Brumant downed by Gavin by Dan McGovern Nov 26th 2004

Gavin Down looked to get back to winning ways in the main event of this Dave Bradley promoted show, and his relatively quick return to title class saw him face off against local man Steve Brumant, in a contest for the Midlands Area Light Middleweight Title. There was a clash of styles in this fight, with local man Steve Brumant (10st 8lbs) assuming the role of aggressor, whilst Bolsover's Down (10st 10lbs) looked to spear him with jabs and counters from the back foot. As early as the first round heads came together, with the shorter, stockier Brumant bundling forward enthusiastically, whilst Down tried to hold his ground. It resulted in a nasty deep gash to the top left hand side of Down's head that was to bleed copiously throughout the contest. On top of an early cut to deal with, Down also appeared fatigued from early on and it was looking like his jump in weight may have been ill thought out. The bullish Brumant landed several well-timed lead hooks in the second round, as well as a right hand over the top. Down returned to his corner open mouthed and at this stage he certainly looked in for a tough night. Both men were coming together more often by the third and they were warned to tidy things up by the referee Terry O'Connor. Brumant this time was affected by a clash of heads and dabbed at his brow with an open glove, looking for signs of blood. Down jumped on the Birmingham man and looked to take advantage of this unfortunate incident but Brumant utilised his greater strength to hold the Sheffield trained fighter off. Brumant let his punch output slip in the forth, a factor which was vital to his continued success. He continued to press, but Down was getting a foothold in the contest as the pace slowed. Down had to work hard throughout the fifth and six rounds to keep the local man at bay. He was expending a lot of energy and some of his punches looked as though he was merely pushing them out. Brumant could not sustain his early efforts and whilst he was still throwing punches, they appeared less venomous then earlier salvos. In the eighth round Downs cut reopened and both fighters were looking for their second winds to kick in, in what had been an arduous and dour battle. Long right hands to the body were working for Down and his greater experience in championship class was beginning to tell. Down boxed from southpaw briefly in the ninth but Brumant demonstrated his greater strength when he sent Down flying across the ring from a clinch. Brumant landed a quality left hook counter but it was a rare success at this stage. Down responded with three straight shots and moved out of trouble. That exchange was a microcosm of the entire contest. Down closed out the show well in the tenth. He mixed movement with clusters of light punches. Brumant, clearly tiring continued to land with occasional hooks, the local man was beaten on points but unbowed. At the final bell referee O'Connor had no hesitation in lifting the Ingle fighter's hand but his scorecard of 98 pts to 93pts seemed a touch unkind to the efforts put forth by Brumant. The main support was a pairing of classy boxing unbeatens, but it was strangely scheduled over only four three-minute rounds. This sprint distance didn't really suit either competitor, as an excellent contest was over before true superiority could be fully established by either man. Dean Hickman (10st 1lb) was the hometown favourite and entered the ring as the reigning Midlands Area Light Welterweight Champion. Ceri Hall (10st), and hailing from Swansea, was in the visitors corner, but he boxed with the confidence of an unbeaten prospect. The bout got underway with both men circling cautiously, employing high guards. Hickman was the first to attack with a lightening quick two-handed flurry. Hall responded with a right hand counter and the flood gates opened. Hickman caught the visitor with a straight right of his own and made the Welshman back off with a hard left hook. As Hall returned to his corner a cut above his left eye was visible, though this was fortunately to have no bearing on the contest. In the second Hall found excellent counter right hands to dissuade Hickman from advancing without due care and attention. Hall took to holding in close but when either men let punches go, their class was apparent. The third opened at a frenetic pace, with Hickman landing scything hooks and uppercuts against his well-protected adversary's torso. Hall found room for several straight right hands as Hickman backed out in straight lines. Hall was not adverse to a little bit of dirty stuff and continuously used his shoulder whilst in clinches. Whilst he was not pulled up for these infractions, he did draw the referee's displeasure with a left hook which landed well after the call of ‘break'. Hall confirmed Hickman's vulnerability to right hands in the closing moments of this pleasing sprint, but didn't do enough to warrant a share of the spoils. Hickman ran out a 40pts – 38pts winner but a rematch between these two over a longer distance would be most welcome. The show opened with a six-twos contest, featuring Birmingham's Joe Mitchell against Kidderminster hard man, Ernie ‘Gypsy Boy' Smith. This was a light middleweight contest though Mitchell, light at 10st 10lbs, was giving away 4 lbs to the seasoned journeyman, and it showed. The first round was a quite one, as both men weighed up the job in front of them. Mitchell threw few punches, Smith fewer still. Mitchell flashed a long jab but failed to follow up with anything significant behind it. By the second Smith was warming to the task and trapped the local man on the ropes, throwing a flurry of hooks to the midsection. Mitchell responded and turned his more experienced foe, lambasting him with long shots from both hands. The third saw Mitchell moving more as he looked to control the pace. Smith attacked sporadically with two-handed flurries whilst Mitchell was too hesitant with his rangy jab. By the forth round Ernie was confident enough to incorporate some show boating, a facet of his style we saw far too much of last time he boxed in Birmingham. Smith even managed to catch the advancing Mitchell with a rare straight right. Mitchell switched to front foot boxing in the penultimate session and boxed well off the ropes as he tried to regain the momentum in this Midlands derby. The final stanza was a good one for the older, yet less experienced fighter. Mitchell landed a couple of useful long-range straight rights, which left one wondering why he hadn't thrown them in the preceding rounds? Referee Shaun Messer was quick to award Ernie Smith a rare victory at the final bell, his first in twenty outings. It was a harsh verdict on the local man, who had closed out the fight well but seemingly failed to impress the sole arbitrator in dropping the decision, 58pts – 56pts. The second contest was also scheduled for the six-twos distance and featured Burton's Light Heavyweight prospect Jonjo Finnegan (12st 7lbs) against Battersea based loser Nick Okoth (also 12st 7lbs). The fight went according to the script in the first round few rounds, with Finnegan dropping the Londoner with a hard, strangely angled jab midway through the second road. Okoth was up midway through the count with a rye grin on his face. Finnegan closed to distance on his foe but failed to capitalise on the moment, choosing instead to wait for a counter punching opportunity that never arose. He was to rue that tactical mistake. In the third round Okoth began to switch stance, in between winging lusty hooks. Finnegan's work rate dropped off considerably and this just gave confidence to his opponent. The fourth round saw Finnegan eating a big right hand as he appeared to struggle with the strength of his ever advancing adversary. In the fifth round Finnegan appeared spent and had to absorb a heavy straight left, thrown by Okoth from the southpaw stance. Finnegan attempted to hold and fiddle his way out of trouble in close, but he was not throwing enough punches to win the rounds. In the last Finnegan was thrown around like a rag doll. Okoth was too strong and rumbled forward with predictable swipes from both hands but Finnegan could do little to stem the tide. A right uppercut from Okoth sealed what appeared an excellent victory for the luckless Londoner, but it was not to be. Shaun Messer, in a puzzling decision, awarded both men 57pts. Finnegan can count himself fortunate to escape with his unbeaten record in tact and will have to improve his physical strength if he is to advance. There was a late cancellation on the show when Casey Brooke's match with Dudley's Mark Wall had to be cancelled due to a nine-pound disparity in weight.

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