Commonwealth Supporting Show by Tom Walker Feb 17th 2007

Promoter Tommy Gilmour's frustration at Howard Foster's scoring of the main bout where he gave it to Nuumbembe by 4 rounds may well be the subject of further discussion elsewhere, but he can feel justifiably pleased with some of his other boxers in support of Kevin Anderson on last night's bill. Opening the show was Mitch Prince 9st 11lbs who had a late change of opponent with the ever durable Dariusz Snarski 9s 10lbs over a six rounder. Prince normally throws his left jab and doubles it up with a left hook to the body and he's doing that to good effect in the opening rounds. When he does use his right it is catching Snarski cleanly and as early as the 2nd the Pole's face is reddening from the attention it is receiving from the Cumbernauld man. The Pole gets a bit adventurous in the 3rd as he tries to stem the flow, but it is still limited in quality. Snarski's right though is beginning to get home in the 4th and disconcertingly Prince seems to switch off. Prince's lack of head movement is costing him as Snarski provides him with a reasonably stiff test. The bout closes with Paul Graham raising both men's hand to indicate a draw, a decision which I can't really agree with as I had it 58-56 to Prince. For me the Pole did win two rounds but no more than that. Snarski was seated behind me for the rest of the show and his face looked as though he'd been mugged by more than one man. The Pole isn't blessed with film star looks in any event, but was definitely the worse for wear. Note: Snarski took the fight on Thursday, he was actually preparing to be fired out of a canon as part of his circus act when the call came through! Willie Bilan 9st 13lb took another professional step with a 4 rounder scheduled against David Kehoe 10st 3lb, with Kenny Pringle as referee. Bilan started at a pace which was leaving Kehoe bemused with its intensity. The end though came with a barrage of punches which left Kenny Pringle no alternative but to call it off since Kehoe offered no resistance to something like twenty shots to the head whilst squatting on the bottom rope at the 2 minute 56 second mark of the opening round. Kehoe was not amused by the decision, but in truth he only had himself to blame for his now mandatory break from earning. The Northampton man is his own worst enemy and never endears himself to either his opponents or their fans, and this was a classic example of how to lose without dignity as he gestured his glove in a fashion which rhymes with “Banker” at the end and followed it up by antagonising the fans of Bilan on the way back to the dressing room. Dunfermline boxer Gordon Brennan 12st 11lbs met up with Simon Wood 13st 0lb of Brierly Hill in another 4 rounder. This was fairly cumbersome in terms of boxing skills from both men, and if lacking in silkiness did have unadulterated effort. The bout could have taken place in the proverbial phone box. In the end though, the local man prevailed with a 39-37 score from referee Paul Graham. Steve McGuire 12st 2lbs 14ozs from Glenrothes was matched up against Roman Vanicky 12st 4lbs of the Czech Republic with Kenny Pringle in charge of the action. The preliminaries were put to one side as a left hook to the short rib at the 1 minute 49 second mark of the opener reduced Vanicky to his knees and despite rising at the eight count and trying the patience of referee Pringle, decided he wasn't for a repeat dose of the medicine he'd just had at the hands of McGuire, and the bout was stopped by RSC. South Queensferry boxer Paul Appleby 9st 1lb had as his opponent Buster Dennis 9st 1lb 14 ozs of Canning Town in London with Paul Graham officiating. Appleby has good movement, a range of shots and more than a wee bit of “attitude”, the latter of which all good boxers really need. Dennis though didn't seem unduly concerned by all of the above, though in truth his offering to the proceedings were limited to wild swings which even the Royal Mail could have delivered quicker. Appleby was always in control of this bout with cleaner, crisper work against a durable opponent. Having said that, he almost came unstuck with a right hook in the last from the Londoner. The final score was announced as 80-73 which none of us ringside could fathom, but there was never any doubt as to whose hand was going to be raised. Gary McMillan 10st 6lbs met with Polish born, Manchester based Tomasz Mazurkiewicsz 10st 10lbs in the last bout pre the main attraction. McMillan was mixing it up with the Pole unnecessarily when he really ought to have been using his southpaw jab to good effect and keeping his opponent at length. The clash of styles and the Polish man's unpredictability is all leading to McMillan's discomfort and I suspect it is one that the likeable Edinburgh boxer will want to erase from the memory bank. In any event Kenny Pringle decided it was a draw, and I wouldn't quibble too much over that, but I suspect the Pole's corner team might. I was much better prepared for a night on top of the ice rink than on previous occasions, looking like a world war two fighter pilot with the fleece lined leather jacket and heavy biker boots to fend of the temperature, but the sight of Frank in his “Paddington Bear” outfit did vindicate both our decisions to forsake fashion for warmth.

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