Fry reignites career with York Hall sizzler by Oliver Fennell Feb 2nd 2008

It's about time Courtney Fry delivered. The Commonwealth Games he triumphed at were a decade ago, and the Olympics he competed in saw him team with Audley Harrison. If Harrison is criticised for his lack of professional progress in the seven and a half years since, then what to make of Fry? With a meagre 10-1 pro slate and at the age of 32, the Liverpool-based Londoner was apparently – and understandably – no longer worthy of being “looked after” by promoters. On this night, in chief support to Oakey-Haymer at the York Hall, he was supposed to make up the numbers; to give the younger and more appealing light-heavyweight Tony Salam a good learning fight and a nice name on his record. But, in a similar manner to his Olympic pal Harrison when stunning Danny Williams a year ago, Fry found the performance of his career on the night most assumed would mark the end of his title aspirations. Fry scored a sixth-round knockout over the young prospect, detonating a classic left-right to his opponent's jaw which sent southpaw Salam down and out – for over a minute. There was no sign in round one of the explosion to come, although it quickly developed into an absorbing tactical affair. Round one saw both missing by some distance with most of their work, and Fry looked particularly ungainly as he tried to fathom out the unorthodox young man in front of him. Salam edged the session for me. But, in a display of a habit which would later cost him dearly, the Nigerian-born Londoner switched off in the round following one he won. This allowed Fry to start finding the range with the straight punches which would later seal the fight, and to pull away from Salam's less committed efforts. Fry won rounds three and four as well for me, although they may have been interpreted differently elsewhere. It was a case of what you liked – the loose-limbed Salam's more spectacular but less frequent looping shots, or Fry's educated textbook boxing. Salam, at 7-0, was not far behind Fry in terms of pro experience, but Fry's lengthy amateur career gave him more seasoning. But Salam, a former ABA champion, pulled a round back in the fifth. The roles reversed as Salam boxed on the back foot and Fry chased, getting caught on the way in. He boxed with his mouth open, suggesting he was either tiring or was having difficulty breathing through a nose which leaked blood. But any thoughts of Salam finishing stronger were rendered irrelevant at the 1:07 mark of round six. Having got himself back in the fight, Salam again took his foot off the pedal, and, with arms low, he hung around in range just that bit too long. Fry crashed in the finishing combination and wheeled away to celebrate a victory which puts him right back on track to fulfilling the potential he showed in earlier years. Salam, who talked audaciously of title shots this year, can hopefully use this as a learning experience and come back better for it. At only 24, he has plenty of time on his side. Most impressive winner on an otherwise unexciting undercard was Manchester light-middleweight Mark Thompson, who forced a two-round corner retirement over former Midlands Area champion Darren Gethin. Thompson was sharp, punishing Gethin with energy-sapping body shots and marking up his face with lashing head blows from his long arms. Gethin was a late replacement for what may have been a trickier assignment in Yassine El Maachi, but despite his losing record, usually comes to win. It was obvious from early on that he didn't fancy this job, as he was punished from the opening bell and marked up early. With his left eye closing and having mounted no successful offence, Gethin was bailed out by his corner at the end of round two. The rest of the bill was comprised of six and four-round workouts for the members of Frank Maloney's stable who were content to mark time. Of greatest interest was the televised debut of Laura Saperstein, Maloney's first female signing. Maloney has been opposed to women's boxing in the past, but claimed Saperstein was so good, he just had to have her. But on this night's evidence, I didn't see anything outstanding. Admittedly her opponent, Olga Varchenko of the Ukraine, did not allow her to look good. Varchenko was heavier and a spoiler extraordinaire. The lightweight match was marred by almost continual clinches, initiated by the visitor, but Saperstein did what clean work there was and picked up the formality of a 40-36 verdict after four two-minute rounds. John McDermott warmed up for an April English heavyweight title fight against Pele Reid by outpointing Russian visitor Daniel Peret to the tune of 59-55. McDermott, often derided for his flabby appearance, was in the unusual position of looking the fitter man. Peret with a big gut, hairy back and bald head, did not look to give McDermott a technical examination, and first appearances rang true. He barrelled forward in the first half of this six-rounder, finding nothing except the end of the Essex man's jab. By round four, Peret was concentrating on survival, although had his best session in the finisher. Perhaps this was the one he officially won, although I could find nothing for him. It's fair enough that McDermott simply went through the motions to preserve his title date, but it didn't make for interesting viewing, and he'll need to show considerably more fire against Reid. Speaking of which, why is McDermott fighting for the English title when, in his previous contest, he had beaten Scott Gammer in an eliminator for the more prestigious British championship? Also ticking over ahead of a more important bout was super-featherweight Henry Castle. He punched out a routine 60-54 verdict over French journeyman Frederic Gosset and moves on to an April assignment against Ryan Barrett, a match with British title implications. Popular lightweight Akaash Bhatia moved up to eight-round class, outpointing Bulgaria's Wladimir Borov 80-73. Bhatia does the basics very well but has precious little power. He had no trouble finding Borov, but could not dent him. Bhatia has just two inside-schedule victories from his 10 fights (all wins). Finally, in a couple of four-round swing bouts, aggressive welterweight Scott Woolford punched out a 40-36 formality over Birmingham man Terry Adams, while novice Jamie Radford went to 3-0 with a 39-37 verdict over winless Johnny Greaves, also at welterweight.

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