Hickman Announces Arrival With Devastating Display by Dan McGovern Jun 5th 2004

The third show of the year by promoter Dave Bradley at Dudley Town Hall proved to be the best yet, with several exciting bouts being served up to the Black Country crowd. The main event echoed the depth of talent in the current British 10st division, as two undefeated young contenders put on a high quality contest for supremacy of the Midlands region. The show opened with popular light-heavyweight Danny Norton matching up against Worksop's Simeon Cover, the man he was to have faced on the last promotion at this venue. Norton, with Errol Johnson in his corner, came out of the blocks in serious mood and quickly established a hard jab, which he followed up with straight right hands to the head. Cover, for his part, kept his hands high and waited too long to counter, failing to get his shots off in a briskly paced opener. Norton once again set out his stall in the second by landing several hard jabs early, looking to impose his will on Cover, which appeared to be working as Cover looked to block most of what was coming his way with his high, tight guard. Cover's first success in the round came with a glancing left hook to Norton's head, which he landed as Norton backed out following a body attack. Norton (12st 8lbs) was winning the round on work rate alone when disaster struck. Cover finally let loose with a right hand to the head which didn't appear particularly hard but resulted in Norton receiving an eight count from Referee Paul Thomas, after he dropped to the deck. Cover's follow up attack saw Norton once again absorb a right hand, although this time when he tasted the canvas it was ruled a slip. Cover could sense victory and let rip with both hands, finding his foe with a hard straight right to the head that deposited him on the canvas. It was certainly looking very grim for local lad Norton at this point and his vocal support were subdued by what was taking place in the ring. Norton opened the third, showing good heart and determination, looking to re-establish his rhythm with his solid jab, backed up by hard flurries to body and head. Cover responded with a wide right that caught Norton and both traded on the ropes. Norton wobbled Simeon with a hard right hand of his own and piled on the pressure, cornering Cover and unloading quality shots. As Cover (13st 2lbs) escaped from Norton's corner he was wobbled by a left hook to the head and referee Paul Thomas jumped in to signal the end of the bout. Cover had room for complaint at the stoppage, which appeared premature from my vantage point and would welcome a rematch, as would I assume the crowd, who were thoroughly entertained by this back and forth battle. The evening's second fight was a far more tepid affair, between West Bromwich's Steve Timms (12st 3lbs) and St Claire's non-nonsense Mark Phillips (12st 2lbs). Timms, decked out in silver and black shorts, opened the contest with movement and jabs looking to maintain distance from his opponent in this six-twos. Phillips drove forward towards the end of the opener, forcing Timms back onto the ropes with a solid flurry of punches to the head. Timms finished the round by missing with a wild left hook, aimed at his opponent's head. The second round saw Timms switching stance and remaining elusive. Phillips continued to press forward but was being picked off by Timms' wide shots. The pace slowed in the third and clinching was the over riding feature. The desire that Phillips had displayed early appeared to be ebbing away. In the fourth Timms landed a straight right hand punch to Phillips' body which hurt the Welshman, who clinched in order to regain his breath. Timms was now dropping his hands in contemptuous fashion, a dangerous tactic, but one that Phillips was not able to take advantage of. Timms continued to box with his hands down in the fifth but was being caught with unnecessary punches as he attempted to showboat. In this round Timms landed his best shot of the bout, a clean left hook with his body weight behind it, but Phillips absorbed it without any visible affects. The final round was scrappy, with Timms loading up on uppercuts and hooks from too far out and Phillips contributions becoming fewer. Timms ran out a clear winner 60pts to 54 pts. The MC announced Phillips' retirement from the game after this bout and it was clear from this effort that his interest was waning. Nevertheless, he has been a hard, value for money pro and has taken part in many good contests throughout his career. Dave Bradley's latest promotional acquisition, Tristain Davies (10st 1lb) made a successful debut against Birmingham's Peter Buckley in the third fight of the night. Buckley, cornered by Nobby Nobbs, has seen it all before and entered the ring in the relaxed manner you would expect from a gladiator with over 200 pro bouts under his belt. Davies, well supported in the hall, was tall and wiry of frame but darted in and out of range with the kind of footwork one would expect from an ABA finalist. Davies maintained a tight guard throughout the bout, with his right hand seemingly glued to his chin, as he speared Buckley with his jab. Davies, from Telford, was working his jab well and fired left hooks off the jab, to both head and body. Buckley, utilising his trusted cross arms defence, rolled and slashed back with his dangerous left hook. In the second round Davies introduced his straight right into his repertoire and established a good work rate. He showed physical strength to defy his physical appearance, as pushed he Buckley off to avoid clinches. The third round saw Davies moving well and he landed a hard right hand that got Buckley's attention, but the old warhorse responded with a good left hook to keep the youngster honest. A clash of heads in the fourth-round saw both combatants stop momentarily and tap gloves, acknowledging the mutual foul. This typified the sportsman's like nature of this brisk bout. Buckley (10st 2lbs) pressed forward on the front foot more in this round, whilst Davies switched his attentions to the Brummie's mid section, firing hooks with both hands. Davies was guilty of being a little up right but did manage to catch Buckley with a sweet hook to the body, to which Buckley responded by pounding his own chest in a gesture of defiance. The fifth and six followed similar patterns to the first four rounds with Davies boxing from the outside and maintaining a good work rate, but he did pick up a nick to his left eye in the last session, but by that stage his emphatic victory was assured, 60pts to 54pts on referee Terry O'Connell's card. The penultimate contest of the night saw Birmingham's well-supported Gary Coombs (9st 11lbs 6oz) take on Nuneaton's Kristian Laight (9st 10lbs) in an entertaining brawl. The opened was hectic and fought at break neck pace as both men looked to gain an early advantage. Both fighters were keen to get punches off with Laight swarming in with his head up. Coombs fired back as Laight attempted his combinations and both were caught in the opening exchanges. The second round saw both boxers working hard and they traded shots freely along the ropes. Coombs was doing his best work in close, with hooks to the body scoring well for him. He was in return, however, caught by a straight right from Laight to the head. Coombs was caught up in brawling with Laight and neglected his good skills, which were displayed at this same venue in his pro debut. By the third Laight was pushing forward and forcing Coombs to the ropes, where Gary looked comfortable, dipping at the waist and countering with some success. Coombs demonstrated the better combination punching in this round but looked disorganised when caught by a left hook in the ropes. It was a difficult contest to score. The fourth saw Laight doing less, hardly surprising given the pace at which the first three rounds of this six-twos was fought. From the outside Coombs was struggling to land his one-two combination, but when in close he was getting the better of it. Coombs started the fifth with a right hand to the head that buzzed Laight but he sprung into action upon being caught and in turn Coombs had to eat a left hook for his efforts. Birmingham's Coombs maintained the better work rate in this hard fight and was by now bleeding from the nose. Kristian had a tendency to crowd his best work as a lot of the exchanges were in close. The final round saw both men giving their all, with Laight upping his work rate on the inside as Coombs appeared to tire slightly. Both men traded furiously up to the final bell but there was a sense of despondency in the 58-58 draw handed out by referee Paul Thomas, as such a tough fight really deserved a victor. A rematch would make sense. The main event was for the vacant Midlands Area light-welterweight Title, vacated by new English champion, Young Muttley. The atmosphere in the hall was electric as the combatants made their way to the ring; this was the fight that the crowd had come to see. Adnam Amar, 12-0, from Nottingham but fighting out of the Wincobank gym in Sheffield, was first into the ring and this undefeated fighter looked tall for the weight and was apparently sharp from sparring Junior Witter in the run up to this bout. Dean Hickman, 9-0-1, entered the ring to rapturous applause and we were set for an exciting clash. The first saw a cagey start from both as they feinted for openings and it was clear from the off that Amar would utilise his long reach and spidery style to counter punch where ever possible. Hickman stalked his foe with hands held high. The opening exchanges confirmed that both had fast hands and were good stylists. Hickman landed the most significant punch of the round, a left hook to the Nottingham man's head but overall it was a cautious opener. Adnam scored in the second with a right uppercut thrown from the southpaw stance but was warned by the referee for punching on the break. Hickman responded with a right hand-left hook combination of his own but was being picked off slightly as he lowered his own guard whilst pursuing his fleet footed foe. Both fighters are natural counter punchers, which led to lulls in action as they both waited for a lead to work from. Amar closed out the round well with a left hook on the bell. The third started with Amar moving well, with Hickman in pursuit, trying to cut off the ring and trap him with intelligent pressure. Hickman had sporadic success with lead left hooks to the head, whilst Amar landed lighter, more nuisance punches. Hickman's punches were more solid in this round, if less frequent then his opponent's, with each success and near miss being bayed on by the partisan crowd. The fourth got off to a slower start as Hickman adjusted his tactics and looked to counter more. Hickman got through with a good right hand to the head but Amar's physical advantages in height and reach, coupled with his silky skills, saw him take the round with well-placed counter shots. The fifth saw Adman, cornered by Dominic Ingle, remain mobile and Hickman was forced back on the offensive. Amar scored with an excellent straight left cross from the southpaw position and Hickman was more circumspect with his attacks after feeling the weight of that punch. At this stage Amar appears to be getting the better of this intriguing encounter, but the crowd got right behind Dean during the break. Hickman piled forward and rushed Amar in the six, hoping to unsettle his composed foe. Amar was boxing well on the move again. He offered Hickman his chin and countered crisply with a lead left hook. Both missed a lot in this round due in large to the good defensive skills on display. Amar was guilty of jumping in with single punches in order to surprise Hickman but was having limited success and he bled from the nose following a right hand lead from Hickman. Hickman drove himself on in the seventh round and they exchanged good shots centre ring. Amar traverses the ring with well-practiced ease but Hickman will not be denied and engaged Amar whenever the Wincobank man remained stationery for any period. This resulted in Dean landing a superb right hand which momentarily decked Adman at the end of the round, but the Sheffield trained fighter was immediately back up. The crowd broke into pandemonium. Hickman opened the eighth round with a stiff jab and Amar responded by looking for, and landing, a lead right uppercut. Amar also landed a left hook along the ropes but Hickman was in determined mood. Mid way through the round, as Amar skirted along the ropes with his hands down Hickman closed the distance and landed an almighty left hook on the point of Amar's chin. Amar was out before he reached the canvas and his head bounced off the floor with a sickening thud. Hickman's supporters burst into jubious celebration, but there were worrying moments for Amar's corner and his supporters as he remained motionless on the canvas and received medical attention. Thankfully he made a full recovery and left the ring under his own steam, to generous applause from the crowd that acknowledged the part he played in this quality title fight. Amar can undoubtedly come again provided he learns the lessons of this fight and Hickman has shown himself to have the skill and required determination to mix it in the domestic 10st scene. There are exciting times ahead for the well-supported man from West Bromwich.

Go back Comment on this article | Send to a friend | Print

There are no comments. Click here to be the first who comment on this article.