JOYCE CRUSHES HAMMER AS TETE TIME CHIMES AGAIN

JOE JOYCE DEMOLISHED Christian Hammer to move to 14-0 and retain his WBO International and WBC Silver heavyweight titles at the OVO Arena, Wembley.

Hammer gave it a good bash, certainly in the first round, when he caught Joyce flush on three occasions and had the Wembley crowd gasping. The Juggernaut, however, simply shrugs off the blows as a minor inconvenience and carries on with his work.

Hammer was felled for the first time in the third round before being well and truly worked to the body in the fourth when three further trips south saw Victor Loughlin intervene after 1.20 of the round and now Joyce has a big September date to look forward to as the heavyweight picture continues to unfold.

Zolani Tete demonstrated that he still firmly belongs in the world class category with a brutal knockout of European champion Jason Cunningham in a highly-anticipated battle for the IBF International, WBO International and Commonwealth super bantamweight belts.

There was nothing in the fight over the first three rounds with very few, if any, clean shots landed by either man as they prowled and searched for openings.

Former two-weight world champion Tete seized the initiative in a dramatic fashion in the fourth when vicious left put Cunningham down and the writing was very much on the wall for the fearless Doncaster man. Just 34 seconds into the round the fight was over following a savage Tete salvo that left Cunningham requiring medical assistance to bring him around.

Mark Chamberlain is the new IBF European lightweight champion following an eye-catching scrap against Marc Vidal.

It is a first title success for the 23-year-old Chamberlain, who took his tally to 11-0 with a shutout 100-90 scores on all three judge’s cards.

Chamberlain rocked Vidal late in the first round and smartly dominated the exchanges against an opponent who forced him onto the backfoot. Vidal did enjoy some success with looping lefts in the opening few rounds, but Chamberlain tightened his defences and delivered an impressive display in front of his noisy travelling support from Waterlooville.

Strapping young cruiserweight Tommy Fletcher launched his professional career in style with a first round stoppage of the also inexperienced Aron Vrnoga, who came into the fight with a 1-0 winning record. Marcus McDonnell ultimately stopped the fight with just 58 seconds on the clock and the 20-year-old Fletcher – known as the Norfolk Nightmare – deposited a first win in his pro account.

Fletcher’s punching prowess has been compared by trainer Mark Tibbs to that of Deontay Wilder and, as soon as he connected with the chin of the 22-year-old Croatian, the first of two knockdowns was registered

Micky Burke jr laboured a little in his seventh pro fight in outpointing the rugged Serge Ambomo. The Bexley welterweight – who weighed in at light middle – was forced into a bit of a slugfest and Ambomo could be considered unfortunate to only be credited with a share of one round by referee Victor Loughlin, who scored the contest 60-55 to the still unbeaten Burke, who was added to the card at late notice.

High Wycombe super lightweight Henry Turner opened the show and moved to 8-0 with a shutout points victory over six rounds against Jakub Laskowski. Turner, who has skills to spare, outworked and outclassed the game Pole and referee Marcus McDonnell scored the fight 60-54 and Turner has yet to drop a round in his short professional career to date.