Ryan Rhodes turns back the clock to become British champion again by Kevin Taylor Apr 19th 2008

Eleven years after he stopped Del Bryan in seven rounds to claim the Lonsdale belt in a record 90 days, Ryan Rhodes last night regained the British light-middleweight title when he knocked out Gary Woolcombe in the ninth round of his challenge at the York Hall in Bethnal Green. Rolling back the years Rhodes looked classy as he picked his punches well and a big right hook put Woolcombe down and out in the ninth round, it was a brutal knockout, the punch landing behind the ear and referee Mickey Vann wasted no time with the count. Thirty-one year old Rhodes looking in tremendous shape was roared on by his friend and former stablemate Naseem Hamed, who wasn't in quite as good shape!, and the southpaw was landing some good hooks on the younger Woolcombe who was only 14 when Rhodes first picked up the British title back in 1996. Rhodes, trained by Dave Coldwell, landed a cracking right hook in the sixth and after following it up with a couple of lefts, Woolcombe decided to take a knee to get a breather. Woolcombe who won the title by forcing Marcus Portman to retire after eight rounds in December, fought with great heart and didn't want to give up his prized poccession without a fight but the accuracy and power of the Sheffield fighter was taking it's toll on the champion who was previously unbeaten in fourteen fights at the York Hall. The end came in the ninth and Woolcombe was down for a while before receiving oxygen, Rhodes sporting clapping him when he got to his feet before going over for a chat. "It makes me feel really brilliant. Wouldn't it a be a dream come true to win the Lonsdale belt outright again." the delighted Rhodes said afterwards. "He was a tough kid, I expected to win but he was a lot tougher than I thought he would be." Hamed the former World champion was ecstatic at ringside springing out of his chair to roar on his friend. "I'm so, so happy. It was like turning back the years, the 'Spice Boy' is back. His speed and accuracy was great, he's going to be a World champion and shock a few people. The British title is just a stepping stone." When asked about his own retirement Hamed once again hinted at a return but it seemed tongue in cheek. "Boxing will always be in my heart, I'm not retired, I've had a nice break, maybe a long one. The fire is still in the belly, and you can never say never in boxing, watch this space" said the charismatic former World champion. "But tonight is not about me, it's about Ryan Rhodes and tonight he boxed absolutely wicked." On the undercard Horndon's John McDermott picked up his first title as a professional when he stopped the weak chinned Pele Reid in the second round. Reid, who performed the splits throughout the ringwalk of McDermott, seemed to hurt McDermott early on with an uppercut but came back gamely and caught Reid with a good uppercut that turned the Birmingham's legs to jelly and he applied the pressure to force referee Terry O'Connor to jump in to stop the fight. Akaash Bhatia made it eleven wins out of eleven with one of his best performances in the ring, picking his punches well and moving around the ring well to outpoint the durable Peter Allen over six rounds. With quick hands Bhatia landed good combinations on the Liverpool fighter throughout, but he did get caught with a couple of hooks from Allen as he hung his chin out a bit at various stages. The development continues for Bhatia, once again against a bigger opponent, Allen had weighed in at 9st 8lbs at the official weigh-in before going for a run on Blackheath common to try and lose a couple of pounds, while Bhatia was just over 9st. 2009 could be a big year for the exciting Bhatia and it must soon be time to step up the class of opposition for the likeable Bhatia. Ajose Olusegun went through a routine one sider against the game Alex Spitko, Olusegun rated at number six by the WBC showed all of his silky skills at times and Ian John-Lewis stopped the durable Spitko to save him from further punishment. Spitko was badly cut in the first by a clash of heads, and was never in the fight before Ian John-Lewis stopped the contest in this very one-sided clash. Mickey Steeds looks a completely different person than the fighter that took on Scott Gammer for the British heavyweight title in October 2006. Steeds weighed in 30lbs lighter than that night against the durable centurian Paul Bonson last night. If ever there was an advert for weightwatchers it was right before our eyes as our before and after picture demonstrates! Steeds boxed confidently and landed some good punches on the 121 fight veteren from Featherstone who has only been stopped three times in his 94 losses despite eleven months out of the ring. Now with Mark Roe he is looking to fight more regularly in the next year. "We've signed a good deal with Frank Maloney" said the likeable Mark Roe. "I really believe that Mickey can be a force in the cruiserweights, he likes fighting taller boxes with his big overhand right and I think the power will come through when he is boxing regularly which he will now do." Ryan Barrett completely lost the plot for a few seconds when he was stopped by referee Ian John-Lewis less than a minute into the third round of his contest with Henry Castle due to a cut, throwing his gumshield he stomped around the ring for a few seconds before calming down to give Castle a cuddle. It certainly looked like a nasty cut from ringside. Barrett has also complained when he was given a counting eight count in the second after seemingly losing his footing. The bout was shaping up to be a good one so I'm sure we'll see a rematch somewhere down the road. Boxergirl Laura Saperstein opened the show in an almost empty arena by outpointing debutant Kristine Shergold of Paignton. Saperstein always looked in control of a fight that didn't ever really get going to pick up her third win as a pro. St Helen's Martin Murray showed glimpses that he could be a real prospect over the coming years, he looked really good in bursts against James Tucker over four rounds, but seemed to want to get the rounds under his belt rather than force a stoppage. Well supported Scott Woolford stopped the normally durable Johnny Greaves in three rounds of a scheduled four-rounder. Greaves was getting caught but didn't look in serious trouble when referee Dave Parris called it off much to the disgust of his manager, the unrelated Carl Greaves. Photos: Bernard Miller - Copyright 2008

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