George Liddard moved to 15-0-0 with an eighth-round retirement win over Dario Morello, breaking down a game opponent who kept throwing back but was gradually overwhelmed by Liddard’s pressure.

Morello had his moments and never looked like he had come to survive, but Liddard was the better man pretty much throughout. He stayed on top of him, kept the work rate high and by the later rounds the difference was starting to tell.

George Liddard Breaks Down Dario Morello

The first round was lively straight away, with both men willing to let their hands go. Morello came to fight and that made it entertaining early, but Liddard was already looking the sharper and more composed of the two.

The second was more reckless, with both men exchanging heavily and each having moments, but it never really felt like Liddard was losing control of the contest. By the third he had settled down, stopped getting drawn into unnecessary exchanges and started boxing with more purpose.

From there he gradually took over.

Morello kept firing back and deserves credit for that because he was game all night, but Liddard’s pressure was constant. He was the one setting the pace, pushing Morello backwards and making him work every minute of the fight.

As the rounds passed, the damage started to build. Morello was cut over the right eye in the seventh and by the eighth Liddard was really piling on the pressure.

Morello was under a lot of pressure in the eighth and although he made it to the bell, it was clear the fight had reached the point where his corner had seen enough. They stopped it between rounds eight and nine.

The official result was an eighth-round RTD win for Liddard, who improves from 14-0-0 to 15-0-0 and picks up the vacant EBU European middleweight title. Morello drops from 26-1-0 to 26-2-0.

It wasn’t a struggle for Liddard, but it was useful work. Morello was tough, willing and dangerous enough to keep him switched on, yet Liddard always looked a level above once the fight settled down.

 

Jimmy Sains Takes Commonwealth Title

Jimmy Sains also kept his unbeaten record intact, but Tom Cowling made him earn it over the full 12 rounds.

Cowling had Sains hurt during the contest, but Sains came through the difficult spell and did enough over the distance to take a unanimous decision and the vacant Commonwealth middleweight title.

The 12-round UD moves Sains from 12-0-0 to 13-0-0. Cowling falls to 15-2-0.

Buttigieg and Gordon Can’t Be Split

Emmanuel Buttigieg and P A Gordon both kept their unbeaten records after ten rounds for the vacant English middleweight title.

The judges returned a split-decision draw, moving Buttigieg to 12-0-1 and Gordon to 9-0-1.

Tiah Mai Ayton Stops Ellie Hellewell

Tiah Mai Ayton stayed unbeaten with a retirement victory over Ellie Hellewell in their Commonwealth featherweight title fight.

Hellewell’s corner brought the contest to an end, giving Ayton the RTD victory. Ayton moves from 6-0-0 to 7-0-0, while Hellewell drops from 8-1-1 to 8-2-1.

Undercard

Ioan Croft made it seven wins from seven with a sixth-round TKO of Tomas Andres Reynoso. Croft improves to 7-0-0, with Reynoso now 13-12-1.

Louie Ward stopped Jon Martinez in the third round. Martinez was floored and counted out, giving Ward a third-round KO and moving his record to 3-0-0. Martinez falls to 16-13-5.

Harley Burrows wasted little time against Carlos Miguel Ronner. Ronner went down twice before the fight was stopped in round one, giving Burrows a first-round TKO. Burrows is now 2-0-0, while Ronner drops to 7-13-0.

Connor Mitchell completed the undercard with a four-round points win over Caine Singh. Mitchell moves to 4-0-0 after the PTS victory, while Singh falls to 4-10-2.

Liddard Keeps Moving

This was a strong showing from Liddard against an opponent who was there to make him work. Morello was game and kept answering back, but Liddard controlled the fight, kept the pressure on and gradually broke him down.

Fifteen fights, fifteen wins and now the European middleweight title. A useful night and another step forward.

 

Prelims Stream