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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Last night at the Floral Hall in Southport, England, Steve Wood of VIP Promotions presented a fight night which would feature six thrilling contests.

The venue is sited in a lovely location - right alongside Marine Lake in the coastal town of Southport - in the Northwest of England and was hosting its first boxing event since 1934. Even more surprising is that it was a warm, sunny day - with no rain!

Boxing commenced with a four round light middleweight contest between Chris ‘Johno’ Johnson of Manchester and Geraint Harvey of Pontypridd, Wales. But it was a nightmare for the home-corner as Johnson is on the canvas in the first round. Looking stunned by the knockdown - Johnson digs in to see it out to the end of the round.

The second frame sees the southpaw regain some composure as he throws lefts and rights at the head of the Welshman, but Harvey was motivated and had Johno down in the third frame again. Getting up for the count, the Mancunian looked dazed and referee Mark Lyson called a halt to the contest. More...

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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

On Sunday afternoon, boxing fans were treated to a full fight card of nine contests which included the British Masters Light Middleweight Championship. Promoted by Steve Wood's V.I.P Promotions, the event at De Vere Whites Hotel in Bolton, England, was a rousing success.

The main event saw local man Alex Matvienko face Jon Musgrave of Barnsley for the vacant British Masters Light Middleweight title.

Matvienko, the 'One Man Riot’, looked better this time out - using both left and right punches with success, while Musgrave concentrated on the long left straights.

Matvienko wins on points 98-93 to take the title, improving his record to 14 wins (4 by KO) 1 loss. More...

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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Promoter Steve Wood put on a great fight night on Saturday at The Tower in Blackpool, England, featuring some of the best up and coming talent in the North-West.

Light middleweight Nick Quigley outpointed opponent Jimmy Briggs in a six round contest, winning his professional debut.

Super flyweight Kieron Farrell also enjoyed a victorious debut by stopping Gary Shiels in the third frame of a scheduled four.

The big boys went at it during a four rounder at cruiserweight with Matthew Askin winning his second bout against no losses by outpointing Nick Okoth. More...

Steve Molitor, the IBF Super Bantamweight Champion, is looking towards a defining moment in his career. The undefeated boxer is fresh from winning his most recent bout, against Ceferino Dario Labarda. According to his handlers Orion Management, a victory would secure Molitor a title unification fight against Celestino Caballero. So far, no news about any upcoming fight. Instead, there is a lot of speculation about Molitor's past choices and what this means for his future.

The Canadian Kid, as Molitor is known, has made headlines over the past few months, but not because of his boxing accomplishments. Molitor got into a public argument with his manager, Allan Tremblay, reportedly because of his recent fight purses.

The public fight is now resolved, but there were casualties. There is a strain now between Orion Management and Steve Molitor, and his trainer for the past seven bouts, Chris Johnson, has been replaced. Molitor is now being trained by Stephane Larouche, the man who is responsible for Lucian Bute and Adrian Dianocu. Will this be a good match for Molitor? Only time will tell.

Another issue that has been brought up in the Canadian press, is the quality of Molitor's opponents and his unwillingness to fight outside of Canada since he won the IBF title. His opponents have been carefully selected by his management team to make Molitor shine in his title defenses.

The list goes as follows: Labarda, Takalani Ndlovu, Ricardo Castillo and Fernando Beltran Jr have been his last four opponents. These fighters have little experience fighting real contenders and have rarely fought outside their home countries.

Why hasn't a fight against a more aggressive and experienced opponent been arranged for Molitor? It would benefit him because if you fight against better fighters, you become a better fighter and real contenders will want to fight you. More...

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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Sunday at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan , England, Steve Wood of VIP Promotions hosted another great afternoon of boxing. Billed as "Matt Attack" - the event headlined "Bolton's One Man Riot" - Alex Matvienko, as he faced Lee "Brown Sugar" Edwards of Sheffield for the vacant British Masters Light Middleweight Championship.

This was a close contest which saw both fighters land with body-shots that could be heard around ringside. Both men were wobbled early in the fight, but Matvienko looked to be suffering as the fight went on.

Putting on the pressure - Matvienko has Edwards on the ropes and follows with a left hook to the body which hurt Edwards in round two. Sustaining a cut in round four that was exaggerated by Glyn Rhodes's taunts from the opposing corner - only made things worse for the Bolton man.

In my opinion, Edwards looked the smoother of the two. The pace was relentless in this contest with both fighters scoring shots - Edwards throwing swinging left hooks to head and rights to the body, Matvienko digging in with some right body shots and straight-left punches. More...

This Sunday, September 14, Steve Wood of VIP Boxing hosts a full afternoon of exciting fights as he presents "Matt Attack" at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan, England.

The bill is headlined by Alex Matvienko as he faces Lee Edwards of Sheffield for the vacant British Masters Light Middleweight title.

Popular Matvienko - "Bolton's One Man Riot" - has eleven wins under his belt, four of which were by knockout and two draws. Lee "Brown Sugar" Edwards has won seven of his eight bouts with one loss.

The afternoon also features middleweight Martin Murray of St.Helens, who will be looking for his eighth successive win - this time against Carl Wild of Sheffield.

Promoter Wood is excited about the prospect of Murray's rise in class and expects popular middleweight to be ready for a title shot in 10 months time.

Undercard action includes super middle Carl Dilks, light middles Jack Arnfield and Chris Johnson, heavyweight Scott Mitchell, welterweight Rick Goddins and lightweight Lee Jennings.

Alex Matvienko is on the verge of becoming Bolton’s next professional boxing champion.

Matvienko get his big chance when he boxes Lee Edwards for the vacant British Masters light middleweight title at Robin Park Arena in Wigan, England on Sunday, September 14.

Commonwealth lightweight champion Amir Khan is the talk of the town, but one-time sparring partner Matvienko is out to grab some glory for himself in his ten round tussle. More...

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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Last night at the Robin Park Centre, Wigan, England, Steve Woods / VIP Boxing promoted a fight night of seven contests - on the eve of Ricky Hatton’s ‘HomeComing.’

The ‘Bill’ was to have headlined the much anticipated re-match between Michael Gomez and Peter McDonagh but Gomez is now to fight Amir Khan on 21st June. Gomez was ringside to support stablemate - Jack Arnfield of Bobby Rimmers’ Boxing Academy.

Top of the ‘bill’ saw Brett Flourney of Merseyside outpoint Ukranian Vladimir Borovski in a six-round welterweight contest. Southpaw Flourney landed some solid body-shots and right punches but Borovski is a tough fighter who seemed undeterred by the shots.

The Ukranian is quite a character and did quite a bit of showboating! Calling Flourney ‘on’ - gesturing that it didn’t hurt - what else have you got!’ and laughing. He even took time to glance up at the crowds and ‘egg’ them on! But Flourney kept focused and won the contest by 60-54. He didn’t look happy with the performance as he went back to his corner - shaking his head, but it’s another win for the Mersey-man who improves to 9 wins and no losses. More...

© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Friday night sees another Steve Woods / VIP Boxing promoted fight night at the Robin Park, Wigan, England. It is sure to be another action-packed night - the ‘bill’ consists of seven contests:

Heavyweight: Scott Mitchell versus Paul Bonson
Light Middleweight: Chris Johnson versus Darren Gethin
Light Middleweight: Brett Flourney versus Vladimir Borovski
Super Bantamweight: Mike Robinson versus Mike Holloway
Welterweight: Chris O’Brien versus Kristian Laight
Super-Middleweight: Martin Murray versus Dean Walker More...

A thrilling night of boxing action is coming to the Pierce College Basketball Gym in Woodland Hills, CA, on Friday, June 13th, 2008. Celt Boxing Club and USA Boxing present CELT FIGHT NIGHT.

From the same organization that brought you Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray Leonard, Evander Holyfield, and Oscar De La Hoya, USA Boxing has a rich tradition of grooming some of the most renowned athletes of the world has ever seen. More...