Arriving slightly flustered from a journey of tubes, trains and taxis we arrived in deepest, darkest Essex to enjoy a decent night's boxing at the Brentwood International Centre.
An early start saw Gotthard Hinteregger lose to Jozef Matolsci in a fight he really should have won. Matolsci downed in the second, twice in the third and once more in the sixth, a case could have been brought for proceedings to be halted in the sixth. Thank goodness it wasn't, what can only be described as a murderous left hook turned the whole fight around and Hinteregger was out for the count in the eighth. It took some time for the Austrian to regain consciousness but thankfully he was ok and left the ring on his own, if somewhat unsteady, legs.
Also in action was Brixton hairdresser Ted “Dangerous” Bami who managed to out point Rafael Jackiewicz 79-74 over eight rounds but not without his own moments of discomfort. The Pole, who was game enough, in the third managed to catch Bami with a decent but fairly innocuous looking straight right, this sent Bami's legs into a funny little dance, reminiscent of the hokey cokey.
Bami used all his experience to remain on his feet and hold on until his head cleared then even fired back. A cracking round, as the fight wore on it became apparent that the superior boxing skills of the Brixton man were a just a little too much for his foe, as he slipped punches and looked to load up his own. A decent win for Bami, but questions really do remain over his punch resistance. One feels that a big puncher could end Bami's career.
Unbeaten super-featherweight prospect Rendall Munroe (6-0-0) from Leicester, outpointed the more experienced David Kiilu(16-5-2) over six action packed rounds. A close fight saw the snappier work coming from Rendall and while the referee had it 59-57 to Monroe I had it slightly wider. Munroe was the aggressor for the majority of the fight and deserved his victory showing decent hand speed against a game opponent whose style was suited to counterpunching on the back foot. My scorecard was 59-55 to Rendall due to his superior pressure and work rate, I gave all the rounds to him but the third, in which Kiilu showed nice flurries of hand speed and ring awareness to do the smarter work. A good scalp for Munroe, who could be one to watch out for in the domestic shake up in a year or two's time.
Ian Napa (11-2-0) continued on the comeback trail with a decent win over cagey but limited journeyman Steve Gethin (8-13-2), Napa showing better movement and shot selection to out point his opponent 59-56. Ojay Abrahams sat beside me was an animated and vocal supporter, shouting “I taught him that shot!” whenever Napa connected. Napa looked somewhat fleshy and still without a KO you wonder if his has the power to challenge for domestic honours. Time will tell.
Performance of the night came form power puncher Graham Delehedy who after a slow start stopped opponent David Kehoe in the second. Kehoe actually started the brighter but once he had tasted Delehedy's power the writing was on the wall. The corner actually throwing in the towel as Delehedy piled on the pressure. Graham moves to five wins all by KO and no defeats and with that power could be one to watch. (Kehoe drops to 10-20-3).
Unfortunately due to the journey home (I didn't get in until 2 am thanks to one less than sober individual who decided to take a walk up the tracks at London Bridge) I had to scoot early and missed the final fight, which saw Michael Rennie stop Neil Addis in the second round.
A quick word on the venue, I know I carry on about this more often than not, but really the York Hall is such a good venue that when you go to “leisure centres” that provide a stage for such fights you are bound to compare. And really there is no comparison, these arenas invariably are not always sold out and the high ceilings and echo makes for a less than great atmosphere, which is a shame.
The card was of a quality which deserved to be sold out – let's hope this happens the next time Matchroom visit Brentwood.
