Ringside Report: Gammer – Francis Undercard Boxing Action

There was plenty of action on the undercard of Paul Boyce’s Friday night promotion from the United Counties Showground in Carmarthen, Wales and SaddoBoxing was there to produce the following report along with a huge photo gallery.

In a scheduled four round super middleweight contest, 31 year old, Cardiff based Jason Samuels stepped into the ring against well seasoned opponent Hussain Osman. Samuels having been virtually inactive for the duration of his career, this was only his seventh fight in six years. Coupled with Osman coming in off three consecutive losses, the matchup between the two seemed equal and both fighters had a lot to lose. Round one shook off most of the ring rust that Samuels was carrying, as he soon got into a slick rhythm and maintained a high pace pursuing the Syrian born Osman. The London based fighter countered with some solid hooks that Samuels not only took well, but also returned the favour.

The competitive second and third rounds mirrored the first, with both fighters having success. But the smooth Samuels took the rounds convincingly by landing the better quality shots and seemed to be dictating the pace of the fight.

The fourth round would see the tables turned, and although Samuels started the round in control, Osman had the most left by the end. The earlier combinations to the head and body, along with his high own work rate, had taken their toll on Samuels. Hussain pressured the flagging Welshman, who by this stage was struggling to avoid the barrage of fists that were steaming towards him. Despite appearances, Samuels got through the round and never seemed in danger of hitting the canvas. He lost the final round but took the fight on points, 39 – 37. A six round contest could have seen a different outcome.

Jason Samuels improves to 5-2 (2) while Hussain Osman falls to 13-9 (5).

Click for larger image © Matthew Voyle

The next bout featured light welterweights Cerri Hall and David Kehoe.

In a bid to regain the momentum of his career, Hall of Loughor, Wales stepped into the ring against Nottingham journeyman Kehoe for a scheduled six rounder. Kehoe, disqualified on two previous occasions, attempted to ruffle the home fighter but Hall showed little respect for him and worked the body from the opening bell. The fast paced opening round ended with Hall in the driving seat.

The second round saw a change of tactics from Kehoe. Two fists apparently just weren’t enough, so he quickly adapted to using his head and began throwing low blows that almost seemed intentional. Hall however seemed unfazed by this, almost as if he expected nothing less. Kehoe was deducted a point for a low blow mid way through and a determined Hall stuck to his game plan and got the best of the frequent toe to toe exchanges. The referee spent some time in the corner of Kehoe and it looked like another disqualification was on the cards.

More dirty tactics followed, however retaliation was in order as Hall seemed to decide that maybe this was the only language Kehoe spoke. Stern warnings from the referee to both fighters saw a change and from here on in the matchup got hot. Kehoe applied pressure coming forward, popping out the jab while Hall started to feint and unleash multi shot combinations. Hall’s power seemed slightly lacking but his work rate and accuracy proved too much for Kehoe.

Both fighters meet at the start of the fifth and a glove touch acknowledges the respect they both earned from one another in the previous round. Kehoe seemed to take control of the ring early on and let his fist go. Short punches up close looked effective while they lasted, but a solid right cross from Hall stunned Kehoe in the final minute and although he took advantage, the Welshman failed to seize the opportunity to stop his opponent.

Fatigue started to show throughout the sixth round. Hall believed that he had the fight in the bag and kept at bay. Kehoe was open mouthed, but nevertheless pressed forward to see the final bell.

The referee’s scorecards read 60-55 with Hall receiving well deserved victory to go to 7-2-2 (1) with Kehoe dropping to 9-25-3 (2).

Click for larger image © Matthew Voyle

Scheduled for 6 rounds, a light welterweight contest between Cardiff’s Dawid Kowalski and Canning Town’s Silence Saheed was up next. This was Kowalski’s pro debut in the UK. Managed by Paul Boyce, the Polish born fighter needed to make an impact on the home crowd; he needed to silence Saheed in order to get back on track after suffering defeat to IBF International Continental Welterweight title holder Luciano Abis. After four consecutive losses and poor performances to boot, Saheed was considered the underdog. Born in Nigeria, Saheed moved to the UK where he made his pro debut against Martin Hardcastle in 2003. He had also run into Swansea’s very own Ceri Hall, who also featured on this card, that same year.

Kowalski looked relaxed and revved up upon entry to the ring, while Saheed looked aggressive and in tremendous shape. The fight got under way with Kowalski looking to read Saheed for the opening round but the Londoner was having none of it. The fighters ended up in full-on toe to toe action. Not the cleanest work by either but nevertheless it made for an exiting round and saw the Nigerian catch not only Kowalski but also the audience by surprise. The first round was a clear Kowalski round based on his work rate and ring generalmanship.

The second round was not going to disappoint, with the anxious and now ready Polish man starting to get his own work off, firing the jab and avoiding Saheed’s sometimes reckless attack. Towards the end of the frame, an accidental clash of heads caused a cut to the right eyelid of the unstoppable Saheed.

Round three saw Saheed slowly retreat into a shell. The cut eye seemed to have drained his confidence and he smothered his own work in close. This allowed the bigger Kowalski to go to work and won him the round.

The now settled down Kowalski spent the fourth racking up points as his confidence grew along with his array of hooks to the head and body. He seemed to be getting the upper hand on the dwindling Saheed.

Round five saw a swing in the direction of the fight. The underestimated Nigerian now had the look of a hunter and was supported by Julius Francis seated at ringside sending vital and key instructions through the noise of the crowd. Saheed set out on a mission to put Kowalski back in his place and it seemed that Francis had a game controller in his hand as Saheed executed every instruction that he heard. . A solid left hook shook the pressured Pole and Saheed took full advantage, winning the round and leveling the score cards.

The final frame brought the hearts out in both fighters and Julius Francis almost out of his strained chair. I struggled to keep up with the action as Polishwords of wisdom heckled down my ear from deeply concerned Kowalski family members worried for their loved one’s performance The bell sounded and the referee made his way to corner of Silence Saheed where he raised the hand of the winner.

Saheed takes the points decision 58-57 to raise his record to 7-6-1 (4) while Dawid Kowalski falls to 16-5-1 (7).

Click for larger image © Matthew Voyle

Next up was a scheduled six two minute rounder between lightweights Henry Jones of Pembroke and Birmingham trial horse Jason Nesbitt. Jones was generously greeted by his loyal fans as he entered the ring with the Nobby Nobbs managed fighter Jason Nesbitt. Having won their previous encounter back in 2003, the very active Welshman looked set on a knockout victory. Fuelled by adrenaline, Jones proceeded to pummel the journeyman who spent the entire fight on the back foot, surviving. An onslaught from the boisterous attitude and open defence of Jones went unanswered for the duration of this high paced match up.

History repeated itself with Jones comfortably securing the victory once again, taking the referee’s scorecard 59-55. Henry Jones sees his mark to 7-15-1 (2) while the hapless Jason Nesbitt plunges to 5-56 (3).

Click for larger image © Matthew Voyle

Undefeated super feather novices Craig Morgan from Llanharan, Wales and Nottingham’s Barrington Brown were up next in another six two minute rounder. The home fighter took control early on, showing good ring awareness and an effective work rate. Good use of the jab kept Brown at bay along with counter left hooks. The Englishman got off with some good body shots but Morgan seemed to have the upper hand with his ability to counter most of Barrington’s work. The Northern fighter found himself manoeuvred ontothe ropes where he did have some success in close but was beat to the post by Morgan’s more effective and consistent work.

Craig Morgan takes the referee’s scorecard 58-56 to climb to 2-0 (0) while Barrington Brown suffers his first loss and now stands at 1-1 (1).

Click for larger image © Matthew Voyle

The last bout on the card was between Swansea bantamweight Ricky Owen, who stepped in with veteran journeyman Rakhim Mingaleev, who scaled in nine pounds heavier. This, the third pro fight of Owen’s young career, would prove an important learning curve for the 20 year old. The well traveled Mingaleev kept busy replying to Owen’s lead and exposed his open yet durable chin to the Welsh fighter’s left hook. Owen’s low left hand on defence left a clear opening that Mingaleev simply didn’t capitalise on. Ricky stepped up through the gears as the fight progressed and a warning to both fighters for use of the head came in the third, although nothing malicious had occurred. The southpaw stance of Owen seemed to trouble the Ukrainian and a left hook saw Rakhim stumble to the canvass in the third.

In the end it was a comfortable win for Ricky Owen, 35-40 on the referee’s scorecard, who increases his record to 3-0 (1) while the 37 year old Rakhim Mingaleev loses another to go to 23-42-1 (7).