Undercard fight from Wigan by Terry Dooley Jul 7th 2007

A clash between the boxing and an egg-chasing game at the JJB stadium meant BBN missed the first fight as Tony Dodson, 12st 8lb, came back from his beating at the hands of Carl Froch to defeat Nick Okoh, 12st 7lb, over four three-minute rounds. Next-up another VIP prospect, Stuart McFadyen, was given a tough fight as he tangled with Bradford's Tasif Khan over four threes. McFadyen, 8st 9lb, floored Khan, 8st 8lb, in the first. Khan protested the shot was a slip, and it looked to be the case, but his protests fell on deaf ears. In the second Stu was his usual self; neat boxing and movement won him the round before Khan threw the cat amongst the pigeons in round three by flooring McFadyen with a solid right hook. It was a heavy blow, when Stu regained his feet he had a slightly drunken look in his eyes, he was not completely gone but he did complete the round in a daze as Khan failed to capitalise. It was a good test for McFadyen who fired-back after rising, he did this well enough to make Khan wary and ensure he finished the round on his feet. McFadyen still looked like he was under the influence in round four and another right hook to the temple steadied him, ironically he fought better after this punch, most notably forcing Khan back with jabs and right hands. When the final bell went both men went to the ref but it was the hand of McFadyen that was raised. Stu won by the narrowest of margins, 38-37, yet the score line did not reflect how shaken he had been when knocked down. That he got up, and fought back well, was a sign that the young prospect has steel enough to complement his skills. Next-up came a barnburner of a battle as Craig Watson, 10st 2lb, came in as the underdog to upset the odds and beat the talented, but on this evidence erratic, Michael Lomax, 10st 3lb 8oz, over eight three-minute rounds. Watson upset Robert Lloyd Taylor in his last fight and came out for this one looking a strong puncher. Both men are southpaws and the cliché goes that this can make for a dull fight when in reality it is much the same as two orthodox fighters facing-off. If one man bangs, as Watson did, and the other man fails to adapt you can get gruellingly exciting fights, this one ticked both boxes as Lomax took a creeping beating and Watson landed some exciting shots. After a messy first round, won by Watson, Lomax came into the second round firing long one-twos to underline his advantage at range. Undeterred Watson steadied Lomax with overhand right hooks to bring marking to the face of the man from Essex. Watson's heavy artillery took over the bout in round three as he landed a southpaws jab to the body then used the momentum to bring over a heavy left hand to the head of Lomax. These headshots caught Lomax all night long - especially the left hooks. Watson was landing heavy blows but was blowing hard in the fourth; despite this he again buckled Lomax time and again with sweeping shots. Watson slipped a jab then powered in a left hook to the head of Lomax. Strange as it may sound the shaggy hairstyle of Lomax only added impact to the shots by shaking crazily every time Watson landed around the head and temples, which he did often. It got a bit ugly in the fourth as Lomax ducked low and Watson pushed him over. When they got to their feet Watson landed a heavy left uppercut in the corner of the ring. Watson could be out-jabbed yet every time he was hit by a jab he would throw over left and right hands. In the fifth round, for the first time, Lomax served notice of his height advantage by jabbing Watson off him. It was ragged work from Lomax and despite winning the round he was marking-up, he also took some meaty body shots. A one-two from Watson sent the sweat spraying to start round six. Watson was landing the far heavier blows, this was evidenced explicitly in the round, Watson landed a light blow only for his head to be rocked-back by a right hook. Over the final two rounds Watson mixed a bit of boxing, in round eight, with some solid punching, in round seven, to cement his hold over the fight. It should be said, though, that Lomax took the shots like a man, at times his head was rocked-back and this writer thought ‘Oh boy' but he continued to try and out-man Watson. Lomax fought the wrong fight, Watson landed the heavier blows throughout and, perhaps, his winging shots forced Lomax to close the range, however the result was a good win for Watson who has found confidence after hurting John Fewkes in the final round of a losing effort. Referee Phil Edwards scored it a wide 79-73 whereas BBN had it a little closer, but not much closer, at 78-74. Like Mark Thompson Lomax can regroup and make his way back, he may have lost the fight but boy did he hold a shot. Brett Flournoy, 10st 4lb 4oz, came through a bit of a strange one as he beat Yassine El Maachi, 10st 4lb, by pulling out a stoppage in the fourth and final round. Both men pretty much negated one another in the first round. It was all fall-in and mauling early-doors. In the second the action was touching awful as both southpaws proved that maybe two portsiders could produce awful fights. Flournoy had been rocked in round one by a left hook to the head, he had to clinch briefly to clear his cranium before coming back in the fourth round with clean shots of his own. Maachi drew first blood in the final round with a left hook to the head only for Flournoy to respond with his best work so far, a left hand and right hook put Yassine over and a follow-up of blows, few of which seemed to land clean, brought a premature stoppage at 2:29 of the round. There was some heavyweight action also as Scott Mitchell, 15st 13lb, overcame the disappointment of losing his debut last month as he beat David Ingleby, 17st, on points over four three-minute rounds. In truth is was very much a typical heavyweight bout, Mitchell landed wide shots then mauled away inside as Ingleby tried time and again with left hooks and uppercuts. Enough of these shots landed to give Mitchell a nosebleed yet overall, in this maul and brawl, fight Mitchell got off with the shots needed to take a deserved 39-38 win. It was narrow although BBN had it slightly more cut and dry at 39-37. As the mammoth bill wound-down Ali Nuumbembe, 10st 12lb 4oz, kept his tools sharp by beating Vladimer Borovski, 11st 1lb 8oz, on points over six three-minute rounds. In truth it was a carbon copy of their fight in September 2006 as Ali hit Borovski frequently without ever looking like tucking him away. Borovski almost plants himself into the canvas so it was left to Ali to circle him whilst landing with left hooks to the body and head; right hands to the body, one-twos and variations on various combinations went in also. Between rounds Bob Shannon asked what Ali had to do to KO Borovski and Ali did have a sense of urgency throughout but he was unable to put the Ukrainian tough man away. Borovski did open-up a little in fourth round; left hooks caught Nuumbembe, only for Ali to double on the one-two and then land a double-jab and right hand. Ali peppered Vladimer in the final round to send his fans home happy and, once again, send Borovski home sore. Finally there was a bit of controversy as Alex Matvienko drew over four three-minute rounds with Martin Marshall. Marshall, 11st 6lb, came out behind his one-two against Matvienko who marched through the shots to land his own body shots, a pair of hooks. In the second Matvienko did trap Martin in the corner but his double-jab, right hand and left hook all missed their target. A right hook and left hook, to the head and body respectively, did land from Matvienko then more left hooks went in as Alex showed that this shot was his weapon of choice in the bout. Matvienko did a good job of tracking a moving target in the third round, he even out-jabbed Marshall once or twice only for Marshall to flip the script on Alex by landing his own left hook on the counter. Throughout the round a lone fan at ringside was screaming, “come on Warren!”, at, no one in particular, if he was cheering Marshall on it certainly worked as Martin came out on his toes in round four hoping to nick the fight. They traded hooks, Marshall with the left and Alex with the right before Alex was warned for a low left hook. Marshall took a rest then showed Alex the right hand before landing a looping shot from the same hand. Another left hook from Alex was deemed low by referee Steve Gray who took a point away from Matvienko. In a four round fight a lost point can be decisive, sensing this Alex came forward only for Marshall to land a one-two as the bout closed. Both men had their hands raised at the hand as Steve Gray scored the fight 38-38. Gray explained to BBN that Alex had been warned once for a low blow and this gave him no choice but to deduct a point. Gray expressed regret that a deduction had decided the outcome but stressed he did warn Alex strongly first time around. BBN scored it 38-37 for Matvienko's but the draw is not an outrageous result and a rematch could be fought over six rounds to give one man or the other a chance to take a convincing result. Overall, aside from the delays caused by the egg-chasing match at the JJB, it had been a long and enjoyable night of boxing. Photos: Al Stevenson

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