Incredible Buckley makes it 250 not out by Ben Carey Jul 25th 2005

The remarkable Peter Buckley left the ring to a rousing reception after completing his 250th contest at Sheffield's Octagon Centre yesterday. As expected, the former two-times Midland Area champion suffered the 208th defeat of his 16-year career (31 wins, 11 draws) against Stoke's Scott Lawton in this six-twos welterweight clash. Lawton, now 15-1, swooped every round in a polished display much to the satisfaction of trainer Neil Holland. Scott began brightly, deploying a snappy jab and targeting the Brummie veteran's mid section with some solid digs downstairs. Showing good variety, Lawton doubled up on the jab and uncorked some eyecatching uppercuts through the middle in round two. This was to be Scott's honey punch throughout. Buckley, who drew against former British super-bantamweight challenger Sean Hughes last time out, sensed no sign of a repeat against Lawton as he tucked up tight and flicked out an occasional passive jab. Instructed to up the pace, Lawton moved through the gears in the fourth and began to work Buckley over. Two glancing left hooks and a straight right resulted in a nod of approval from the Nobby Nobbs man as Lawton continued to press. Scott eased off slightly in the fifth and sixth but was good value for his 60-54 win on referee Kevin Durandt's card. Lawton will hope to seal a title shot at lightweight in the coming season. For the record this was Buckley's eleventh outing of 2005. In the main event of this mammoth Fight Academy bill, local ticket seller John “The Fireball” Fewkes made it seven out of seven in an untidy affair against Birmingham's Karl Taylor. Referee Howard Foster's patience, as well as the expectant crowd's, was tested to the limit in this six-threes light-welterweight clash. Taylor, more interested in spoiling than competing, was threatened with being thrown out by Foster after being warned repeatedly for use of the head. The exasperated official finally deducted a point from Taylor in round three. Ironically, it was the veteran who came off worse, sustaining a cut in the corner of his left eye in the third and one underneath it in the fifth. Fewkes tried his best to make a fight of it but was constantly frustrated by the veteran. With the point deduction Fewkes ran out a 60-53 winner but this was an afternoon to forget for the Sheffield slugger. Bradford super-featherweight Femi Fehintola was to have fought Midlands-based South African Harry Ramogoadi in his toughest test to date but instead had to make do with a routine points win over Jason Nesbitt. Ramogoadi instead travelled to Edinburgh to inflict the second defeat on Welsh hope Jamie Arthur's ledger with a fifth round stoppage on the undercard of Alex Arthur vs Boris Sinitsin. Though still searching for an elusive first stoppage win, Fehintola dominated to take a 60-54 points win from official Keith Garner. Whilst favouring the hook to head and body, Fehintola also brought into play a useful right hand through the middle delivered with some speed. Nesbitt, sporadically adventurous, did captalise on Fehintola's low left hand to catch the youngster with rather too many right hands for comfort at times. This was Femi's third victory over Nesbitt, having outpointed the Midlander in his second and third fights by a similar margin. He advances to 10-0 and will surely step up in class later this year. Liverpool based Yugoslav Geard Ajetovic can go as far as he likes but has developed a worrying habit of doing as little as possible to secure victory. In a rematch with the plucky Conroy McIntosh, Ajetovic ran out a 58-56 winner on Howard Foster's card but could have made it so much easier. Geard had previously outpointed Mcintosh, 60-56, last December and seemed disinterested in trying to better his previous effort here. After sleep walking through the opener, Ajetovic sprang to life in the second, dropping McIntosh heavily with a straight left. Conroy was wincing in pain as Foster administered the mandatory eight count, and with a minute left in the round was there for the taking. However, rather than look to wrap up proceedings early, Ajetovic was content to take one step back and allow McIntosh time to recuperate. More inexplicable lethargy saw Conroy take the third, purely on workrate. Ajetovic finally awoke from his slumber in the fourth and a booming right hand wobbled McIntosh in the fifth. Geard does seem very heavy handed, but knows it, and tends to load up rather than utilise his southpaw jab. He coasted through the sixth and final round but McIntosh, wary of what might come back in return, remained honest. Nick Smedley was a highly impressive debutant, decisioning the lanky Lance Veraloo, 60-54, in this six-twos light-welter matchup. Keith Garner refereed. Smedley, sporting grass-like layered shorts in England colours, looks the part and boxed like it too. The Sheffield talent, a former amateur rival of Amir Khan, is a classy switch-hitter and unleashed his full repertoire of blows on the bamboozled Verallo. A piercing jab and corkscrew uppercuts were the pick of Smedley's arsenal but the stoppage never quite looked on the cards. Nevertheless, considering he hadn't boxed for a year, Smedley can be feel pleased with his performance. Nick seemed happy enough, performing a somersault in the ring following MC Mike Goodhall's announcement. 2001 ABA light-welterweight champion Gavin Smith suffered his first pro defeat after three previous wins. Smith went down 58-57 to Birmingham's Terry Adams on referee Durandt's card. This engaging affair could have gone either way. If anything, the pumped-up Adams appeared to want it that little bit more Smith began well, dipping the knees of the taller Adams in the opener with a right hand. Terry, though wild and unruly, stuck to his task well and gradually began to take over as Smith tired. A left hook to the head made Smith sag against the ropes towards the end of the fifth and it seemed for a moment that Durandt may step in. Looking in trouble, Gavin returned to his stool bleeding from the nose. Gallantly, he gathered his composure to steam out of the blocks in the last and a good right made Adams give ground. Smith had left it too late though and was unable to land another telling blow as the pair frequently became tangled on the inside. Adams improves to 5-2. A rematch would be interesting. Mexborough gunslinger Stuart Brookes, survived a scare in the fifth to outpoint Birmingham beanpole Tony Rendell, 58-56, over six-twos at middleweight. Keith Garner oversaw the action. The terrier like Brookes frequently snapped Rendell's head back with overhand rights as Tony pulled back in straight lines with his arms dangled ominously by his side. Mixing it up well, Stuart also enjoyed frequent success to Rendell's exposed ribcage, too. However, Tony never stopped trying and an arching right hook had Brookes in a spot of bother in round five. Rather than covering up to ride out the storm, Brookes showed his inexperience by attempting to meet fire with fire and almost paid the price. Rendall poured it on in the final round but his over eagerness saw him off beam for the main. The exhausted Brookes was glad to hear the final bell and is now 2-0. In the best of the rest, Sheffield's Dwayne “Hurricane” Hill overwhelmed Gary “Fireball” Coombes at a six-twos light-welterweight shootout. A left hook wobbled the upright Coombes at the end of the second and a left hook deposited him to the mat in the third. A booming left-right, that sent blood spraying from Coombes' nose, forced Keith Garner to intervene at the 1.10 mark. The 2-0 Hill, trained by Glyn Rhodes, is good fun. Another Rhodes fighter also made it two out of two. The smooth, switchhitting Lee Edwards cruised to a 59-55 points verdict over journeyman Leeroy Williamson. Howard Foster handled proceedings. Edwards can be a little too casual but was the more of the accurate of the two here. Finally, Craig Bromley easily saw off Neil Reid, 40-36, in a four-twos featherweight attraction. Bromley, a classic Ingle fighter, darted in and out, at times abandoning the jab, but frequently snapped Reid's head back with lead left hands to seal an impressive win. An entertaining show watched by a good sized crowd.

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