Another Ingle lad beaten by Tom Podmore May 14th 2008

After Junior Witter's meek capitulation at the weekend, the Ingles might have been hoping for some good news. It's yet to come as another of their fighters, though one far down the pecking order - Barnsley's Lee Noble - suffered a whitewash defeat by Stourbridge's Sam Horton on Monday night. When Horton and South Yorkshire's Noble met at Burton's Meadowside Leisure Centre in January, on the undercard of Esham Pickering's thrilling rematch stoppage victory over Sean Hughes, many at the Staffordshire venue thought Horton was a trifle fortunate to emerge with his hand raised and unbeaten record intact after an even four-rounder. However, on Pat Cowdell's sold-out three-fight dinner show at Birmingham city centre's Holiday Inn (May 12) – his second of the year – the undefeated and ambitious Stourbridge boxer showed he's improved further since that close decision win (39-37 for Terry O'Connor) at the start of the year. There were no doubts as to who was the superior man this time, career-lightest Horton being awarded a deserved 80-72 verdict from Mr O'Connor (scoring outside the ring throughout) after an engrossing eight-twos that saw Noble threaten but rarely deliver. For what its worth, I had Noble winning one of the rounds (a close third when he upped the tempo) for a 79-73 tally. Interestingly, its only the second time (the other being a 60-54 six-round loss against Manchester banger Mark Thompson, the International Masters welterweight boss, in February of last year) the Wincobank-based switcher has been whitewashed in 18 paid outings. And while the former Junior ABA finalist may have lost eight of those, never stopped or even off his feet, he has won ten (two via knockout or stoppage), swapped leather with some decent names and procured the vacant British Masters middleweight strap in the contest before (February). He is certainly much better than patchy and misleading 10-8 statistics would intimate. That Masters success, a ten-round (97-95) victory over local hero Anthony Young in Crawley, has even set up a chance to raise his profile further. Noble is set to make the first defence of his belt against undefeated and touted Kevin Concepcion, Leicester, at Aylestone Leisure Centre next month and knows a victory will enhance his stock. A win over top ten-rated Concepcion and Noble moves several places up the ratings – putting him in the frame for bigger fights. But he will have to raise his game significantly if he is to end the unbeaten run of the skilful East Midlander, 28 and who has yet to lose a solitary session in over 62 scheduled rounds, on June 28. Horton's surprisingly one-sided victory will have seen him close in on a title crack of his own. There was talk of the former Lions ABC fighter challenging Birmingham's Max Maxwell, who dismissed Matty Hough (Sam's stablemate) in three rounds for the vacant strap, for the Midland Area middleweight title. That trail seems to have run cold, however. Still, there is plenty of time for Horton, who doesn't turn 23 until August. He showed why he is yet to have tasted defeat in the opening round of a 16-minute bout that saw Rob Chalmers (who officiated all night) left with little to do. Despite tattooed, stockier Noble occasionally banging in quick-fire one-twos, punches that looked hard yet didn't see to overly bother or trouble the local, Horton was the man racking up the points behind a sharp jab. By the second the Black Country prospect was circling the ring, making his advantages in height show and banging out long-armed leads that found the target. As with the first two minutes, Noble's attacks were sporadic and rare – a fast-handed left-right that thudded loudly into his opponent's body being one of the only bright moments for the Barnsley-born puncher. But the Ingle-handled champion stepped up the workrate, if only marginally, during the third, reddening the face of Horton with solid and speedy hooks. Switch-hitting Lee tried some of the old Ingle tricks in the fourth: going for a walk before launching an attack, something that taller Midlander read, rolled under and came back with a scoring punches of his own. And Noble, who used his feet so well in their first meeting earlier in the year, was made to look cumbersome and slow in the fifth, frustrated by someone who wouldn't stay in the same place. He finished the round with a bloody nose and things didn't get much better in the sixth as Horton continually beat his frustrated opponent to the punch with straight shots. The final two sessions followed in the same vein, with Horton getting his shots off a split-second quicker and taking very little in reply. Although Lee, after advice from Dominic Ingle between the seventh and eighth, tried to put in a big finish, chasing a retreating Errol Johnson-trained Horton around the ring during the last 120 seconds, he left it far too late and still ate plenty of leather as he advanced. Both weighed 11st 8lbs and Horton, who boxed beautifully and has saved his two best performances for Pat Cowdell-promoted shows, is now unblemished in nine (one early). Two teenagers from the Midlands made their paid bows in six-twos before the main event, albeit with differing fortunes. Wednesbury's Dean Arnold, a former ABA Schoolboy champion, opened the show with a 60-54 win over durable Kristian Laight, Nuneaton, before Birmingham's Callum Archer drew 57-57 with Nick Hodges-handled Welshman Russell Pearce. The scoring for both fights looked spot-on. And Wolverhampton Wanderers supporter Arnold (10st 3lbs) looks like he could develop into a quality little operator. The Errol Johnson-trained stylist, a former Wednesbury ABC-based boxer, used his left well, switching the attacks between head and body throughout, and worked inside with uppercuts (very rare for someone who is fresh out of the amateurs). Despite having to contend with the switch-hitting ways of fleet-footed Laight (10st), Dean never looked flustered, took his time and cracked home double hooks to the body and then switched to the head. The 57-fight Warwickshire survivor, 27, elected to hold when the pressure became too much and even complimented his opponent on a “nice shot” late in the fourth. ‘Deano', who was originally pencilled in to make his professional debut on the ill-fated Birmingham versus Black Country British middleweight title fight between Wayne Elcock and Darren McDermott at Birmingham's Aston Villa Events Centre on April 25, continued with the assault until the final bell and moves to 1-0. The other first-timer, 18-year-old welterweight Archer (10st 4lbs), trained by Paddy Lynch in a Garretts Green gym that also includes the aforementioned British middleweight champion, Shard End's Wayne Elcock, would have won his paid debut had he not been deducted a point for hitting on the break late in the last round. Although the six-rounder had been close and even, both having their moments in a toe-to-toe fight in which neither could assume 100 per cent control, Callum looked to be shading the final session, a round that would have secured him his maiden professional. Had he not been docked that point, which he deserved to have taken away from him, Archer would have been a 59-57 winner on Mr O'Connor's card. Still, a loss would have been hard on Welshpool's Pearce (10st 10bs), who deserved something for the tenacious effort he put in. After an even first, shaven-headed Archer beat the Welshman to the punch throughout the second. Another close round followed, fighting on level terms, but Pearce won the fourth with cleaner shots. The Second City debutant then won round five, making the five-fight welterweight retreat with a crunching left. The last was boiling nicely until the point deduction knocked the wind out of the local's sails. Archer's pro ledger opens at 0-0-1 and Russell is now 1-2-2.

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