Another quick win for Reynolds by Paul Concannon Feb 23rd 2007

With Ricky Hatton in attendance, it was business as usual as Mark Bateson and Kevin Spratt staged their latest black tie dinner show at Elland Road last night, with three quality bouts scheduled over six rounds First up was an entertaining light-middleweight bout that saw Huddersfield's rejuvenated Andy Butlin whitewash Worcester's erratic, sometimes dangerous, Steve Cooper (10-9). Cooper, is upright and something of a catcher, though compensates with a never say die attitude, granite jaw and a solid right. Butlin (10-12 ¾), inactive since a debut defeat to Martin Concepcion in 2004, was sharp and powerful from the first bell to the last. The West Yorkshire fighter started aggressively behind his heavy left jab, working in a solid right cross as they quickly dispensed with formalities. Cooper replied with a solid right uppercut but was himself nailed with a stinging right hand. Butlin, who held ring centre almost throughout, used the jab as the signature punch of the round and ultimately the fight. Cooper, however, bravely ended the round on top, scoring with a 1-2 on the bell. The second round was more of the same. Butlin worked aggressively behind his jarring left jab, following through with the right cross. Cooper courageously fired back with his own right but was quickly punished with his head in the air by a three-punch combination from Butlin. Butlin's withering left sent spray flying from Cooper's head as the Midlands fighter desperately tried to gain a foothold in the bout. There was an exchange of straight punches before the round's end, with Cooper ending a tough round bleeding from the nose. At the start of the third, the two men exchanged heavy leather in ring centre. Seconds later Cooper landed a stiff right but was again nailed by a Butlin combination. It seemed every time Steve had a decent moment, he was punished. He began working his own jab only to be caught with more head-snapping lefts from the Huddersfield fighter. Cooper landed one decent uppercut, spurring on a furious exchange before the bell. All the quality punching came from Butlin in the fourth and fifth. While Cooper was never hurt badly enough to force an intervention, he was left briefly disorganised by a heavy right towards the end of the latter session. The final round would prove the bout's best, with the aggressive Cooper working the whole two minutes, landing his right, even knocking out Butlin's mouthpiece at one point. Butlin continued to throw hard leather and the final exchange beautifully summed up the bout; each man landed flush with stiff a 1-2, but it was Cooper being stung and coming off second best. Butlin impressed in taking Mickey Vann's deserved 60-54 verdict, while Cooper, as he always does, gave his all. It was had been an excellent start to the night's boxing. Next up was a surprise visit from Darlington's light-middleweight hope Franny Jones, who impressed in knocking out Nottingham super-middleweight Jon Foster in the third round. Jones, who's defensive wiles bring to mind the antics of former multi-weight world champion Pernell Whitaker, was sharp from the off, busily landing stinging counters before dodging and weaving around the perimeter to avoid the bigger Nottingham fighters slower punches. After boxing a flawless first round, Jones (11-8 & ½) found himself under heavy pressure in the second as Foster (11-11 & ¾) attempted to make his notable size advantage tell. Foster trapped Jones on the ropes, whaling away to the body, and despite shipping some sharp counters, perhaps edging the session on pure aggression. Foster indicated an unintentional shot from Jones to the back of his head had bothered him just before the bell. Coming out for the third, I was convinced we were about to witness a six round struggle of size versus skill, right until Jones nailed foster with a perfect right cross, dropping him like a stone near the ropes. Foster seemed to have narrowly beaten Mickey Vann's count but was in no position to continue, indeed still appearing woozy a few moments after the official announcement, which was oddly termed as a count-out in Jones' favour, at 52 seconds of round three. Given that Jones has fought as light as welterweight, and Foster is a solid 12-stoner, this really was a case of David slaying Goliath. Jones, the man they said couldn't punch, gets his third straight stoppage win. In the evening's final bout, Leeds' undefeated light-middleweight hope Danny Reynolds fought like a man on fire in stopping Crawley's dead game Anthony Young in round four. Southpaw Reynolds, (11-8 ¾) began in his signature fashion, blazing away with his whipping left cross and blistering hooks and uppercuts, lambasted the later substitute from Crawley from pillar to post in the early going. This wasn't mindless aggression either; Reynolds was sharp and accurate, picking his punches beautifully. After absorbing the early storm, Young bravely hit back, backing Reynolds to the ropes near his own corner, only to absorb a sharp countering left cross for his trouble, spurring Reynolds on to attack with more heavy combinations until the bell. In the second, the Leeds man sprang off his stool with a sharp left, bobbing and weaving as he bustled forward. Young boldly hit back with a combination, but was swiftly rebuked with two further lefts as he backed onto the ropes. Young took the punches well but they had to have stung, Reynolds throws his left cross with savage intentions. Staying close, showing great accuracy, Reynolds connected with three more lefts in quick succession. Again Young hit back, forcing Reynolds backwards above his own corner. In no mood to be bullied on home turf, Danny ended the round on top, firing a sharp combination, and busily attacking until the bell. Young (11-7 ¾) made a positive start to round three; while both landed with straight shots early on, young briefly got the better of the exchange, finishing with a useful looking right. Reynolds came back with a combination of his own and promptly set about working the visitor over. Sitting in the pocket for the remainder of the round, Reynolds teed off with sharp clusters. The session ended with Young disorganised and bleeding from his nose. It had been a tough three minutes for the resolute Crawley man, and the feeling was, a stoppage wouldn't be too long in coming. Reynolds continued his buzzsaw attack in the fourth, worked away with speedbag proficiency in what, to my mind, was proving to be his sharpest outing. Just over halfway through the round, two big lefts had Young teetering. A follow-up flurry with Young backed to the ropes near Reynolds corner was enough to convince Mickey Vann that the valiant visitor had taken enough abuse for one night. Young was clear-headed, but was shipping too many hard shots; Vann's stoppage was perfect. Cleary grateful for a quality showing from Young, Reynolds was quick to commiserate the gallant loser while Mark Bateson sportingly held his arm aloft, marking Young's contribution to a good fight. Reynolds impressed greatly in taking his record to 6-0-1 (5). His management are now hoping to secure a central area title bout later in the year, with Leeds veteran Lee Murtagh being mentioned as a possible opponent. Photos: Cliff Manning

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Thanks Feb 23rd 2007, 13:49:41 by conky Hi Brodie, Thanks for the kind words - Steve Cooper is one hell of a tough guy and gives 100% of himself every time out. He deserves a few more additions to the W column for sure. Best wishes, Paul   Cooper Feb 23rd 2007, 06:22:50 by brodie04 Great report, Paul, as per. C'mon 'Coop's get that second win under your belt that we all know you are capable of.