Birmingham 1 Black Country 0 as Maxwell wins Midland Belt by Tom Podmore Feb 29th 2008

That's the score after Max Maxwell, Birmingham, won the vacant Midland Area middleweight title with an impressive three-round destruction of Matty Hough, Black Country, at a sold-out, lively and atmospheric Wolverhampton Civic Hall last night (February 18). Birmingham referee Terry O'Connor rightly waived the contest off halfway through the third with the Walsall man, having been dropped in each of the opening two rounds, hurt on the ropes and shipping solid right hands from a fired up and aggressive-minded Maxwell. Max becomes Pugilist Promotions (Jon Pegg and John Costello) and Richie Woodhall's first champion, by the way. And whilst both had been confident of victory in the run up to this ten-rounder, it was Hough that had been doing the trash-talking, saying he would knock Maxwell out, do a job on him, etc. Max, meanwhile, said very little, respectful of his opponent and not wanting to add anymore pressure to his shoulders. “Do not underestimate the determination of a quiet man,” to quote former Tory leader Ian Duncan Smith, a sentence that put the final nail in his political coffin, at a Conservative Party conference in 2002. Even though he'd said little, Maxwell was confident he'd been the man left standing, and was as good as his word. He'd sparred over 80 rounds with Peterborough banger Cello Renda, who fights unbeaten Paul Smith for the vacant English middleweight title on March 8, was fit, focused and strong. Renda, a decidedly heavy-handed former British Masters champion at 11st 6lbs, even admitted that the long-limbed Chelmsley Wood-based boxer would get the better of things in the later rounds of their sparring sessions – his fitness coming into play during the eighth, ninth and tenth rounds. And there was also redemption for the Birmingham fighter. Maxwell had lost his professional debut (his only loss to date, by the way) at the Civic Hall in October 2006 and was adamant he wouldn't lose there again. He'd conceded a close 39-38 decision to Crawley's Anthony Young, a recent British Masters title challenger, that night after being too eager to knock his opponent out. He'd tightened up since then, boxing well in wins over former Midland Area and British Masters boss Matt Scriven, Sherman Alleyne and durable pair Ernie Smith and Duncan Cottier. Max had shown glimpses of his power in those victories, but it really came to the fore in the bout proceeding last night's contest. The ex-Navy poster boy took apart Bolton's Johnny Enigma in two rounds at the Holiday Inn last month (January 25), thumping him with a left to the temple and finishing the job with a hail of hooks that left the brave but outgunned opponent needing oxygen. Hough was in the crowd and was given a taste of what to expect. That two-round win then led to the announcement of this fight and a fiery nose-to-nose staredown that had to be broken up by Richie Woodhall. I'd made a mental note at the time that Hough looked the bigger man in two important aspects: height (6'2 to 5'10) and bulk (natural super-middleweight to a man who'd been operating at light-middle). I thought that would be the difference. Seemingly too small to deal with the better men at super-middleweight, the 31-year-old Walsall ticket-seller had been involved in a life-and-death struggle to make the middleweight limit and was forced to run off the excess weight at Wednesday's weigh-in whilst wrapped in a bin bag. But it's difficult to see where Hough, now 7-3-1 (1), goes from here. He is too small for 12st but too big for 11st 6lbs. However, the Errol Johnson-trained scrapper (11st 6lbs) had made a bright start to the ten-rounder. He'd worked behind his jab in the early stages, looking good, catching his fellow-Midlander and boxing well at a distance. But then he became too confident, stepped inside and was felled by a fast-handed left from the 28-year-old co-challenger (11st 5 3/4lbs). Dazed, he got up at six, took the rest of the eight count and immediately did the right thing in tying his blood-thirsty opponent up. He seemed to have regained his composure after that, but was stunned once more by a right over the top in the last twenty seconds and the bell couldn't have come at a better time. Hough, like he had done in the opening minute of the first round, started the second round behind the jab. Like in the first round, it worked well. But he got too confident, went to work in close and was nailed by two hard and accurate rights that saw him on wobbly pins. Although he managed to stave off Maxwell on that occasion – holding and retreating – well-supported Matty was driven back to the ropes and caught another of the Brummie's overhand rights, a shot that put Hough on his knees. Luckily for him, the bell rang halfway though the count and was allowed back to his corner. But the Richie Woodhall-trained boxer, cheered on by stablemates Pele Reid, Sid Razak and Llewelyn Davies, was now in the ascendancy. He started the third quickly, nailed his opponent early on with a hard-looking overhand right and never looked like relinquishing control. The local tried to muster every ounce of strength and resolve to say with Maxwell but was driven to the ropes, cracked with a right that made the Black Country man slump onto the top rope, banged with another hard-looking right and Terry O'Connor made a well-timed interception at 1-46. The stoppage was greeted with boos from a passionate Black Country crowd but it looked spot-on to me. Hough had been down twice, was feeling every punch and there looked to be no-way back. Mr O'Connor saved the Walsall-born fighter from a nastier, more conclusive fate. As ever, the tall, well-muscled Jamaican-born boxer, 7-1 (2), was sparing with his words: “I'm delighted to be the Midland Area champion,” he said. “I trained hard, had excellent sparring with Cello Renda and executed a gameplan that worked well and has seen me win the belt. “Like I said before the fight, Birmingham would come out with the win and have got bragging rights over the Black Country. I now expect Wayne Elcock to make it Birmingham 2 Black Country 0 in his British title defence against Darren McDermott in April.” Next for the Pugilist Promotions-promoted puncher is likely to be another Birmingham versus Black Country clash for the Area strap – taking on Stourbridge crowdpleaser Sam ‘The Man' Horton, 7-0 (1) and also trained by Errol Johnson, in June. Horton, who holds a recent four-round win over the current British Masters 160lb champion, Barnsley's Ingle-trained ‘Lightening' Lee Noble, was ringside for the bout and shouted to the new Midland Area middleweight champion: “Your arse is mine, Maxwell.” Max replied to that simply: “The contracts have been signed and we'll get it on in a few months time, possibly June. It wasn't his night – he didn't win anything – so he can keep his mouth firmly shut until that night that we step into the ring and box.” Hough, meanwhile, had admitted this might be the end of his three-year professional career: “I've been boxing for almost 23 years and it's starting to take its toll on me, so I'm giving a lot of thought about calling it a day,” he said. Part two of Birmingham versus the Black Country takes place on April 25 in Birmingham – Aston Villa Events Centre – when Shard End's Wayne Elcock defends his British middleweight title against Dudley's Darren McDermott. Wolverhampton's Dean Harrison gets better with every fight. Taking on his most dangerous foe to date, Ghanaian puncher Alex ‘Wild' Brew, Harrison boxed coolly and stopped the African in the seventh of a set eight-threes on this well-attended and entertaining First Team-promoted eight-fight show. Promoter Paul (PJ) Rowson's pre-fight nerves that the hard-hitting African, a former West African and Ghanaian title challenger, could be too dangerous proved to be unfounded with a measured and controlled display from the unbeaten Black Country light-welterweight. Harrison was forced to defend on occasions but was too good, too skilful and finished the contest in cracking fashion: driving in a right to the body and then switching to a left hook to the head that dropped the brave puncher on his side. He got to his feet, but Mr O'Connor looked in to his eyes and had seen enough at 1-07 of the penultimate round. The local ticket-seller, who'd also decked the long-limbed Accra-based light-welter in round five with a right, was ahead by a score of 60-53 on my scorecard at the time of the well-received and well-engineered ending. Having his first bout since a five-round stoppage over Ramon Guevera in Las Vegas before Christmas, Harrison got back into the grove straightaway. He made Brew miss, switched his attacks from head to body, body to head and made the African hold after a drilling straight right. The calm, calculated 24-year-old Errol Johnson-trained stylist did much of the same through the second and third rounds, opening up the wild if hard-punching 29-year-old with rights to the head, lefts to the body and then bringing the straight shots back to the head. But loose-limbed, relaxed Brew (10st 6 1/2lbs) showed more adventure in the fifth round. Although often on the outside, heavier Alex, 9-3-1 (7), connected, albeit on Dean's gloves, with several sweeping rights and then tried to switch his mode of attack to lefts to the body. However, Harrison put his foot on the accelerator in the fifth, dropping his opponent with a right that sent him flying backwards to the ropes and down onto the floor above me. The sixth was much of the same from Dean (10st 6oz), who wasted little whilst picking holes in the Ghanaian's defence. Then came the finish. Harrison, now 11-0 (3), has said he no longer wants to fight journeyman, only wants to box people rated above him in the UK and will only take on international opponents if they come to England with a winning mentality. His commitment to being tested should be commended. Another unbeaten Wolverhampton fighter, fire-fighter Lyndsey Scragg (9st 2 3/4lbs), had a rematch with Accra's Yarkor Chavez Annan (9st 2lbs 10oz) – whom she'd outpointed over four tough rounds (40-36) at Dudley Town Hall in June – this time stopping her in the last of a scheduled six-twos. It was the first time in a 12-fight career (seven wins, three quickly, four losses and a draw) that the Ghanaian, who sported a topiary-esque mowhawk (if you can imagine such a thing), had been halted. The 26-year-old Bukom-born super-bantamweight also showed bravery beyond the call of duty to take some serious stick from the former ABA champion and England international amateur. She was dropped in the first with a left to the temple, rattled in rounds two and three and looked to her corner for help in the fourth. The (too brave) corner should have pulled her out after that brutally one-sided fourth. Errol Johnson-trained Scragg, 27, continued with the domination in the fifth, ploughing forward and banging both head and body with gusto. The sixth saw much of the same and a right to the stomach saw courageous Annan hold her stomach in obvious agony, prompting Mr O'Connor's intervention at 1-25. Scragg, now 4-0 (3), is the best female boxer I've seen in the flesh. Stafford's Rob Hunt moved to 8-0 (one inside) with a 40-33 four-threes win over brave, gutsy and tenacious Oliver Harrison-trained Salford southpaw Senol Dervis, 39, who showed a huge heart to drag himself off the canvas in rounds one, two and four (each with rights). Although Paul Dykes-handled Hunt was dominant, as reflected in Nigel Gill's accurate scoreline, he tended to go looking for the one-punch finish. The three knockdowns arrived when he relaxed, created space, engineered things at a distance with his long jab and then brought through the right. Both were 10st. Wolverhampton's Rob Kenney (10st 13lbs) was another boxer to keep his unbeaten record intact on the value-for-money card. He moved to 5-0-1 (0) with a 40-37 four-twos win over Bristol's winless Lance Verallo (10st 9lbs), still to get off the mark in 22 paid outings. For what its worth, I had Errol Johnson-trained Kenney taking all four of the sessions in a eight-minute bout that saw Cardiff-born Lance, with Dave Coldwell in his corner, forced onto the ropes as the Black Country man bossed behind his lead and went searching for his maiden pro stoppage. And although durable Verallo, 23, came out of his shell in the last – getting through with a couple of punches with the end in sight – Rob had wrapped things up by then and looked a clear winner. Mr Gill officiated. You have to feel for Brierley Hill's Martin Gordon (10st 9lbs), now without a win in six outings (one draw). Gordon turned over in 2006 after an amateur career that saw him compete in over a hundred contests and be made club captain at Lions ABC. He just can't seem to catch a break in the paid code. Jay Jones-coached Gordon, who I've had winning three of his six bouts, was matched against Tamworth's winless but durable Matt Ceawright (10st 12lbs), 0-5 entering, and was adjudged to be a 40-37 loser by referee Gill after a wild, scrappy and frustrating four-twos. I had the bout 38 apiece. There was little clean punching for either man, though it seemed to me that Gordon wanted to do the work. Ceawright would bustle in crudely, throw some wild shots and then fall in and hold. Martin was cut on the left eyebrow in the first and then on the side of the head in the third. Halesowen's well-supported light-welterweight Scott Evans (10st 1lb) aimed all of his solid attacks at the body and dropped slippery Jimmy Gill-managed Kristian Laight (9st 13lbs), Nuneaton, on the way to a surprisingly easy and one-sided 60-54 six-twos win from Mr Gill. Evans, 19, did a good job on a switch-hitting fighter who can make things hard. Scott, however, banged the body well – though strayed low once or twice – and decked the 27-year-old with a wicked left to the torso with around 30 seconds left in the fourth. 53-fight Laight never looked in danger of going down again. Jay Morris-trained Evans, now 3-0 (1) and returning to the venue where he made his pro debut in October, is a decent-looking prospect. The four-twos show-opener saw 26-year-old Birmingham heavyweight Neil Perkins (16st 3lbs) make his pro debut a successful one with a 40-36 decision from Mr Gill over durable Lee Mountford (16st 4lbs), Pudsey, who had former British welterweight champion Derek ‘The Rebel' Roche in his corner. Sheldon's Perkins had an 11-fight (nine wins) amateur career with Priory Park ABC and did well against a 28-bout veteran who wouldn't roll over. However, 35-year-old Mountford was outboxed with jab-and-move tactics in the first two and then almost stopped as Errol Johnson-trained Perkins targeted his ample mid-section in the last two. Photos: Mark Jones MarkJJonesphotography.co.uk

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