Davies the pick as local pros enjoy Sunday stroll by Mathew Tyrer Jun 16th 2008

A rowdy and vocal crowd packed Sutton Leisure Centre on Father's Day as no fewer than ten local boxers continued their progress in the paid ranks. First up on an impressive bill was Liverpool's Lee Jennings making his pro debut against Kristian Laight at lightweight over six two-minute rounds. It was obvious from the outset that Jennings was giving away at least half a stone in weight as Laight towered over the pocket-sized Merseyside man. Jennings however won every round and will have every right to be pleased with his first outing without a head guard and vest. Cruiserweight Paul Keir took on Hastings Rasani over four-threes. Keir's second outing in the pros was not the easy afternoon he had perhaps hoped for as Rasani came to spoil and try to snatch a victory. Keir used his range to pick up points and take the rounds on the outside making use of a strong left jab which triggered off right crosses and crunching left hooks. Rasani was reduced to holding for much of the encounter which allowed Keir to take every round on the scorecards 40-36. Stuart McFadyen and Senol Dervis managed to silence the otherwise boisterous crowd into boredom as they walked through six long two-minute rounds. McFadyen opened well by finding his range against the tricky southpaw who stretches his record to six fights and six defeats, and McFadyen deserves credit for making the fight slightly more interesting in the closing seconds of the sixth and final round. However the middle four rounds are thankfully forgettable as McFadyen was awarded a 60-55 win which takes him to nine wins and one loss overall. Blackpool's Brian Rose and his travelling fans got the show back on track as he took on Kobe Vandekerkhove from Belgium. This was a real test for Rose as he stepped in with an unknown fighter with a winning record. Both boxers looked tidy as they eased themselves into the first round before Rose began to dominate. In the second and third Rose began to sink in some hard left hooks to the body before a clash of heads opened up a nasty looking cut above his left eye. From then on Rose put in an experienced display as he kept his opponent at bay with stinging jabs and protected his damaged eye well. The final scores read 59-55 in favour of Rose and now makes him unbeaten in ten with a 9-0-1 record. Hot on his heels was another St Helens local Gary Davies. The pint-sized puncher has been out of sorts with promoters and matchmakers alike over the last 18 months but this display will surely put the former Central Area champion back on track to climb the ratings ladder with talk of a possible Commonwealth title shot at the end of the summer. Davies faced the tough Sumaila Badu who had only been stopped twice and had plenty of rounds under his belt. Davies' time out of the ring showed in the first opening as he took time to find his feet and jumped in with shots. Badu seemed content until Davies began to offload with crippling right hooks off his quick jab and within seconds of coming out for the second round Badu was down although the referee did not acknowledge it. Davies made sure that the referee would be counting after the next exchange as the right hands and eventually a crisp left hook buckled the brave challenger's legs sending him to the canvas at 1-25 of the second round. Davies' screams of joy at the end summed up the frustrations the powerful bantamweight has endured of late. With the crowd rocking again the man many had paid good money to see, local boy Martin Murray, stepped through the ropes against Michael Recloux from Belgium. Murray won every round and displayed the style and movement that will surely see him prosper at some level in the paid ranks. Although one may feel a contest away from home would do the St Helens stylist the world of good. Every time he began to work his way into the Belgium the crowd would crank up the noise and Murray appeared to be looking for one big crowd pleasing shot instead of sticking to the slick boxing which he used with great effect at times. In the sixth and final round Murray put it all together and dropped Recloux with left hook that landed right in the middle of the Belgians rib cage. The final score of 60-53 for Murray was just and the middleweight can now look ahead to stepping up a class. As the hall began to empty out of Murray's fans who had packed all corners light-welterweights Rick Goddin and Carl Allen played out an as equally empty six rounder that the remaining patrons had to endure. Goddin takes his career record to 3-0 after taking all six rounds on the scorecards against the durable journeyman. Super-middleweights Tony Quigley and Carl Dilks ended the evening with resounding wins making it a clean sweep for local boxers on the Steve Wood's promoted VIP bill. First up was Quigley against the solid Ayittey Powers, Quigley had been out of action since last August and paced himself through six industrious rounds. Quigley had the ability to knock his opponent out and had him shaken a few times but the Scouse powerhouse will be glad to get the rounds and win under his belt taking the decision 59-55. Finally Carl Dilks faced the wild Adam Wilcox in another super-middle encounter. Wilcox stunned not only the crowd but Dilks with rocket propelled left jab that sent the unbeaten prospect stumbling to the corner. The following two round consisted of Dilks attempting to establish some control on the bout only for the unpredictable puncher to land a swinging shot on Dilks. However in the third round of the scheduled four Dilks landed left hook to the body that took all the wind out of Wilcox and he retreated onto the ropes before the referee saved him from Dilks onslaught at 1-52 of the third round. Photos: Andy Ball

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