One-round finish for the Olympic medallist in Bolton
In the biggest challenge of his career so far, Khan silenced doubters and cheered supporters with an emphatic first round KO of former world-title challenger Graham Earl. In front of a packed Bolton Arena, which included 1,000 Earl fans who followed the Luton man to Bolton, Khan came out at a blistering pace and dismantled Earl in 1:12 of the first round, with the referee having to step in to save Earl from receiving further punishment.
The niggle between the top two lightweights in Britain had been evident in the build-up, with some bad blood developing between the youngster from Bolton and Earl. Khan had been vowing to send Earl into retirement, and Earl promising that he would be the one to derail the Khan bandwagon. However, within a minute and a half of the first bell it was all over and Amir Khan's apparent march on to possible World and European title shots, and Earl's career left hanging in the balance.
Khan, now 15-0 (12 K0's) was dominant throughout the brief fight, barely being hit once by Earl as he stunned the Luton man early, and pounced on his opponent with a left hook to put Earl down within a minute of the first bell. After an eight count it seemed as though Earl was still nonplussed by the second barrage unleashed by Khan, and with nine or ten hooks and straight shots landing on Earl consecutively, the referee had very little choice but to stop the fight as hooks and straight rights from Khan repeatedly landed on Earl's head. More...
Last night, at the Newham Leisure Centre in London, Ian Napa outboxed and outfoxed a hardworking Martin Power to retain his British Bantamweight title. Despite being six inches shorter than his opponent, and having a four inch reach deficit, "Dappa" Napa used a style practiced to negate Power's advantage, forcing Power to lunge in rather than being able to box as he would have liked.
For Napa, his sights will be set on a third title defence to claim the Lonsdale belt outright, and maybe even European honours. For Power, his third consecutive defeat has left him with a lot of thinking to do about where he can go from here.
Round by Round: Power seems to have the edge in the support terms here tonight, but Napa looks pretty confident too, as always coming in pretty loose and with his trademark shades on. Power's four inch reach could be a big advantage to him tonight, as he looks to repeat his first victory over Napa last week.
Round one:
Both guys with cagey openings, plenty of head movement from both, and Power claiming the centre ring. They trade jabs early on, and Napa ducks under a right hook from Power. Napa's jabs fall short. Power with a jab and two straight shots landing. Power with another jab and straight shot. More...
A Sky Sports televised Wednesday night bill from the characterful York Hall in Bethnal Green, London saw two title bouts which could easily have graced a Friday night show, with plenty of action and talent on display on a Hennessy Sports fightnight.
It was an atmospheric night as Darren Barker of Barnet, England comprehensively outboxed the willing, but one-dimensional Ben Crampton from Cessnock, New South Wales, Australia, showing tremendous accuracy and tenacity to cover the 12 round distance for the first time in his career, and withstand a late rush from the Australian desperately seeking a knockout.
Both men came in to the fight undefeated and 'Dazzling' Darren Barker entered the ring in shiny silver attire to huge support from the home-crowd. Barker has only had one fight in 12 months as his younger brother Gary died last year in a car accident.
Ben ‘Bazooka’ Crampton entered the ring the more experienced fighter but the younger Barker has the reach advantage.
It’s not a tight defence from Barker as he comes out for round one with hands a bit low, but it’s a great start from him as he throws a variety of punches while Crampton looks unsettled. More...
British Champion Carl Froch has often been the man calling out Joe Calzaghe and other world champions at super middleweight, but against former WBC titlist Robin Reid last night at the Ice Arena in Nottingham, England, Froch showed that he has the power and accuracy to mix it with the best.
In five exciting rounds, Froch took a lot of solid body shots from Reid, but when he opened up, he had Reid in trouble, time and again, eventually putting Reid down twice, and a third time which was generously deemed a trip by the referee.
When opening up, Froch, 22-0 (18), looked impressive with some huge straight rights and left uppercuts which really dug in into Reid, 39-6-1 (27), and was also resilient in taking some good body shots and overhand rights from Reid.
At times Reid looked to have the upper hand, but the power of Froch stole his momentum each time, before Reid was forced to retire from the fight whilst on his stool at the end of the fifth round. More...
Last night British Light Middleweight Champion Jamie Moore went up against awkward challenger, English Champion Andrew Facey in a rematch at Robin Park Arena in Wigan, England.
In the build-up to this fight, Moore's good friend and world's top light welterweight Ricky Hatton spoke about and indicated what I believed is the case that this will be Moore's last domestic fight as long as he wins.
Local hero Moore gets a rapturous welcome, while Facey's is a little more subdued. The Sheffield based Facey doesn't look to worried, and one of the most obvious thing to see is that Facey's four inch height and reach difference is quite large.
Backing up the unfancied Facey and holding his belt is the WBC Light Welter Champion, Junior Witter.
Next up, it's fight time, and Moore is looking focussed and strong.
Round one: Facey with the opening blows, as southpaw Moore keeping his gloves high, and not shipping any of the punches. Moore with a long jab to the body, then does well to get inside and throw a couple of punches. Facey's punches don't seem to have much zip on them, although they are plentiful.
Moore with a nice left hook as Facey backs out of the clinch. Facey plants a long jab, and a body shot as Moore closes the distance. Moore with a pair of body shots, and another good left hook up top. Moore falls short with a punch, and takes a left hook himself. Facey with a couple of pawing punches as Moore comes in. More...
Technical Challenges ahead for British Light Middle Champion
British Light Middleweight Champion and world class contender Jamie Moore, 27-3 (18), has always been good value for money for the fans, and his bout against Matthew Macklin was one of the most exciting of recent memory.
His dominant performance last month against gatekeeper
Sebastian Lujan also showed he was capable of great discipline, as he kept his eyes on the task even when Lujan clowned and danced, but the Argentinian never looked in the fight.
Speaking exclusively with SaddoBoxing, Moore admitted that as the quality of his opponents has improved, there would be less opportunities for him to get involved in the exciting scrap we saw against Macklin.
"The fight against Matthew was something else for me, and although I like Matthew, it was a little bit personal," said Moore. "He’d been training in the gyms around Manchester and he’d been sparring with some of my friends, so I felt that I really had a point to prove in there. More...
WBO Boxing Champion Returns July 7 But Dreams Of Headlining Hometown Stadium
Welsh puncher Enzo Maccarinelli, 26-1 (20), has revealed to SaddoBoxing that his dream would be to fight in front of a full house at the Liberty Stadium in his hometown of Swansea.
He was speaking at the opening of a new gym at Cardigan ABC in West Wales, and at the same time David Haye was battling Tomasz Bonin in Wembley Arena, Maccarinelli was the guest of honour at the Cardigan club dinner show.
When asked when he would next be in the ring, Enzo confirmed that it would be on July 7, and not on the bill the following week when Nicky Cook fights Steven Luevano. More...
Having completed his final day's training, former two-division world champion Ricky 'The Hitman' Hatton needs only to keep an eye on his weight as he counts down the hours to Saturday night, when he will cross swords with unbeaten IBF junior welterweight champion Juan Urango.
His trainer Billy Graham has unwavering faith in his fighter, and speaking from his suite in the famous Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, predicts a thrilling performance from the 'Hitman'.
He said: "Today (Wednesday) was the last day in the gym, but it's really been winding down from the 15 rounds he did on the weekend. More...
WBA junior middleweight champion Jose Antonio Rivera (38-4-1, 24 KO's) is not interested in taking the easy road, and his upcoming defence against unbeaten Travis Simms (24-0, 18 KO's) is merely the latest indication that he is only willing to face the toughest challengers out there.
However, while Rivera has been throwing offers to all of the major players in and around his weight-class, his level-headed trainer 'Iceman' John Scully is urging him to stay focused and not look beyond Simms, who, though less experienced, has yet to taste defeat.
In the recent locker, Rivera lost his WBA welterweight title by dropping a wafer-thin decision to slick southpaw Luis Collazo in 2005 but returned to winning ways in May of this year when he moved up to the 154-pound division, seizing his second world title by pitching a shutout over the capable Alejandro Garcia.
Simms himself is no slouch, having held the same strap that Rivera now wears, but vacated after sustaining an injury in 2004. Beyond Simms, there are many very lucrative fights on the table for Rivera, but to let his focus wander could be very costly indeed. More...
In the ring, Scott Harrison is anything but dull, and it seems from his troubles outside the ring that it is in the squared circle that he is truly at home.
But the recent farce in the run-up to what would have been his ninth defence of the WBO Featherweight title has left his reputation further tarnished and his promoter vowing that he would never work with him again. But after repeated run-ins with the law, and well-publicised problems with alcohol and depression, the question is whether Scott still has a future in boxing.
In terms of talent, Scott has never been lacking; a good boxer with an all-action style and had done remarkably to make the 9st (126 lb) featherweight limit time and again. But looking to lose that weight after an extended period of imprisonment, and being released mere weeks before a scheduled fight left him unable to drop within seven pounds of the 9st weight.
The question now is whether Scott Harrison will be seen in the boxing ring again, and whether he can overcome his difficulties to regain the focus and ambition which brought him the WBO Featherweight title for the first time in 2002. More...
British Heavyweight Champion Keeps His Eyes On The Road To Success
Within a week of his recent destruction of British Heavyweight title challenger Micky Steeds, Scott Gammer covered the next mile on his road to success, by passing his driving test. Now that his wheels are moving, and his first defence of the belt completed, the undefeated Gammer, 17-0-1, has set his sights on the mandatory challenger, and former World title challenger Danny Williams, 36-5, with a possible February date in the pipeline.
Although his last appearance in the ring was in the lacklustre Battle of Britain against Matt Skelton, the defeat has left Williams with little hope of rebuilding his career without beginning with the British belt.
The Pembroke Dock man is however uncomfortable in staying inactive until February, and Gammer is looking for another voluntary defence before Christmas to keep the rhythm of his confident and easy win over Micky Steeds going. More...
Gammer Retains British Heavyweight Title With Emphatic Points Win
In a dominant first defence of his British Heavyweight title, Welshman Scott Gammer, now 17-0-1, retained his Lonsdale belt along with his undefeated record against a resilient Micky Steeds on a Paul Boyce promotion, televised by Sky Sports. Londoner Steeds, 8-2, found Gammer was still his bogey fighter, dropping to a second points defeat, after struggling to get through the Pembroke Dock man’s guard, and never managed to rock him. More...
It has been a solitary existence in the gym for Deptford's light middleweight prospect Anthony Small, 12-0, (7), as he prepares for his return to action next weekend.
The 25-year-old Muslim, who celebrates Ramadan later this month, is currently fasting during the day and consequently has been forced to train predominantly at night. However, he believes that such nocturnal activity may actually benefit him come fight night.
Small's next fight takes place at the Elephant & Castle Recreation Centre on Saturday, October 21. Headlining the bill will be Ryan Barrett and Henry Castle, who meet to decide the Southern Area featherweight title. His opponent is expected to be announced on Friday. More...
With a week to go until Pembroke Dock's Scott Gammer makes his first defence of the British Heavyweight Championship against East London's Micky Steeds, everyone is predicting a close fight.
Steed, 8-1, hailing from the Isle of Dogs, goes into this match-up at the Afan Lido in Port Talbot, Wales with one previous defeat against Gammer in February 2005. That is the only blemish on his record and he has vowed that he will be taking the British title strap back to London with him. More...
After a hectic schedule already this year, with two world title fights, Huddersfield, England cruiserweight Mark Hobson has stepped in as a sub again to face Enzo Maccarinelli at the MEN Arena in Manchester.
With longtime WBO Champion Johnny Nelson withdrawing from the second fight on October 14 with a back injury, which saw replacement opponent Hobson push Maccarinelli to the wire last time out, Hobson will now challenge for the WBO belt, and thinks he can go one better
than his last bout against the Welshman.
"This is the kind of fight that is going to really give British Boxing a shock to the system," said Hobson, "because everyone knows that Maccarinelli comes to fight. I always come to fight, and it’s got all the makings of a cracker. More...
On Friday night at the Grosvenor House Hotel in Bethnal Green, London, England Mark Hobson will be given his third shot at the WBU Cruiserweight title and this time he hopes that it will be his arm raised aloft after the dust settles. Standing opposite him when the bell rings will be little known Czech fighter Pavol Polakovic, 32, who will bring a reasonable 11-1 record into the ring, although boasting only one stoppage in those 11 victories.
Although two years older than Hobson, 25-4-1 (13), Polakovic at first glance seems the least experienced of the two, but with an appearance in the Olympics among his amateur accolades, Hobson is certainly not taking his opponent lightly.
Speaking from his Huddersfield home, Hobson said: "As a rule, I don't vary my training too much before each fight, because as far as I'm concerned, all I can do is step through the ropes knowing that I've given 100% in training, and that I am the best I could be. More...
Confidence is high down at the TKO Gym in Newham, East London, as preparations are well under way for the coming year of boxing. Trainer Johnny Eames, who has a broad range of fighters under his wing, spoke to www.frankmaloney.com about what the new season has in store for his fighters.
Currently recuperating from an injury which forced him out of a fight with Mehdrud Takaloo for the WBU Welterweight title, Eames is confident that Ross Minter, 16-1-1, is set for a match against the winner of Minter's substitute for the Sept 2 fight between Takaloo and Michael Jennings. More...
Following his defeat to Matt Skelton last Saturday, Brixton's Danny Williams has been given the spot as mandatory challenger for British heavyweight champion Scott Gammer. Scott "The Hammer" Gammer, 29, claimed the British title with a ninth round stoppage of Chesterfield's Mark Krence, and will now likely face Williams as his first defence.
Speaking from his home in Pembroke Dock, Gammer was enthusiastic about his chances against the former world title challenger, saying: “I honestly can't wait for this fight. I have always known that if I were to get in the ring with him, then I could beat him, and now I'll get that chance. I'm not sure how much of a boost it is for me personally to fight a name like Williams, but this big fight will really be a boost for all the fans who came down to support me, and to fight in a bigger arena will give more people a chance to come and see the fight.” More...
At Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales last night, 39 year old Matt Skelton beat Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion Danny Williams to avenge his February defeat, and to pave the way for a title challenge against Russian giant and WBA Champion Nikolay Valuev. Skelton, 20-1, chose to focus his training on developing his boxing skills, after brawling to a standstill with Williams, 36-5, in the first encounter, and his new style paid dividends as he jabbed effectively, amassing a long points lead in the first half of the fight.
Despite running rings around Williams, who looked ponderous after weighing in at 288lbs, Skelton was left reeling after strong left jabs from Williams in the fourth and the fifth, but returned to outwork the Brixton boxer over the course of each rounds. On pure power alone, and in the moments where Williams bullied Skelton around the ring, he showed glimpses of the physical dominance which won the first fight, and when in close quarters hurt the Bedford man, but it was too little and too infrequent. More...
Undefeated Welsh heavyweight Scott Gammer claimed the BBBofC Heavyweight Title on Friday night with an exciting nine-round stoppage over Yorkshire's Mark Krence. 'The Hammer' improved to 16-0-1 with the victory, and called out Britain's best afterwards, with Audley Harrison, Danny Williams and Matt Skelton touted as possible opponents for the next bout. Having already stopped Krence (now 21-6) in May last year, a partisan Welsh crowd at the Carmarthen Showground were buoyant, and the playing of both English and Welsh national anthems further raised the atmosphere. Krence, 'The Butcher' from Chesterfield began quickly, after a pep talk from IBF Light Heavyweight Champ Clinton Woods in the corner, looking to throw combinations behind his jab, and set a high tempo against the Welshman, who was carrying a 7lb advantage. Despite Krence's higher workrate, it was the Welshman who had the best of the opening riound, with a hard three-punch combination to Krence's ribs. More...
