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Steve Wood / VIP Promotions hosted a great night of boxing last night at DeVere Whites Hotel, Reebok Stadium, Bolton.
Billed as ‘Road to Glory’ – the headlining bout in particular was a fight ‘not to be missed’. Jack Arnfield of Blackpool faced Gary Boulden of Shepperton for the vacant British Masters Light-Middleweight Title.
Jack Arnfield (Blackpool) v Gary Boulden (Shepperton)
10 x 3 British Masters Light-Middleweight Title
Popular Arnfield had loads of support for this – his fifteenth pro contest, but this will surely be remembered as his most notable.
A steady first round as both men settled in, then Arnfield with his long-reaching jabs seemed to have the edge for a couple of rounds until Boulden looked to gain momentum towards the mid rounds and started to look more confident. The fight developed in to an all-action war between these two tough men and we (at ringside) found ourselves clapping at the ends of each round in recognition of the non-stop action.
A great fight to watch but it was Arnfield who secured the points win (97-95)
The home- crowd showed their support for Boulden as he left the ring.
Arnfield extends his unbeaten record to 16 wins (4 by KO)
Boulden drops to 7 wins 7 losses (2 by KO) and 1 draws
Kurt Grieve (Blackburn) v Liam Griffiths (Bognor Regis)
4 x 3 Welterweight Contest
A messy fight between these two which saw Griffiths deducted a point in the second round by Referee John Latham for ‘persistent fouling’ (Griffiths had been warned for holding a number of times).
Grieve wins on points 40-35 and notches up his third win of three.
Griffiths drops to 2 wins 24 losses (1 by KO) and 1 draw.
Paul Drago (Bolton via Lithuania) v James Oliphant (Wakefield)
4 x 3 Heavyweight Contest
Drago looked a little frustrated in this contest – perhaps Oliphant’s style of dipping low was the factor(?) The Lithuanian born man was implored to ‘Work!’ by his corner (Alex Matvienko and Jamie Moore) but secures the points win (40-36) to notch up his second win of two.
Oliphant drops to no wins 2 losses and 1 draw
Liam Taylor (Middleton) v Kristian Laight (Nuneaton)
4 x 3 Light-Welterweight Contest
Focussed Taylor boxed a good, tidy fight against tough Laight and secures a win on points 40-36 to improve to 6 wins (1 by KO)
Laight’s record is now 7 wins 142 losses (4 by KO)6 draws
Akash Hussein (Newcastle upon Tyne) v Stanislavs Makarenko (Latvia)
4 x 3 Heavyweight Contest
An interesting contest with Makarenko looking super-confident at the start, although the bloodied nose at the end of the opener seemed to bother him as he dabs away at it during subsequent rounds. He looked in great physical shape – almost too lean to be a heavyweight. This was what I call a ‘yo-yo’ fight, with each man taking it in turns to get the advantage. Hussein sustained a cut to the right brow in the fourth and final round and Referee Phil Edwards scored it a draw 38-38
Husseins record now stands at 2 wins 2 losses (2 by KO) and 1 draw
Makarenko’s record is now 1 win and 1 draw
Jack Catterall (Chorley) v Carl Allen (Wolverhampton)
4 x 3 Light-Welterweight Contest
Catterall came out of his corner like a bull at a gate! He kept up a fast and virtually continuous attack on tough veteran Allen who sniffed away with bloodied nose.
Referee John Latham jumped in to stop the fight in round four – Allen had taken a lot of punishment in the form of both head and body shots, but he looked clearly annoyed at the stoppage.
Catterall wins by fourth round TKO and improves to 3 wins (2 by KO)
Allen’s record now stands at 18 wins (5 by KO) 105 losses (17 by KO) and 7 draws.
Wayne Adeniyi (Rock Ferry) v John Anthony (Doncaster)
4 x 3 Light-Heavyweight Contest
The contest was delayed a couple of minutes while Adeniyi’s corner went back to get his gumshield. Both boxers waited in the ring. Fighting commenced but lasted just two rounds. Anthony was forced to retire when he pulled his right bicep at the end of round two.
Adeniyi wins by second round TKO and improves to 6 wins (2 by KO) no losses.
Anthony drops to 8 wins (5 by KO) 31 losses (4 by KO) and 1 draw
Ricky Skelton (Penrith) v Drew Campbell (Colchester)
4 x 3 Welterweight Contest
Like cats – these two went at it with frenzied flurries. Campbell sustained a bloody nose then a bad cut on the left brow in round four.
Skelton wins on points 40-37 and improves to 4 wins no losses, while Campbell drops to 1 win and 12 losses (4 by KO)
Stevie Taylor (Darwen) v Tayar Mehmed (Bulgaria)
4 x 3 Cruiserweight Contest
Aggressive fighter – Taylor, digs in punishing body-shots and his opponent (throwing very few shots) did well to see it out to the end of the contest.
Taylor wins on points 40-36 and improves to 3 wins no losses, while Mehmed drops to 5 wins (1 by KO)23 losses (2 by KO) and 2 draws
Lyndon Newman (Denton) v Mathew Ashmole (Swansea)
4 x 3 Light-Middleweight Contest
A close contest but ‘Lights Out’ Newman gets the points win 39-38. He improves to 5 wins (1 by KO) 2 losses (1 by KO) and 1 draw.
Ashmole drops to no wins 8 losses (2 by KO)
Tomi Tatham (Bentham) v Mitch Mitchell (Lincoln)
4 x 3 Light-Heavyweight Contest
Mitchell went down twice in round two, the second came almost immediately after the first. A big body-shot saw him drop to his knees in his own corner. He was counted and stood up but didn’t appear to want to go on, so the fight was waved off by Referee Phil Edwards with a time of 1min 28 seconds of round two.
Tatham gets his third knockout win of three contests.
Mitchell drops to 1 win (1 by KO) 6 losses (1 by KO)