Alex Matvienko gets past Marshall on VIP bill while the KO Kid becomes the Comeback Kid by Terry Dooley Sep 24th 2007

Alex Matvienko moved forward with his career and Mark Thompson got his back to winning ways as both men starred on a VIP bill at the Robin Park Centre in Wigan on Saturday night. Matvienko got a ‘W' over Martin Marshall the second time of asking in a torrid and bloody main event. Cut in the first round. Seemingly behind and headed for defeat in the second round. Alex bit down on his gumshield to move on with his career after a spiteful yet hard-fought pair of fights. Kicking off the show was another M & M as Mark Moran, 9st, beat Jon Baguley, 9st 3lb, over the course of four three-minute rounds. Moran had been out of the ring for nearly three years and this showed early as the man from Liverpool came out with a lax guard. Baguley, hailing from Sheffield, showed early evidence of the switch-hitting style that city is renowned for. With his pale complexion and red hair Baguley looked like he may be easy pickings for Moran. Early in the fight it became clear that Jon was looking at the gloves of his opponent instead of looking him in the eye and he was caught a few times by left hooks to the body and head. Jon blazed back with a right hook to the head and a left hand to the body to finish the round with a ferocity that was belied by his appearance. Despite telegraphing the right uppercut Baguley did have his moments in the next two rounds. In particular the third round as he used his unorthodox punching angles to land shots such as the left uppercut in Moran. By this point Moran was losing cohesion in his accuracy so wisely opted for the tactic of dropping his jab at the chest of Moran then firing his right hand. It was a fight in which Baguley, perhaps over estimating his power and accuracy, tried to pose and counter thereby forcing Moran to think and fight his way to a clear win. Referee Phil Edwards scored the bout 39-38 whereas BBN had it 39-37. Jon blew the fight in the final round and it was an error that was to be compounded by a fighter further up the bill. Moran rises to 6-0-1 (1) whilst Baguley drops to 5-7 (2). Next up came a fairly straightforward win for Stuart McFayden, 8st 7lb, over Delroy Spencer, 8st 8lb, in a six times two-minute rounds bout. Stu is headlining a bill in his hometown of Colne this November and this was, perhaps, on his mind as he kept things tight against Spencer. Clearly boxing to orders McFayden worked carefully behind his jab throughout the contest. When satisfied his jab had done its work he would fire in right hands before bringing in combinations as the fight wore-on. A jab, right hand and left uppercut late in the fifth pushed Spencer back. There was a brief break in the action during the final rounds as Spencer had the tape on his gloves adjusted. McFayden waved to his vocal fans before finishing the fight strongly with a right hook and left uppercut combination. It was a case of job done for McFayden after his scare against Tasif Khan; he was dropped and hurt by Khan in July. McFayden rises to 7-0 (1) whilst Spencer drops to 10-56-3 (1). Mark Thompson was the next VIP fighter to enter the ring as he took on Ronnie Daniels in a fight scheduled for six-rounds. As it transpired Mark provided just over two minutes of analysis to gauge his improvement after his losing effort against Vincent Vuma at this same venue in July. Thompson, 11st 5lb, showed no sign of nerves in dispatching Daniels, 11st 8lb, with a series of power punches late in the first round. It was a case of ready or not for Daniels as Thompson came out with a blazing body attack that put Ronnie on his back foot early. Daniels likes to clown in fights yet in this bout his high Muay Thai style guard provided Thompson with a vast body expanse to bomb at; Thompson unduly took up this duty early on. After lowering Daniels guard Thompson fired in a right hand to the head followed by a jab; the right stung Daniels yet, oddly, it was the jab that really sent him staggering backwards. Daniels was now firmly on the defensive, his defence was going up and down in time to the shots coming his way. It was unable, however, to stop a left hook crashing into his ribs, the shot lifted Daniels' leg off the canvas. A right hand to the body followed by a left hook to the head sent Daniels retreating along the ropes where he was blitzed by a bunch of shots, a left uppercut being the pick of them. Again Daniels tried to make evasive manoeuvres only to find himself once again under attack. By this point referee Phil Edwards had seen enough and jumped in to stop the fight at the 2:44 mark of round one. Daniels disagreed with the stoppage and had to be restrained by his corner, it was his first offensive gesture for over two minutes. Edwards had seen a sitting target trapped in the corner with a poor guard and had then, rightly, stopped the fight. No controversy there. After the fight Mark told BBN that he had no regrets of losing his ‘0' to Vuma. He felt that inexperience had cost him the fight as he wasted punches after hurting Vuma in the fight. Thompson felt that putting Vuma down with a left hook to the body had kept him in the fight yet he had used punches unnecessarily during the fight itself. Despite that loss, or perhaps due to it, Mark feels that he KO any domestic fighter in his natural division of welterweight. For now his sights are set on his British title eliminator with Kevin McIntyre but his long-term goal is a bout with Scotland's Kevin Anderson. Thompson knows Anderson is tough but feels he is there to be hit. Thompson rises to 12-1 (7) whereas Daniels falls to 7-29 (6). Another talking point was provided in the next fight as Brian Rose, 11st 1lb, had to show grit in scrapping his way to a points win over Lee Noble. Noble, 11st 6lb, gave Rose the type of fight he needs at this point, and then some, as he came out winging with left hooks. Noble had a wide guard throughout the fight as he constantly threw punches at Rose. For his part Rose adopted his tight earmuffs style guard and, for this writer, this guard deflected many of Noble's blows. It certainly was ragged for Rose early as he was clipped by a left hook to the head towards the end of round one. Brian paused for a moment and this gave Noble the chance to land another left hook, this one to the body, in a round won by Noble. Rose had more snap on his jab in the second, he needed it as Noble was not going to go away. A right hand to the body moved Noble back a little and, with the round there to be taken, Noble opted for gazelle like movement coupled with wild swings that hit the guard of Rose. Rose finally got his combinations going briefly in the round as he landed a jab followed by a pair of hooks, left and right, to the body. When Rose got close to Noble he would land straight rights on the way only for Noble to steady Rose with a right hook, Rose then further steadied himself before replying with a left hook to the body. Frustratingly Rose returned to firing single shots in the next round as he opted to brace himself for the swings of Noble then fire his own counters. Noble was winging shots, some bounced off the gloves of Rose and others bounced off the top of his head. When he got his jab and right hand working Rose was landing on the chin punches or thereabouts. Late in the round Noble did an Ali shuffle before missing a right hand. Rose shuffled forward and landed a one-two to take another close round. With neither man dominating thus far the fight was close on my card and the card of referee Keith Garner. Therefore it was odd to see Noble adopt excessive back foot movement that effectively blew the round, and therefore the fight, for him. Oscar De La Hoya cannot blow a quarter of a twelve round fight and win so it is even harder to give up a quarter of a four round fight and say you definitively won it. Both men were bloody around the nose in the fourth, Rose's jab had also marked Noble's right eye somewhat. It was evidence that Rose's jab had worked when he uncorked it and uncork it he did in the final round; Noble finally tried to take the round late-on by landing a pair of shots to the body but the overall feeling was that Rose had won the fight, or, rather, Noble's excessive spoiling movement had lost the fight. Referee Keith Garner confirmed this fact by holding aloft the hand of Rose; the fight had been 1-1-1 on his card going into that final round. Garner scored the fight 39-38 whereas BBN had it 39-37 with Rose scoring the cleaner blows throughout. If he does not complement his tight guard with combinations he could find himself in trouble at some point. Rose rises to 6-0 (1) whilst Noble falls to 7-4 (1). Alex Matvienko proved himself worthy of a headline slot as he settled his issues with Martin Marshall over six three-minute rounds. Their previous fight, in July, had been a contentious draw. Marshall had felt aggrieved after that fight and came out causing aggressive aggro in this the rematch. A series of blows from Marshall left Matvienko shaken and cut, a slice over his right eye was leaking blood. Sensing his moment was there to be seized Martin landed a pair of right hands then weathered some shots from Matvienko before landing his own right uppercut. The bell could not come soon enough for Matvienko, referee Phil Edwards had ordered the cut to be cleaned almost as soon as it had happened so he could look at it. It looked like a cut that would bleed persistently and open easily. Matvienko's cutman Nigel Hardman did a great job between rounds and they sent the patched-up Matvienko out to face the confident Marshall. Martin built on his early success by landing a right uppercut inside then taunting Matvienko. Edwards ordered both men to show each other respect. Matvienko was still looking bloody at this point, a two-fisted attack from Alex seemed to smack of desperation as Marshall potted with the straight shots. Matvienko dug his way into the round by landing a pair of left hooks on Marshall who braced himself then landed a left hook of his own. Again it seemed that Marshall had shaken Matvienko up and won the round. After the fight Alex admitted that the eye had bothered him yet during the interval Hardman sealed the cut tightly enough for Matvienko to box with more composure to win the third and get himself back into the fight. Both men had winked at one another after the third, perhaps in acknowledgement that neither was willing to budge. Matvienko missed a pair of shots in the fourth but his third, a left hook, sent the gumshield of Marshal flying. Both tangled in close shortly afterwards. Marshall broke the tangle by moving back and landing his right only for Matvienko to close the distance and land a right uppercut. A jab and right hand from Alex set-up a right hook to the body. It seemed that Matvienko had weathered the storm and was right back in the fight. As soon as this observation was made Marshall landed a burst of shots – a pair of left hooks to the body, one to the head and a right uppercut – to close out the round. Despite this late success it was Matvienko landing more shots and forcing the fight. This was brave given the fact he was now cut on the top of the head. Both cuts would require two stitches each. A right uppercut and left hook along the ropes in round five took another chunk of resolve from Marshall who was now losing his accuracy. With this his greatest threat gone Marshall was harassed by the ever busy Matvienko. Both men set an example by putting their all into the final round. A trio of shots from Marshall lacked the steam of earlier rounds as Alex sank in hooks to the body and head. Marshall tried to speak to Alex only for Matvienko to reply with a right uppercut instead of a kind word. Marshall dug-out a one-two as the round wore-on; Matvienko now knew what was coming and walked through them to land his own shots. A pair of left hooks sent Marshall scurrying along the ropes as the fight drew to a close. Over both fights Marshall had put his prayers into sporadically spectacular shots only to be outworked by Matvienko. It came as no surprise when Phil Edwards raised the hand of Matvienko. Marshall reacted childishly. He refused the handshake of Matvienko, stormed out of the ring then returned for the particulars. Whatever your postcode it was a crass finish to two tense and tight fights. Edwards turned in a 59-55 scorecard; BBN had it closer at 58-56. Matvienko rises to 8-0-2 (2) whereas Marshall falls to 8-10-3 (0). It had been a tight and sinewy show finishing with the professional of 2004 ABA winner Martin Murray, 12st, who conceded weight to fight Jamie Ambler, 13st, over six two-minute rounds. Martin had an incredible amount of support, a Saint Helen's Rugby Club tattoo on his leg may hint as to why, and showed off a variety of shots as he cowed the bigger man early on. The size discrepancy, plus the backwards movement of Ambler, made it hard to judge Murray. Martin did everything required of him, he cut of the ring then blitzed Ambler with shots from both hands. Ambler did try his luck in round four only for Murray to knock his head back with a right hand. Murray looked sharp and controlled throughout the bout and the 60-54 scorecard of Referee Keith Garner was well deserved and easily earned on this night. Ambler ambled to 3-10 (2). Photos by Allan Stevenson

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

Friend name: Friend email: Your name: Your email:   Privacy Statement

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