Sikho Nqothole Shocks Charlie Edwards as York Hall Card Delivers Plenty of Drama

The biggest story from York Hall was the one few people saw coming. South Africa’s Sikho Nqothole arrived in London talking confidently all week and backed up every word of it, handing former world champion Charlie Edwards a damaging defeat in the main event.

Elsewhere, unbeaten Ollie Cooper claimed the English title, Tom Welland dominated over ten rounds, and the co-main event between Dan Toward and Jak Corrie ended with neither man getting the result they wanted.

Main Event

Sikho Nqothole (22-3-0) outpointed Charlie Edwards (21-3-0) via unanimous decision over 12 rounds to move himself into world title contention.

Edwards needed a statement win after years of trying to work his way back towards the top, but it never really materialised. Nqothole stayed disciplined, did the better work, and left little room for argument when the final bell sounded.

The judges scored it 116-113, 116-112 and 117-111 in favour of the South African, who now leaves London with the biggest victory of his career and a potential world title opportunity on the horizon.

Co-Main / Key Fights

Dan Toward (8-1-1) and Jak Corrie (9-0-1) battled to a split draw after ten rounds in their vacant WBA Continental Super Welterweight title fight.

One judge had Toward ahead 96-94, another preferred Corrie by the same score, while the third turned in a 95-95 card.

After all the talk at the weigh-in, neither man managed to separate themselves clearly enough. A rematch wouldn’t be the biggest surprise.

Other Title Fights

Ollie Cooper (13-0-0) made good on his pre-fight confidence by stopping James Osborne (13-2-0) in round eight to claim the vacant English Super Middleweight title.

Cooper talked all week about Osborne walking into something big and, while the fight had its competitive moments, he was ultimately the man left standing after a round eight TKO victory. A statement win and probably the biggest of his career so far.

Undercard

Tom Welland (11-1-0) comfortably outpointed Saleh Kassim (14-7-2) over ten rounds. The judges returned scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 99-91 as Welland handled business in convincing fashion.

Lucas Roehrig (9-0-0) wasted little time, stopping Faton Tolaj (7-3-0) by TKO in round two of their cruiserweight contest.

Sultan Babakhanov (4-0-0) kept his unbeaten record intact with a six-round points win over Luis Enrique Montelongo Morales (18-19-0).

Jonathan Kumuteo (5-0-0) moved to five wins from five professional outings after defeating Jose Aguirre (2-26-0) on points over four rounds.

Eugene McKeever (3-0-0) also stayed unbeaten, earning a four-round points victory against Artem Liashevych (4-11-2).

Closing Thoughts

The headline was Nqothole. He came to London talking like a man who expected to win and left with a unanimous decision that few can argue with. For Edwards it’s another frustrating setback, while Cooper, Roehrig and Welland all left York Hall with plenty of momentum.

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