from the off he dug into his fully loaded arsenal to let rip with a pin point accurate double handed flurry. Murray shrugged of the initial assault and walk the Londoner back onto the ropes before launching an equally vicious attack of his own.

Dipping and swaying Mitchell avoided virtually everything Murray threw at him before slickly stepping aside and letting rip with a series of punishing hooks to the body. The resilient Mancunian responded as only he can, standing his ground, absorbing each rib cracking shot and timing his counters to perfection, but Mitchell was more than just ‘Mighty’ he was already beginning to look magnificent as he secured the first round.

The second was another cracking round. Mitchell seemingly using his superior body work to slow the ever forward moving Murray, that is until about midway through when Murray lands one of his massive rights. Mitchell reels back to the ropes and yet another Murray double handed salvo rains down on the Londoner. A close round but Murray just about nicks this one in my book.

Right from the opening bell of the third Murray starts hunting down his quarry. Mitchell attempts to keep him at bay with crisp jabs but it just slows the raging bull down for a second or so. Mitchell dips back into his arsenal and pulled out a couple big powerful rights, only for Murray to respond with a double handed assault of his own. Moments later Mitchell turns the table and backs Murray onto the ropes and lets rip with a massive double handed salvo that sees out the round. It was another seriously closely fought round, but I felt Murray had just done enough to make it his own.

The fourth sees a good old fashioned toe-to-toe slug fest open up the proceedings. Murray launched big Bertha round, whilst Mitchell mixed it up and firing off a series of rocket powered uppercuts and hooks, to both body and head. In the dying seconds of the round Murray backed up the Londoner to the ropes again, Mitchell avoided everything Murray threw at him before sidestepping and turning the tables, backing Murray to the ropes, and launching a big double handed salvo until the final bell. No doubt in my mind the was ‘Mighty’ Mitchell’s round one hundred percent.

Murray walks down Mitchell in the fifth, but this time instead of dipping and swaying his way out of trouble the Londoner responds with a series of three punch combination of uppercuts and hooks to the body which appear to have a major effect on Murray. Mitchell is quick to notice this and turns the heat up letting rip with wicked body shots, uppercuts and double handed salvos to the head which start to slow the ever advancing Murray. An easy round to call in Kevin’s favour, but don’t go thinking it was one way traffic, it wasn’t.

The effects, to Murray’s face, of the previous round were clear to everyone as he came out for the sixth, there were noticeable dark swellings under both eyes. Mitchell was quick to notice these and set his sights and let off a series of exocets to the head each time Murray came within range. A real ding dong battle ensued, Mitchell letting rip with hooks and big right hands whilst Murray responds with megaton bombs and short sharp rights to the side of Mitchell’s head. What a round it was pugilistic heaven and far too close to call.

Round seven sees Murray charge like a raging bull closing down MItchell before launching a series of seriously hard jabs and big rights, Mitchell responds with yet more double handed exocets to the head. By mid round Murray’s face is looking like a train wreck. In the dying seconds it looked like Murray was heading to Boot Hill, Mitchell lands a massive nuke that sends Murray reeling and rocking, but before ‘Mighty’ Mitch zoned in for the kill the bell tolled. Sure I don’t have to say this was Mitchell’s round.

Again Murray charges forward from the opening bell, but the moment he came into range Mitchell launched yet another exocet before moving in to let rip with a massive uppercut followed by big double rights, Murray responds in similar vein and an all out war ensues, which abruptly ends with a massive left hook that sends Murray face down to the canvas. Murray makes the count but Mitchell is on him in a flash and lets rip with another wicked combination that rocks Murray to the core and left the referee no option but to stop the fight after just one minute and forty six seconds of the round.

So there you go, that’ll give you an idea of what to expect from our Kev on the 10th February, now let’s hear what the man himself has to say.

Rio - Kevin, first things first. Congratulations, your magnificent battle with John Murray was named 2011 Fight of the Year by Boxing News and BoxRec, how do you feel about that?

Kevin - Thanks to the readers of Boxing News and BoxRec who voted for the fight. I’m so pleased that everyone enjoyed the fight, it’s always an honour to be recognised for achieving something.

It was good to give my fans something to cheer for after the Katsidis fight.

Rio - The media as a whole showered accolades on you for your magnificent performance on the night, but how did you see the fight?

Kevin - I see it as a 50/50 fight.

After the beating by Michael Katsidis I wanted to put the record right - I watched that fight again last night, Katsidis did his job, I weren’t right and I got beat.

Everyone was saying Kevin’s finished, he got done in two rounds. Which wasn’t a bad thing as it made me push harder. As of 2012 I’m going to push even harder as I want a World title.

Yeah, it was a terrific fight, but I always knew deep down that I’d beat him, I knew I’d be too much for him, too much difference, I can change things, I can fight, I can box, I can punch hard.

Rio - OK, back to this Friday’s fight, even though it’s a non-championship bout I know just how seriously you have been taking your training, you were even in the gym over Christmas and New Year - So just how do you feel training has gone.

Kevin - It’s been going well, I’m bang on target for the fight this Friday.

I feel fit, did most of my sparring with Colin Lynes after some earlier rounds with Gary Corcoran, got my fitness up and then sparred with Colin and an Italian guy here called Freddie (Federico Tavares) helped me out.

Thanks to them, and of course Jimmy and Mark (Tibbs), I’m spot on for Friday.

Rio - Do you know much about your opponent Felix Lora?

Kevin - He’s gonna be a tough guy for ten rounds, I know I’m able to put him away if I want to, but I’m not going in there and try and blast him out, I’m gonna go out there and get some rounds in, if I nail him I nail him but if I don’t it’ll be good to get the rounds in.

Rio - I know you never look past any opponent, but as the word is that after this there’ll be a Summer showdown with Ricky Burns for his World title - What’s your thoughts on this?

Kevin - I’ll beat Burns and then I’ll knock Brandon Rios out.

Rio - Rios has said that he’s moving up to Light Welter - are you that determined to fight him that you’ll move to Light Welter to fight him?

Kevin - Yeah, I’ll move up if I have to, I want to fight him.

There’s a lot of needle there, he’s got a big mouth, he thinks he’s a powerful man.

I don’t care if he goes up a weight . I’ll win the title at Lightweight, defend it a few times and then I’ll go up to Light Welter and beat him up.

Rio - Sure is some needle there - OK, finally is there anything you would like to say to your fans?

Kevin - Thanks to all the fans that are going to turn up at York Hall on Friday, I promise you all a cracking fight.

Kevin Mitchell versus Felix Lora headlines the sold out Frank Warren Promotions event at York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, on Friday 10th February 2012 and broadcast live on BoxNation (Sky platform Channel 456 & Virgin 546).

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Big Fight Preview - Katsidis-Burns, Groves-Smith, Boulden-Saunders

By Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

I’m sure promoter Frank Warren must have been chanting ‘Remember, Remember the Fifth of November’ as he was planning his upcoming triple Championship headed ‘Gladiators’ show, which will take place at Wembley Arena on Guy Fawkes Night and shown live on BoxNation (Sky platform 456).

The pugilistic pyrotechnics on display will culminate in an explosive finale as former WBO Super Featherweight World Champion Ricky Burns and the Brit Bashing Aussie Michael Katsidis lock horns for the interim WBO Lightweight World title.

Katsidis is no stranger to battling it out on British shores, having stopped both Graham Earl and Kevin Mitchell in spectacular fashion, so will feel quite at home when he faces Coatbridge’s former Super Featherweight supremo Ricky Burns.

It bodes well that Burns has been stating that he feels stronger, since vacating the WBO title and moving up to the Lightweight division, as his good pal Kevin Mitchell can attest Katsidis is one seriously tough cookie.

Since beating our Kev, Katsidis has been in three seriously tough fights, the first against World #1 Juan Manuel Marquez, who he sent to the canvas prior to being stopped himself, then he took World #2 ranked Robert Guerrero the full distance. In his last fight Katsidis came back, from those two back to back losses, to KO Mexico’s Michael Lozada.

Burns on the other hand is unbeaten since 2007 and defended his World Crown three times, since beating Roman Martinez to lift the coveted title in September 2010.

It’s going to be a great fight but unfortunately I have to say that I think Katsidis, who’s a big Lightweight, is the stronger of the two and has to be the bookies favourite to win the triple crown by adding Burns to his list of British victims.

Heading up the explosive undercard sees George Groves defend his British and Commonwealth Super Middleweight titles against former British Champ Paul Smith.

Groves is riding high after his magnificent victory over James DeGale, but can’t afford to be too complacent against former champ Smith.

Yes I know, Smith lost his crown to DeGale and Groves then went and took it from DeGale, but believe me this is no easy fight for Groves.

Smith is not going to make the same mistakes, tactically, as he did against DeGale and as such is likely to revert to his normal style and bring the fight to Groves.

Both Groves and Smith fought different fights to how expected when they faced DeGale so any comparisons to those fights is right out of the window. I feel that this fight we’re likely to see them playing their normal game and as such are likely to see Smith coming forward with Groves boxing of the back foot for the first three or four rounds, then the more it goes on the real fireworks are likely to start as they go head to head.

The third championship bout on the card sees undefeated Middleweight sensation Billy Joe Saunders challenge Gary Boulden for his BBBofC Southern Area belt.

Saunders, a former Olympian, is without doubt one of the most exciting young fighters around today and to be honest I can see this fight, against the defending Champion, ending very much the same way as his past four bouts.

Boulden is a great Southern Area level Champion, but BJ is way above regional level or come to that domestic level. In his last four fights he barely broke into a sweat before dispatching his opponents, all in under 6 minutes.

Also on the card is ‘Del Boy’ Dereck Chisora, making his welcome return to the ring, since losing his British and Commonwealth Heavyweight straps to Tyson Fury back in July. On November 5th ‘Del Boy’ will be facing fellow Londoner Larry Olubamiwo.

As with Boulden-Saunders I can’t see this lasting very long at all as big Larry O isn’t in the same class as Del Boy, by a country mile, and I reckon Olubamiwo will be seeing stars before the end of the first round.

Also on the excellent card are ‘Super’ Bradley Skeete, Darren Cordona, George Michael Carmen as well as Billy Joe Saunders are fellow Jimmy and Mark Tibbs trained/TRAD TKO gym mates Frankie Buglioni and Gary Corcoran.

Frank Warren Promotions ‘Gladiators’ headlined by the interim WBO Lightweight title clash between Ricky Burns and Michael Katsidis will take place at Wembley Arena, and broadcast live on BoxNation (Sky Platform Ch. 456), on Saturday the 5th November 2011.

Tickets, priced £150 (Ringside), £100 (Floor), £75 (Floor), £50 (Tier) and £40 (Tier), are available now on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or from the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA

PHOTOS: Ricky Burns with coach Billy Nelson

PHOTO CREDIT: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

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By Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

Recently I undertook an interview with former IBO Light welterweight World Champion Colin Lynes on his career to date. With the news that Colin is to take part in the Matchroom Sports excellent Prizefighter - Welterweights II on June 7th I took the opportunity to catch up with Colin again, this time to get his views on Prizefighter, as well as his opponents on June 7th.

Colin, a former finalist of Prizefighter, faced Gavin Rees in the final of the Light Welterweights tournament at Olympia last year.

Prior to meeting Rees in the final Colin first faced David Barnes in the quarter final. After three hotly contested, very close, rounds the judges were split. Two of the judges see it 29-28 for Colin, the third judge also scored it 29-28 but this time in favour of Barnes.

The semi final see Colin come face to face with former foe Young Mutley, who Colin had previously beaten for the European title in 2007. Again Colin would win by split decision, the fight was close throughout but a defining third round knockdown was enough to sway two of the judges to score the bout in Colin’s favour.

The final, against Rees, was a hard fought affair. Colin easily secured the first round with some excellent counter punching. Rees stepped up the pressure in the second and rocked Colin several times on his way to securing the round. With both fighters scoring a round a piece it was all to play for in the final round.

I was ringside on the night and scored the final round even, as did all press corps, and with each winning a round apiece I wondered how they would decide on a winner. Imagine my surprise when the scorecards were read out as 29-28 twice, Ian John-Lewis and Victor Loughlin, and 30-27, Mark Green, all in favour of Gavin Rees.

That’s all water under the bridge now as far as Colin is concerned, as he is back in training with legendary trainer Jimmy Tibbs and his son Mark at the TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town to prepare for Prizefighter - Welterweights II.

It was at the TKO that I caught up with Colin, after yet another sparring session, for a quick chat about the Prizefighter series, as well as to get his thoughts on the other contestants on June 7th.

Rio- Hi Colin thanks taking the time to talk about the upcoming Prizefighter - Welterweights II that you will be taking part in. Please tell the readers your thoughts on the competition.

Colin - Yeah I’m really pleased, it’s a buzzing competition that everyone seems to want to go for. it’s thrilling for the fans, it gets everyone that wouldn’t normally get together get together and have a punch up on the night.

Even the likes of myself, I liked to be classed as a skillful boxer, on the night not just the once you have to prepare for going in the trenches a lot sooner than you would have to in a twelve round fight.

Rio- You’ve been in Prizefighter before, you made the finals of the Light Welters against Gavin Rees. How do you prepare for such a quick paced tournament?

Colin - Lots of stop and start training, you do your three shadow or your three bags or sparring and then you have a little rest and go back in. Sometimes it’s a ten minute rest sometimes it’s only five minutes.

In the Prizefighter last time it’s a good job I did prepare that way for it, because I think it was the quickest anyone had to get back in the ring. After winning the semifinal it was about two and half minutes before I had to get back in for the final.

So, it’s right to prepare, and that’s what I did. I’m ready for whatever they throw at me.

Rio- Let’s talk a little about your opponents on the night, Let’s start with Junior Witter.

Colin - When I fought Junior last I was a bit too much in awe of him. I worked well, I didn’t get outclassed or outgunned in any way but those rounds where the judges just didn’t know who they should give it to they rightly give it to the champion, so that’s what happened in that fight.

If I end up facing Junior again, no doubt he’s not worried about anyone. He’ll respect everyone in that lineup, he’s not going to be worried about anyone, he’s been there and done it twice over and he’s looking to make a name for himself again.

Because of whatever reason I haven’t spoke with him, I will do in the build up to this fight, something went wrong for him in Canada and people have slagged him off, give someone a chance, there’s probably reasons.

I’m not one and I’m looking forward to fighting Junior at his best.

Rio- Bobby Gladman also trains at the TKO Gym, what do you know about him?

Colin - I don’t know too much about Bobby, whether it’s because we miss each other, I train evenings he trains in the daytime so I don’t see too much of him, but I respect anyone that’s in there. I would never overlook anyone, I’d probably be more worried about those who know about me and I don’t know about them. I’ll have to do my homework on him to be honest.

Rio- Fair comment, we’ll move on now to Yassine El Maachi

Colin - I haven’t seen too much of Yassine, but I’ve heard a lot about him. I know I’ve seen him spar at the gym against Michael Lomax once.

He’s a tricky customer, switches and all this. With people like Yassine if you let them do what they are best at doing then he’s going to look great. If you take them out of their comfort zone or you put it on them and don’t give them a chance to do flash stuff then we’ll see what he’s got.

Rio- True, OK Nathan Graham, what do you know of him?

Colin - Nathan Graham, I was supposed to face him a few fights ago, but then I had the Bradley Pryce turnout, so I took the Bradley Pryce fight.

He’s had a fight since we were supposed to get it on, he came out the wrong side, I understand by reading the reports he done really well and he’s a danger man and a big banger no doubt.

Rio- Yeah, I was there at that fight. Next up is Kevin McIntyre

Colin - I’ve got a lot of respect for Kevin, I’ve know him, he’s been around a long time I think he was hard done when he had to vacate his British title. he got his shot back in the end but I don’t think it was at a time when he was expecting it and he got out of there pretty early. He’s come back and proved himself, shown his character and he’ll be up for this big time.

Rio - John Wayne Hibbert, what’s your thoughts on him?

Colin - Yeah, again John’s been around a while. I haven’t seen too much of him but I know people that have sparred him. He’s a tough customer, again rightly so he’s due every respect.

Rio- Peter McDonagh’s next on the list.

Colin, Yeah I know Peter really well, we’ve sparred many, many rounds before he’s always come by our gym and done us favours, we’ve returned favours and helped him out when he’s had big fights. So I know Peter really well.

Again a good tough pro, will always turn up, always gives lots of respect and he’ll be another stiff customer on the night.

Rio- You’re obviously looking to get through to the final again, this time go one better.

Colin - Obviously in my final last time I just tried, I didn’t change anything, I just thought with Gavin Rees being short and stocky, like a bulldog, I thought I’d try and box and outsmart him, but again I have to be honest I gave the first round up trying to do that and ended up having to chase the fight. It was close, I thought he deserved it because he did win the first round. Big first round and it just shows you that you can’t try and outsmart people, you need to get on with it in Prizefighter and that’s what makes it as exciting and entertaining as it is, you need to get on with things.

Rio - I know Jimmy (Tibbs) says you’re a contender, in fact he says you are more than that, he says you are in your prime and should be challenging for titles now. By taking Prizefighter was this a decision that came easily?

Colin - No, I spoke with Matchroom closely and you run the risk that if you mess up in Prizefighter you do jeopardise a title fight. To be honest with you I could have had the Purdy title fight come September. I heard he was quite comfortable defending against me but it meant sitting out and waiting and there’s nothing worse than sitting about being inactive. When you believe in yourself and you know what you can do I think just opting out and waiting for things to happen is the wrong way to look at it. You’ve got to get in there, prove, show, earn and get on with things. That’s what I have done by taking on Prizefighter again.

Rio- Over the past year or so it seems that every winner of Prizefighter gets a title shot. Did this influence your decision?

Colin - It did in a way, as I said I could have sat out and waited for the Purdy fight, but by winning Prizefighter that definitely determines that, in my circumstances, that you are next and I’m happy with that. I’m clear in my mind that by winning Prizefighter and I’ll get that title shot. Rather than waiting I’m going to make it happen.

Some people might disagree that Prizefighter is a short cut but you look at the names that go in Prizefighter, yeah it’s only three fights, but their prepared to go in there and put it on the line against other big names, rightly so you deserve a title shot from winning something like that.

Rio- Prizefighter seems to have risen in stature, originally featuring fighters at the end of their career mixing it with youngsters who’ve yet to get a break, but now it’s become a really important tournament for established stars and reaching audiences in excess of 5 Million, why do you think this is?

Colin - I’m not bowing my trumpet but when you get someone like me in it and someone like Junior Witter or Kevin McIntyre, then perhaps they can be a bit more selective on who goes in it. It will come back round when the guys that have had five, whether they won them all or not, their time will come. They’ve got to be patient unfortunately, but it will come around again.

It’s like the Contender series when that first come out and it was supposed to be for those who hadn’t been given their chance and as it becomes popular everybody wants to be in it and you start getting recognised names in it.

Barry Hearn is very good at what he does and that’s why he come up with this concept, and his Son mustn’t forget Eddie he’s a big part of this, he’s sort of geed his Dad up and it’s working really well.

They reach an audience that wouldn’t normally watch a twelve rounder because it’s long winded, which is more like a game of snooker or chess match init. They’ve geed things up and made it over in a little while. You can watch a fight and when it’s over go and make a cup of coffee and then the next one’s on. It’s brilliant and reaching a different audience.

Rio - Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me today and good luck on June 7th.

Colin - Thank you Rio.

Prizefighter - Welterweights II, featuring Colin Lynes, Junior Witter, Yassine El Maachi, Kevin McIntyre, Nathan Graham, Peter McDonagh, John Wayne Hibbert and Bobby Gladman, takes place at York Hall, Bethnal Green in London on Tuesday 7th June 2011.

Tickets, priced £35 (Unreserved), £60 (Ringside), and £100 (VIP) are available now at www.tkoboxoffice.com or in person at the TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA or call 07960 850645

PHOTO CREDIT: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

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By Rio

London - Monday, 24th January 2010

Dutch Cruiser Mitchell Balker Beats Nick Okoth In London, Looks For Next UK Fight.

On Saturday night London based Dutch Cruiserweight prospect Mitchell Balker got the first UK win under his belt, after beating Battersea’s fighting fireman Nick ‘The Ox’ Okoth, at the Graham Earl promoted ‘Capital

Punishment’ event at York Hall in Bethnal Green.

Balker, who relocated to London in September last year to train with Johnny Eames at his Ultrachem TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town, put the disappointment of losing his unbeaten record, when he faced #8 ranked Matty Askin on his British debut back in November last year, behind him and put on a dominating performance against the very tough Okoth.

Right from the opening bell Balker controlled the fight utilising crisp solid jabs to keep Okoth on the defensive, before swiftly moving in to land solid jabs and big right hands.

Round two see Okoth charge from his corner to take the fight to the Dutchman. Balker kept calm and stayed out of trouble by moving out of

range and occasionally letting rip with accurate lefts and rights, to both head and body, that slowed the advancing Okoth considerably.

Round three see Balker shift up a gear and just plain out box Okoth by utilising crisp jabs and powerful combinations. Okoth pressured Balker onto the ropes, but the savvy Dutchman would just step around Okoth and launch controlled attacks of his own. Often just jabbing to the head but occasionally with a venomous three punch combination that ended with a solid left to the body.

Round four was more of the same and it was no surprise that come the final bell the referee declared Balker the winner by a clear 40-36 points margin.

Following the fight Balker said, “I got my win, my first in UK. I feel really good, my performance was good, I just got in the ring and did my thing. It’s good to win all four rounds. I felt strong and was totally in control and I pushed him. It went OK.

The body shots we worked on in the gym worked good. I went to Nick Okoth in the changing rooms after the fight and he told me like ‘if you had hit me two, three more times there I would go down, if you hit me more with the body shots I would go down’.

It was good performance but I could do more. I felt little bit slow but it was still good.

I want another fight soon, build on the win and show what I can do.”

Balker’s manager/co-trainer Johnny Eames added, “I thought that Mitchell performed really well. It’s his first outing since Matty Askin, and he was fighting Nick Okoth, who really is a very, very brave man and gave a very good performance.

Mitchell boxed extremely well, boxed to orders and did what he was asked to do. It’s a shame he had a little bit of a cold, otherwise he may have had a stoppage, mind you I wouldn’t wish that on anyone really, especially Nick as he’s a lovely kid. But I think Mitchell would have definitely got the stoppage win.

Mitchell is a work in progress and we’re looking to get him out again soon, he’ll be available here for any fights against anyone outside the top ten.”

PHOTOS : Mitchell Balker lets rip against Nick ‘The Ox’ Okoth
PHOTO CREDIT: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro
JustListen2This Publicity & Promotion

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FIGHT REPORT: Morby Retains Title - Upsets, Drama And Controversy At York Hall

Article and Photos by Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro
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Former WBU Lightweight Champion, turned promoter, Graham Earl promised closely matched, exciting fights on his return to York Hall on Saturday night with his ‘Capital Punishment’ event. Being a man of his word, that’s just what Graham delivered and much, much more.
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For a start there were no less than three drawn bouts, albeit two being declared under the new BBBofC ‘technical draw’ rule. There was a massive upset, when Alex Spitko stopping Navid Iran. There was bloody drama when two fights were stopped due to bad cuts and there was controversy as Manny Oshunrinde was denied a clear stoppage win, only to receive a ‘technical draw’. More on these a little later.
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The headline Southern Area Super Middleweight title clash between Paul Morby and Daniel ‘The Slick’ Cadman was a closely fought affair, so much so that after ten hard fought rounds the Referee declared the bout a draw.

The bout got of to quite a slow start as both protagonists feeling each other out, as such it was impossible to declare a clear leader after the first couple of rounds. Cadman had set his stall out, deciding to close the Champion down. Whilst Cadman did all the controlling it was Morby that landed the more meaningful punches, just not enough.

Round three was a much more lively affair, with plenty of back and forth exchanges. About midway through the round the crowd leapt to their feet as one as Cadman backed Morby onto the ropes and let rip with a powerful flurry of shots. Cadman was driven on, to try and finish the fight early following landing a vicious left to the body, that clearly hurt the Champion. Morby survived the onslaught but round three was clearly Cadman’s.

Cadman again seemed to hurt Morby with a an equally vicious left to the body in the fourth round. However this was the wake up call the Champion needed, Morby came back with some world class ring craft and salvo of punches of his own as he boxed his way out of trouble. Whilst again a very close round I felt that Morby had done just enough to claim the round.

Round five was all Cadman. The reigning champ showed he has the heart of a Lion, soaking up onslaught after onslaught , any of which looked sure to end the Champions reign at a moments notice. At times the round got messy, as Morby clung to Cadman in an effort to stop further punishing salvos. Cadman’s round for sure.

Round six was more or less an extension of the later part of the fifth, with Morby grabbing hold of Cadman each time he mounted an attack. Saying that there was some scintillating action, just more holding than action. Again I gave the round to Cadman as he was by far the more positive and landed the more meaningful, and hurtful, punches.

Round seven was again a close round, like in the previous rounds there was a lot of holding, but there was also plenty of back and forth action. I gave the round to Morby purely as he had landed the more telling punches.

Round eight saw some excellent action, between the holding that is. Again another very close round, this time I just couldn’t split the pair.

Round nine was a scrappy affair, but did include some fiery exchanges, as well as some rather amusing moments - first Cadman is sent head first through the ropes following some nifty footwork by Morby, who sidestepped an attack before spinning the flaying Cadman head first through the ropes.

Just moments later the tables were turned when Cadman stepped aside, matador style, as Morby charged forward. Morby’s pace was such that the momentum almost propelled him completely over the third rope and onto the officials table. Finally following another grappling session Morby gets pushed down to end up kneeling in front of less than amused referee.

At the end of the three minutes again it was impossible to declare a clear winner of the round.

With just the one round to go this fight could go either way. Morby comes out hard and fast but Cadman doesn’t seem fazed and stands his ground. Following yet more grappling sessions, interspersed by some scintillating back and forth action. Both gave there all, it was without doubt a magnificent, and again too close to call, final round, even with the holding and pushing, and truly deserving of the rapturous applause that ensued as the final bell rang.

The cheers quickly turned to jeers though as the referee lifted both Morby and Cadman’s hands high declaring the fight a 96-96 draw, as such Paul Morby gets to retain his title.

Hopefully there will be a rematch in the not to distant future.
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Prior to the headline bout American Super Middleweight Emmanuel ‘Manny’ Oshunrinde was clearly robbed of his first win on British soil by the fight being declared a technical draw following the fight being stopped, in the first round, due to a serious cut over Smyle’s right eye.

Unlike the earlier technical draw decision, when a cut was caused by an accidental clash of heads, the cut to Smyle’s eye, as well as a serious swelling below the right eye, was caused by the many solid and highly accurate jabs and punches Oshunrinde landed throughout the short encounter.

Both protagonists started fast, however Oshunrinde quickly took control with his superior jab, often forcing Smyle backwards. Around half way through the round Oshunrinde again sent Smyle backwards, but this time followed up and let rip with a big left-right to the head.

Smyle covered up quickly, but not quick enough to stop another heavy straight right. Oshunrinde looked set to continue the onslaught but the eagle eyed referee had spotted the blood gushing from a cut above Smyle’s eye and called a halt to the proceedings.
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The highly anticipated clash between Ultrachem TKO’s exciting London based Dutch Cruiserweight prospect Mitchell Balker and Battersea’s fighting Fireman Nick ‘The Ox’ Okoth proved to be one of the fight’s of the night.

Balker’s savvy ring craft proved to be too much for ‘The Ox’. Right from the start Balker controlled the fight utilising crisp jabs to keep Okoth on the defensive before moving in to land solid jabs and right hands before stepping aside to thwart any return salvos from the heavy handed Okoth.

Round two see Okoth charge from his corner before swinging wildly in a effort to gain a semblance of control. Balker kept calm and stayed out of trouble by moving out of range and occasionally letting rip with accurate lefts and rights that slowed the advancing Okoth considerably.

Round three see Balker step things up a notch and just plain out box Okoth with crisp jabs and wicked combinations. Each time Okoth advanced Balker would let him back him onto the ropes before spinning Okoth and launching a controlled attack of his own. Often to the head but sometimes with a peach of a three punch combination that ended with a solid left to the body.

Round four was more of the same and it was no surprise that come the final bell the referee declared Balker the winner by a clear 40-36 points margin.
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Before the break Redhill’s Daryl Setterfield had a short and bloody battle with Jay Morris.

Prior to the fight stopping cut there wasn’t much to choose between the two as they slugged it out. However the turning point came about three quarter the way through the first round after an accidental clash of heads.

Blood gushed from a nasty cut above Setterfield’s left eye and in an instant Morris was all over him like a rash. Setterfield covered up, protecting the wound from possible more damaging blows, and soaked up the pressure until the bell.

World class cuts man Jimmy Tibbs got to work on the badly damaged eye as Johnny Eames calmed Setterfield, who looked concerned by the extent of the bleeding.

As the bell rang for the second round Morris shot across the ring and let rip with a series of massive bombs. However instead of covering up Setterfield returned fire with a brace of exocets of his own.

Both returned to boxing, rather than attempting to take the other’s head off, but following another close quarter exchange a second accidental head clash reopened the wound, leaving referee Bob Williams no option but to stop the fight and declare the bout a technical draw.
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The third fight of the night was set to be a feisty affair, as both Sutton’s Danny ‘Cassius Connor and Stevenage’s Terry Holmes had publicly stated their intention of knocking the other out.

Round one started fast, Connor using his superior jab to keep the raging bull attacks of Holmes at bay. Connor showcased his boxing skills whilst Holmes seemed content to throw bomb after bomb whenever he got in range, or not as the case may be. It was a close round but I felt that Connor had done enough to secure the round.

Round two was more of the same, until around midway when one of Holmes’ bombs hit the target - hard. Feeling more confident Holmes went on the attack forcing Connor back. Connor continued to use his jab to keep the terrier like Holmes at bay, however Holmes just wouldn’t back down. I see the round in favour of Holmes.

Things settled down a bit in the third round and some good toe-to-toe action ensued. Holmes slowed things down a bit and instead of launching wild attacks started picking his punches. Connor was boxing beautifully but the tide had turned firmly in favour of Holmes with his more controlled approach.

Round four was more of the same again and at one point looked like Holmes may have the stoppage he predicted after landing a big right before pouncing on Connor with a flurry of big shots. Connor weaved and ducked but with his back to the rope didn’t seem to have an escape route so let rip with a few of his own. This was enough for Holmes to take to the back foot. Connor pushed forward and let rip with a salvo of his own. The crowd were on their feet as the action flowed back and forth until the final bell rang and Holmes was declared victor by a 40-36 points margin - whilst I agree Terry Holmes won the fight I don’t feel it was a four round shutout.
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The second bout of the night see a massive upset as Navid Iran lost his unbeaten record to Mansfield’s Alex ‘Pit Bull’ Spitko.

The early going was all Iran, who dominated with vicious two handed attacks. At around the midway mark of the first round it seemed the fight may already be over after Iran landed a massive right. Spiko’s legs were gone, but somehow the plucky Latvian exile stayed on his feet to weather the storm.

The turning point of the fight came in the second minute of the third round when Iran seemed to run out of wind. Spitko turned the tables big time and let rip with a full blown salvo, Iran tried to run but Spitko stayed on him like a rash throwing flurries of shots until the referee Bob Williams stepped in to stop the fight at the 2 minute 39 second mark.
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The opening fight of the night, between Joe Hillerby and Ryan Clark, also featured a battle of former World Champions turned trainers, as Graham Earl was in Hillerby’s corner and Carl Greaves in Clarke’s.

The normally fast starting Clarke seemed a little more cautious than normal, which allowed Hillerby to take the first couple of rounds by forcing the pace throughout.

Round three see the real Ryan Clarke emerge. Normal service is resumed as Clarke starts letting rip with heavy hands. Hillerby is made of sterner stuff though, standing his ground and trading with equal venom. Much closer round but Hillerby still gets the nod and is set for a good win.

More of the same in fourth with Clarke throwing everything but the kitchen sink in an effort to stop the advancing juggernaut known as the ‘Belfast Banger’. No surprise that Hillerby and Graham Earl come out the winners in this one.
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Without doubt Graham Earl is a man of his word as ‘Capital Punishment’ featured well matched bouts that produced plenty of drama and excitement, as well as a little controversy to keep everyone talking.

So there you have it London’s first boxing show of 2011, can’t wait for the next - Bring it on!

PHOTO CREDIT:
Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

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