Click for larger image © Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Colin Lynes of Hornchurch made the first defence of his European Light Welterweight title against Finnish boxer Juho Tolppola at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre in Dagenham, Essex, England last night. It was a packed venue for the Barry Hearn (Matchroom Sports) promoted fight night.

Family man Colin Lynes came out to huge support from the home-crowd as he entered the ring to Queen’s “One man - One Mission.”

Round one and Lynes looks the sharper of the two men as he works from the centre of the ring. Lynes continues to look impressive in round two as he keeps busy with the jab.

Tolppola seems to be still sussing out his opponent but in the closing seconds of the round, the Finn catches Lynes with a right hook which slightly wobbles the Essex man, who is backed up to the ropes when Tolppola lands another right immediately afterward. Lynes looks ruffled by the shots as the bell sounds the end of the second frame. But this was to be the only ‘blip’ in the contest.

“Lyno, Lyno…”, the crowd chant.

It’s been a skillful fight from Lynes. Not the most exciting I ever watched, but the home-boy boxed well keeping very focused. The consistent ‘chipping away’ with his jab made for a text-book fight.

Round seven and trainer Paul Cook tells Sky Presenter Ed Robinson that “its not his best performance, he needs to step up the pressure now”.

Lynes is still controlling the fight from the centre of the ring during the 12th and final round. There are huge cheers and applause from the fans as they show their appreciation for a polished performance by Lynes.

Lynes, 31-3-0 (12), wins by unanimous decision via scores of 120-108 (twice) and 119-109 to retain his European title for the first time. Tolppola falls to 20-4-1 (9).

Afterward, Lynes told Sky Presenter Ed Robinson, “I felt a bit flat tonight, I busted my left hand early on”. Manager Barry Hearn said that Lynes was ‘technically brilliant tonight', and mentioned the likes of Gianluca Branco, Ted Bami and Barry Morrison as future potential match-ups.

Also fighting last night was “Dangerous” Ted Bami, who was previously stripped of his European Light Welter title after some personal problems. Bami has been off the scene for a while now but last night made his comeback against Frenchman, Nicholas Guisset - who was making his first appearance in the UK.

A ‘not-so-Dangerous’ Ted Bami won on a points decision 79-76 in the eight round light welterweight contest.

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