Brian Rose gets lucky in Blackpool by Terry Dooley Feb 18th 2008

VIP Promotions took their boxing road show to the decaying seaside resort town of Blackpool on Saturday. One homecoming hero, Brian Rose, was fortunate to come away with draw after a tough fight with Iranian Manoocher Salari. For those who have not experienced the joys of Blackpool the town itself has some pleasant outlying beach areas and a decaying, not to mention boring, centre-strip. It was a freezing cold night as well; as we approached the venue we passed a group of brass monkeys who were huddling together for warmth. The bill itself featured explosive early and late bouts with some Local Boys versus Journeymen filler in the middle. The first bout of the night saw Alex Matvienko, 11st 4lb, score a 2nd-round stoppage win over Nottingham's Davey Jones. Matvienko seemed to be caught between boxing and bombing in the 1st round with the upshot being that Jones was able to score with a few braces of left and right hooks. Jones, who came into the ring to the ear-straining strains of a 1980's ballad, was using pronounced foot-feints in the 1st round but this ploy left him open a little as the round wore-on. In round 2 Alex decided to work his way inside. However, his wide swings were allowing his opponent to ride the attacks out then tie Matvienko up a little. Out of the blue Jones telegraphed a left hook and Matvienko countered quickly with his own left hook. Alex's left hand knocker sent his foe down to the Davy Jones locker of the canvas. Upon rising Jones was asked if he wanted to continue by referee Steve Grey but gave no verbal indication that he did want to continue. This in turn left Grey with no option but to stop the fight at 1:36 of the 2nd round. After the fight Matvienko told BBN that he had been caught in 2 minds during the 1st round before deciding to pick his shots carefully for the rest of the fight. This switch certainly paid dividends. Next-up came bout between Bolton's Rick Goddins, 10st 5lb, who defeated Oliver Harrison trained import Senol Dervis, 10st, on points over 6 x 2-minute rounds. Southpaw Dervis' ring entrance music was Marley's (Bob not Mike) ‘Three Little Birds', that was fair enough but it took a minute or so for the fighter to follow, perhaps he thought the song title was ‘Don't Worry (about getting to the ring)' but once he got there, in the 1st round at least, he tried to make a mockery of the size discrepancy between himself and the lad from Bolton. However, late in the 1st round a long right hand from Goddins came crashing over the guard of Senol and this robbed the little fighter of much of his offensive pep. Senol looked like a diminutive Jean Claude Van Damme but by the 2ndround Senol seemed to have ditched the idea of boxing as a blood sport; his offence went largely AWOL for the remainder of the bout, although in terms of defence he was certainly no slick boxer. Another right hand over the top put Senol a little at sea in the 2nd and by the 3rd Goddins was bringing in right uppercuts on the inside, plus left hooks to the head and body. However in round 4 Senol seemed to get his sea legs under him a little and he came under the guard of Goddins with a little brace of hooks – left and right. Goddins missed a more in the next few rounds, when he did land Senol would often be on the verge of careening backwards anyway, therefore there was a double impact on the shots of Goddins, the blows themselves being exacerbated by the style of Senol. In the 5th and 6th rounds Senol would crash forwards and backwards, tying his opponent up as he went along, with Goddins looking a little frustrated but keeping his composure. Despite Senol circling like a (neutered) black eagle at times Goddins marched onwards like a cyborg and deserved his 60-54 win on the card of referee Gray. BBN had it by the same margin. Manchester's Jon Kays was on the last VIP bill of 2007 and used his first appearance of 2008 to get some rounds in the bank. Kays, 9st 6lb, defeated Steve Gethin, 9st 6lb, on points over 6 x 2-minute rounds but in truth Jon has looked better, and will look better, in other fights. Gethin got his jab going earlier in the contest than Kays only for Jon to land a left hook to the body of his foe. The pattern of the fight became a little hit-and-hold in rounds 2 and 3. As a fledgling pro Jon will have to learn about the black art of infighting, the true separation between amateurs and pro, so that when, as was the case in this fight, his outside game is not working he can use his ability on the inside to do damage. As it stood neither man was sound enough on the inside to prevent clinches. By the 3rd Gethin had a smear of blood over his right-eye but he landed a solid left hook, as Kays leant to his own right sans guard, this seemed to break the concentration of Kays a little in a round that neither man grabbed by the scruff of the neck. In the 4th Kays was showing good movement. He was throwing plenty of shots from the outside, however it looked to me that he was stopping his shots at the point he thought impact was going to be reached rather than punching through his target. Rounds 5 and 6 were better for Gethin as Jon seemed to thresh, rather than think, his way through the fight. A stiff jab was sent over one of Jon's misses and Gethin tried to get Jon to come into him a little bit more so he could counter. In the final round there was more cuff than rough on the punches of Jon, Gethin scored with a left and right hook before being pinged by a stiff jab from Kays. At the final bell Jon had clearly won the fight but it was not his best night, there was more movement and threat than clean shots landed. However the scorecard of 59-56 from Phil Edwards was well deserved. BBN had it 58-56 for Kays. After the fight Jon told me that it had been a good chance to get some rounds in the bank against a tough guy and he was pleased to have gone the full 6-rounds at a decent pace. Blackpool born Jack Arnfield was next-up and the atmosphere cranked-up for the local fighter. Arnfield, 11st 1lb, took on David Kirk, 11st, over the 6 x 2-minute round distance. Kirk, fighting out of the Ingles Wincobank gym, bounced out for the 1st round sporting a shaggy head of hair, this in turn added to the impact of every shot he took in the bout. Arnfield boxed well behind the jab to keep Kirk moving then he would step in with his right hand before looking for the left hook to the body. For his part Kirk tried to use angles to frustrate Arnfield and by round 2, after a brief tangle of feet, Jack was having to pick his shots carefully whilst ensuring he did not give Kirk a chance to throw a haymaker from some crazy angle or other. This persistent jab of Arnfield kept Kirk, and David's flailing barnet, off-kilter for much of the round. Between rounds Dominic Ingle gave Kirk the right advice in regards to what he needed to do to switch angles on Arnfield – by stepping-off as Jack moved forwards – but in trying to follow the plan Kirk almost KO'd himself. Through rounds 4 and 5 the fight became quite ugly. Clearly, Arnfield was not going to be able to score the perfect fight ending shots so he did what he had to do in boxing behind his jab then scoring single-shots of this single shot. For his part Kirk sunk in a left hook to the body in round 4 – his best shot of the fight. By the 6th Kirk was firmly on the retreat and Arnfield continued to box to orders behind his 1-2, the left hooks to the body, when they came, were evidence that Jack is adapting well to the pro game. Jack closed the fight out with a nice left hook to the body followed by a sweet right uppercut on the inside. It was not a crowd pleaser of a fight but the crowd were pleased to see Jack in action and applauded his 60-54 win with lustre. BBN had it 60-54 also. In the next bout, scheduled for 6 x 2-minute rounds, Chris Johnson scored his second consecutive 4th-round KO as he stopped Manchester rival Dave Murray with a sweet right hook to the temple thrown from his southpaw stance. Prior to this Johnson, 10st 13lb, had shown his usual patience – his 4 stoppages have all come after 3 rounds – throughout the bout and used his southpaw style to frustrate Murray, 11st 2lb, in most of the rounds. It started well for Murray as he landed a right hand to the head of Johnson only to see Chris respond with a right hand jab. A missed swing from Murray also saw him countered with a pair of straight left hands to the head. By the 2nd Johnson's 1-2 was as sharp as you like as he counterpunched well. Murray was winging at times but Johnson, late in the 2nd, fought out of a clinch with a nice right hook to the head and left hand to the body. In the 3rd and 4th Murray tightened-up his shots a little and was looking more dangerous. A pair of right hooks to the head followed by a right hook to the body early in round 3 served notice that Murray now meant business. Cutting some of the swing from his shots meant Murray was now pumping out punches that were half-long but twice as strong. This left Johnson with more to think about. In round 4 both men stood toe-to-toe and raged away in the neutral corner yet it was Johnson who fought his way out of the corner. Murray then took one of those shots you can do nothing about, a classic southpaw right hook to the temple thrown by Johnson knocked Murray's legs bandy. That one shot left him looking three-sheets to the wind and this in turn left Phil Edwards with no choice other to stop the fight at 0:46 of the 4th. In the penultimate fight Martin Murray, from nearby St. Helens, kept-up his busy schedule and got the rounds in the bank by defeating Dean Walker, from Sheffield, over 6 x 2-minute rounds. Murray, 11st 12lb, is built like a tank and powered his way through the slippery style of Walker, 12st 3lb, to take a shutout points win. In the early going it was a case of the centre holds as Murray kept his claim on centre ring and landed whenever possible with his heavy-handed blows. By the 3rd, though, Murray was missing a lot of shots and, perhaps in frustration, threw Walker over. Murray was winning the rounds clearly without imposing himself on Walker, for this credit must go to Walker. Both men let a few arm-flurries go in the final round but they were popcorn farts in all truth and there was no danger of either man getting shocked and stopped this late. Murray closed it out, ending with a right uppercut along the ropes, and was deserving of his 60-54 win on the card of Steve Gray. BBN had it by the same margin. The biggest drama of the night was saved for the last bout as local boy Brian Rose survived a big scare in round 2 of his fight against Manoocher Salari. Rose, 11st 2lb, came-out behind his jab, as is the norm with Brian. Salari – who is a do-or-die fighter – came-out swinging his southpaw lefts with his usual abandon. Salari is dangerous early but is also always in danger himself in the first few rounds. The last time I saw him live he was banged-out by Mark Thompson, Thompson had jumped all over Salari leaving him no time to settle. In giving Mano space Brian was the architect of his own problems. In round 2 Brian did start boxing off the front-foot more only to be met by a right uppercut and straight left from Mano. At this point Rose needed to get some more authority behind his jab, and he managed to do so although, strangely, after having seen his jab could off-set Mano, it was Brian who was looking wary in this round. This circumspection was proven well founded later in the round as a left hook to the head, from Mano's southpaw stance, rocked Brian and caused his legs, and the fighter, to lurch forwards a little. Mano showed his ruthlessness by then landing a left uppercut on the inside. Luckily for Rose the round ended before the rampaging Iranian could inflict more damage. In my mind, after looking directly into Brian's eyes the moment he was hit by the shot, the fight was as good as over. It was early in the bout, Mano had won the first two rounds and it is hard enough to recover from a bad round without having to chase a lead also. Rose came-out and landed a right hand early in the 3rd but he was now moving backwards and this is the classic mistake to make against a slugger like Mano. A right uppercut from Salari gave Rose pause and this in turn gave Mano time to belt Brian with a left uppercut, again on the inside. Vulnerable both at range and in-close Rose lost this round also, although he did manage to get his jab going a little towards the end of the session. Round 4 saw Rose make the adjustment of dipping his head down as Mano swung those wide shots. Rose used his jab to set-up a right hand to the head of Mano – Rose's most effective shot thus far – then used this piece of momentum to land a right hand and left hook to the head of Salari. Mano was having none of it though; he landed his own left hand down the pipe. The fighters then exchanged shots on the right-hand side of the ring with Rose landing a right hand, a left hook and a right uppercut, this finally caused Mano to cede a little ground to Rose. In the 5th Rose was under no illusions about what he had to do and he tried to further grab the fight by the scruff of the neck. Unfortunately, in a show of machismo, Rose dropped his hands to show-out to Mano who promptly tagged Rose then waved him in. Rose dropped the charity, and kept his hands-up, as the round wore-on, despite the by now jubilant Mano bringing out an Ali shuffle as Brian backtracked. Mano then closed the distance and landed a left hand to the body of Rose, who was also swollen around the right eye. By the 6th Brian had a stark choice, win the round or lose the fight. A right hand was thrown behind a gritted countenance early from Rose. Mano was now wild in his attacks but he landed a corking left hand on Brian. Salari also dug-in a left hand to the body and was in danger of sweeping a round Rose desperately needed to win. Brian did, though, get into the relative safety of the inside and landed a left hook there. Mano responded with short lefts as he fought off the ropes. Rose closed out the fight with a pair of 1-2's only for Mano, again, to have the last word with his left hand, this time throwing it as an uppercut. Both men had landed solid blows in the final round but it seemed overall, given the success early, that Mano may have nicked the fight but it was not to be as Phil Edwards raised the hands of both men for a draw. I quickly tallied my card and also had them split at 3-rounds apiece but the overall impression was that Brian had been very lucky indeed. Rose was upset with the draw but he should take the ‘glass half-full' approach. Rose could easily have been stopped from the southpaw counter shot he took. As it stands the result might be a black mark on his record but Rose did well to recover from an early setback and grit things out. Promoter Steve Wood was happy with the draw and it will be interesting to see what happens in a rematch, which is a must. For inspiration, if he needs it, Brian can have a chat with fellow VIP fighter Mark Thomson who spoke to BBN about his own adversity in 2007. Mark said tough fights with Vincent Vuma and Frank Harroche Horta had taught him a number of lessons. The fighter felt that improvements had been made after those fights and that he had had shown this improvement in his last bout, an impressive stoppage over Darren Gethin. Mark was upbeat about things and seemed very relaxed and confident, he is pencilled in for some sparring with WBC light-welterweight title holder Junior Witter and must be one of the few people who actually looks forward to getting into the ring with Witter, who is currently on the crest of a wave after annihilating Vivian Harris last year. For Thompson a brush with defeat had been a beneficial exercise, for Rose this near-defeat experience could be more beneficial than all of his fights thus far. Photos by Allan Stevenson

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Game of opinions Apr 26th 2008, 17:49:54 by neckodeemus Hello, Looking back on the fight I still feel the draw was fair and made my case to Brian at his latest fight, against Ernie Smith in Wigan. A few people had it level and some had Brian winning. It is a case of scoring what you see and I saw it as a draw. Brian did well to bounce back from the shot he took and I think it gave him a few things to think about, tonight (Wigan 26/4) he looked sharp, he had more authority on his jab than in Blackpool. I wasn't having a go by any means, even the jokes about Blackpool were meant in the best spirit! Cheers, Terry   rose should of won Feb 22nd 2008, 16:48:10 by bluenose18 i cant belive terry you are saying rose was lucky i will send you the dvd i have never heard so much rubbish in my life.can i ask a question was you at the same fight as me that night rose got caught with 1 gd shot rose was catc hing salari with jabs all fight you can not say rose was lucky because he got caught once you see many of boxers get caught like that i bet you dont write articles about them saying they are lucky.at the end off the day rose should of won that fight you could see by salari face that he thought he lost him self.it was bad judgeing .brian rose showed that he had a heart by coming bk and winning 1st and fourth fifth and sixth   Did Any one watch the same fight as me Feb 22nd 2008, 15:21:11 by bluenose18 brian rose never got lucky in blackpool at all he got caught with 1 shot that doesnt mean that he got lucky he won the fight by 1 round who ever wrote the article obviously wasnt at the fight i really dont know how the judges had the fight as a draw who ever said he got lucky i will send you a dvd to prove that i think its really harsh someone sayin that every boxer rocks off a punch thats boxing for you. he came back from that with alot of heart and deffo won the fight by 1 round if i seen it and the rest of the people seen it how couldnt the ref and judge see it!!!!!!!! Ed responds - the bloke who wrote the report was at the show. Just because he has a different opinion to you doesn't make him some kind of absentee.