Rhodes back with a bang by Ian McNeilly Jun 3rd 2007

Ryan Rhodes came back from his defeat against Gary Lockett to bang out former ‘Contender' Paul Buchanan in 89 seconds today. Sheffield's Rhodes, backed by a vocal following at the Barnsley Metrodome, crashed in a right hook to Buchanan's temple and the man from West Denton fell to the canvas. He never sufficiently recovered to get into the fight, nor did Rhodes give him a chance to do so.  In the introductions, Buchanan was noticeably nervous and this set back must have confirmed his worst fears. Up at eight, the exact same shot caught him in almost the exact same place with, unsurprisingly, the exact same result.  With his opponent up at eight once more, Rhodes went for the hat trick and the very same right hook glanced the top of Buchanan's head and as he stumbled into the ropes, Doncaster referee Howard Foster jumped in with a well-timed stoppage. Rhodes (11st 8lbs, now 36-4) was certainly a big favourite here but the manner of the victory over Buchanan (11st 9lbs, now 8-2-1) was unexpected and impressive. If he can maintain the explosive attitude which accompanied this performance, perhaps he could still be a force at the top of the domestic tree. Former footballer turned fighter, Curtis Woodhouse, moved to three unbeaten with a 39-37 win over Pontefract's Peter Dunn. Driffield's Woodhouse (10st 13 ½ lbs), filmed for what was rumoured to be an ITV documentary, was left hook happy at times and still failed to conquer the self-acknowledged ‘red mist' which occasionally grips him. This time it was in the second session when he went toe to toe with ‘Desperate' Dunn (11st 0lbs) which made for good viewing but won't have delighted his trainer and today's promoter, David Coldwell. Still, Woodhouse was controlled for the majority of the contest and I had him winning every round.  He occasionally turned southpaw, perhaps so he could give even more power to his favourite shot, which worked to a certain extent but left him square on. Woodhouse continues to improve though and it's interesting to note there are always a few extra press seats taken up when he appears.  Peter Buckley had, according to our records, his 285th fight today. MC Mike Goodall announced him at 287 – so you can probably discount that figure. I was told several months ago that Buckley had doubts about whether he would reach the magic 300 as he felt like things were becoming a chore. The boxing ring is one place you don't want to be if your heart isn't in it. I think most true boxing fans would love Peter to get to that incredible total and hang them up – but time is taking its toll. He might very well get there if he is solely restricted to going in with the likes of Maltby's Andrew Ward. Even a few years ago, had Buckley (10st 5 ½ lbs, now 31-243-11) wanted to he would have had the beating of Ward but the Yorkshire novice ( 9st 12lbs now 2-1-1) won comfortably enough, 40-37. Peter still offers occasional resistance but is getting clipped with a few too many as, in my view, he has been for a little while now.  Ward boxed well enough but it was hard to tell if any genuine improvement was there as Buckley is so entrenched in his role as opponent. I hope he rattles up the remaining four-rounders as quickly as possible and trainer Nobby Nobbs continues to match him like this, ensuring that no young gunslingers bash him up. Before signing up with Coldwell, super-bantamweight Josh Wale was with Doncaster trainer John Rushton. Wale made the mistake of banging out Neil Read inside a round on his debut. Mistake? It meant Rushton found him hard to match and the job fell to Coldwell. It's a hard enough job as it is with the little fellas. If you are a British fighter and weigh less than 130lbs, it's inevitable that sooner rather than later you will run into Wolverhampton warrior, Delroy Spencer. Maybe more than once. He's a tough old boy but Wale nearly made his matchmaker's job even more tricky as he had the Midlander in bother, dropping him in the fourth. Fortunately for Delroy, the bell went to prevent Wale following up. Wale (8st 12 lbs, now 3-0) was typically quick out of the blocks but wasn't wasting energy and showed good variety in going to both head and body with jabs and hooks. ‘Josh Boy' did leave himself open at times and Spencer was typically competitive, taking advantage of the odd gap here and there. The pace dropped a little by the third as Spencer (8st 8 ¾ lbs, now 10-49-3)) successfully tied the Brampton youngster up, but Wale was relentless in the fourth and the constant pressure was telling on the veteran. Offering little as he was preoccupied with surviving, Spencer took a knee. A wise move and it might have helped him last the last two rounds, which he did, losing 60-53. Leeds' former area champion Lee Murtagh (11st 4lbs) had his first fight in more than sixteen months and squeaked home 58-57 on Howard Foster's card against home town youngster Jonny Musgrave (10st 13 ½ lbs). For what it's worth, which is nothing, I had it even. Musgrave was on the front foot for much of the contest but Murtagh showed the cleaner work. It was one of those. Musgrave, who moves to 3-2, shouldn't lose heart – it could have gone either way and Murtagh (now 20-9-1) knows his way round a ring. The Leeds man did well not to show any real signs of ring rust and it was his countering skill which clinched him the win. In the show opener, Rotherham's Paul Royston (11st 0lbs) lost 59-54 on Michael Alexander's card against Worcester's Steve Cooper (10st 10 ¾ lbs). I had it slightly closer but the right man got the nod.  Royston, now 1-4, got his first win of his short career at the Metrodome on the last bill here and after three rounds it looked like he might double his tally. I gave him the first and the third with a share of the second. It wasn't action packed stuff but when he threw combinations they occasionally landed impressively. But the second half of the six-rounder was all Cooper. A right cross cracked home early in the fourth and all of a sudden, Royston was getting clipped too often and not offering much in way of attack. Cooper sensed the decline and by the fifth was firmly on the front foot. In the final round Royston, despite looking in great condition, was clearly tired and Cooper looked to take advantage. I had it level going into this session but with a few seconds to go, Cooper had clearly won it. Then a right hand got through and caught Royston who in trying to take evasive action, slipped over. It looked a slip to me but referee Alexander called it and just after the standing eight count was completed, the bell went to end the bout. An opponent couldn't be found for Barnsley man Lee Noble so, in what is a rare event in a British ring these days, he boxed a four-twos exhibition with Ingle stablemate Muhsen Nasser. Barnsley bits and bobs The crowd was distracted during the exhibition bout by a little scrap that kicked off in the crowd. Mike Goodall loves these moments and told the duellists to get out or learn to fight under the Queensbury Rules. Nice one. Nadeem Siddique wasn't completely happy after he stopped Tye Williams recently to win the British Masters and Central Area belts at welterweight. Why? Because there were no belts present for him to show off. Those who know ‘Golden Boy Sid' will know just how mortified he will have been by this oversight. The situation was rectified when he was presented them in the ring before the main event. “When I give 100%, I can do well – and I haven't been giving it 100% so far. But I did against Williams and knocked him out. That's what happens.” Kell Brook was ringside and looking healthy after recently being stabbed whilst on a night out in his home town of Sheffield. For the first time in as long as I can remember, Delroy Spencer wasn't wearing his trademark black Jamaica-inspired shorts. His new ones were a colourful change. Peter Buckley's looked a recent addition to the locker too which might be an indication that he is indeed going for the treble ton. Never to be outdone in the fashion stakes, ‘Spice Boy' (can I call him ‘Old Spice' yet?) Ryan Rhodes sported a Roman Gladiatoresque black effort with his lucky number ‘26' on the front.  The second win of the afternoon for a resurgent Rhodes.

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