Burns Wins On Injury, Mitchell Stops Murray In UK Thriller

Big British action last night at Liverpool’s Echo Arena with hotly anticipated title matches coming off in either entertaining or unexpected manners.

WBO super feather supremo Ricky Burns, 32-2 (9), was thwarted in what would have been his toughest title defense since winning the belt as former champion Nicky Cook, 30-3 (16), suffered an injury in the first frame.

The first time Burns went forward and threw punches, Cook was struck in the back and the blow appeared to aggravate an old injury as the challenger was then clipped on the head and sent to the canvas, clearly in injury related distress.

Cook continued but seconds later fell to the canvas during another would-be assault by Burns and the action was waved off after only a minute ad a half of the first round.

The highlight of the show was undoubtedly a huge clash at lightweight with undefeated ex-European and British champ John Murray taking on former super feather world title challenger Kevin Mitchell.

Mitchell used good footwork in the first to keep clear of the oncoming Murray and land bracing shots. Murray managed to close distance in the second and made good use of the proximity, banging in hard shots to his rival.

The third frame saw the men trade control of the contest back in forth with Murray taking punishment on the way in but unloading on the Londoner once he got his quarry on the ropes.

As the bout wore on, both fighters landed strafing combinations and hard single shots but Murray was getting hit more and began to suffer cuts and swelling around the eyes but still he kept up the pressure.

Mitchell’s better footwork kept him away from punishment and repeated uppercuts took their toll on Murray, who was downed hard in the eighth by a full-bore left hook.

The Manchester man beat the count but could not adequately defend himself against Mitchell’s follow-up assault, leading to the end of the fight at 1:36 of the round.

Mitchell wins the vacant WBO Intercontinental strap, but more importantly now could have a shot at European champion Gavin Rees as the East ender improves to 32-1 (23).

Murray, 31-1 (18), loses for the first time in his career but should he improve his defense could come right back and compete at the European level.

Speaking of defense, welterweight Curtis Woodhouse, 15-3 (10), was able to show that while highly touted prospect Frankie Gavin, 11-0 (8), may have superb offensive skills, the Birmingham southpaw isn’t too difficult to hit.

Gavin and Woodhouse engaged in an excellent bout of give and take before Gavin was awarded a split decision to keep the WBO Intercontinental title.

Also on the bill was a rematch at light heavy between Tony Bellew, 16-0 (10), and Ovill McKenzie, 18-11 (7), that lacked the fire and knockdowns of the first match, won by Bellew in December.

This time, Bellew used his height advantage well to keep spoiler McKenzie from developing any serious offense, cruising to a wide points verdict after 12 rounds to retain the British title and to pickup the vacant Commonwealth crown.