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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

Hayemaker Boxing put on a great ‘all-action’ bill last night at the smart Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

Billed as ‘Mersey Beatdown’ - the fight night was headlined by the vacant British Super Middleweight title clash between Liverpudlians Tony Quigley and Tony Dodson.

Dodson was scheduled to fight Brian Magee, who had to pull out with a back injury although he was ringside for the fight.

Quigley entered the ring to the sounds of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ as the Liverpool fans stood with arms held high - swaying and singing to the song made famous by Liverpool's own Gerry and the Pacemaker’. 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.

Martin Murray is tipped to become the next sporting success story from St Helens.

The town’s rugby league team are unbeaten in 21 matches and lifted the Challenge Trophy on Saturday, beating Hull at Wembley Stadium. More...

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...

© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Sunday, at the Sutton Sports Centre in St. Helens, Merseyside, England - Steve Woods / VIP Boxing hosted another great afternoon of boxing action!

Blackpool boxer Brian Rose was victorious - scoring a clear points win over Belgium's Kobe Vandekerkhove in a six round light middleweight contest.

Roses's trainer, Bobby Rimmer, told SaddoBoxing this morning "Brian boxed brilliantly - I'm very pleased with how he performed! Vandekerkhove is a tough boxer but he couldn't get past Brian's jab and I think he just drew on one round.

"Bri got cut over his left eye in round three which needed about four stitches, but Brian wasn't bothered - he just gets on with it !"

Rose improves to 9 wins, no losses with two KOs and one draw while Vandekerkhove falls to 11-7-1 (5). More...

This Sunday at the Suttons Leisure Centre in St.Helens, Merseyside, England, Steve Woods of VIP Boxing will be hosting another action-packed fight event.

Billed as "HomeGrown" - the main event features local-boy Martin Murray, as he faces Belgian boxer Michael Recloux in a super middleweight contest. Murray hopes to add to his perfect record of 6 and 0 with another win.

Chief support will be Brian Rose, who trains out of Bobby Rimmer's Boxing Academy in Manchester.

Rose faces another Belgian fighter, Kobe Vandekerkhore, in a middleweight contest. Popular Blackpool boxer Rose will be looking to improve on his record of 8 wins, no losses and 1 draw.

Other undercard bouts include: More...

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© Jane Warburton / Saddo Boxing

Last night at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan, England, Steve Woods of VIP Boxing staged an action-packed night of boxing billed as ʽLights Going Outʼ. The main event featured popular Mark Thompson of Heywood, Lancashire, as he faced Polish Boxer Maurycy Gojko, for the Masters International Welterweight title.

But it was a quick nightʼs work for Thompson as he polished-off Gojko in round one of the contest! The Polish man was on the canvas in the first minute of the round but jumped up quickly to take the count from Referee Steve Gray.

A hard left-hook from Thompson, 15-1 (9), sent Gojko,13-9-1 (5), crashing to the canvas in the second half of the round and the impact of his head on the canvas could be heard clearly around ringside! Gojko got to his feet, but Grey stopped the fight just seconds later - seeing that the Pole had not fully recovered from the blow. An impressive victory for Thompson - who afterward proudly ʽdonnedʼ the ʽMasters International Welterweightʼ belt. More...

The next Steve Woods/VIP Boxing event takes place on Saturday, April 26, 2008 at the Robin Park Arena in Wigan, England. Please note the change of venue - which was originally to be held at the GH Carnall Centre in Davyhulme, Manchester.

Featuring nine fights - this is sure to be another action-packed night of boxing!

The main event sees popular welterweight Mark Thompson fighting for the vacant Masters International title and promising Blackpool light middleweight Brian Rose, both against opponents to be announced.

Other fights on the bill include: More...