Ryan Garner Wins Thriller With Michael Magnesi To Claim Interim WBC Title

Some fights are easy to score. Some are easy to forget. Ryan Garner and Michael Magnesi delivered neither.

In front of his hometown crowd at St Mary’s Stadium, Ryan Garner captured the vacant WBC Interim World Super Featherweight title after twelve rounds of relentless action against Michael Magnesi.

Elsewhere on the card there was a genuine upset in the co-main event as Bradley Goldsmith completely outboxed Brad Pauls, while Lewis Edmondson edged Lyndon Arthur in a tactical battle that left both men looking unsure when the final bell sounded.

Main Event

Ryan Garner UD12 Michael Magnesi

Ryan Garner (20-0-0) defeated Michael Magnesi (26-3-0) by unanimous decision over 12 rounds to win the vacant WBC Interim World Super Featherweight title.

This was outstanding stuff from the opening bell.

Garner clearly wanted to entertain his home fans and never stopped throwing punches. Every time it looked like he might take a breather, another combination came flying back. The pace was ridiculous at times.

Credit has to go to Magnesi as well. Plenty of fighters would have folded under that pressure, but the Italian kept firing back all night and remained dangerous right through to the final round. He played his part in making this one of the best fights seen on British soil this year.

Garner landed the cleaner and heavier shots throughout the contest, but Magnesi’s toughness ensured there was never a comfortable moment. Twelve rounds later both men were still standing after an exhausting battle.

The judges scored it 116-112, 118-110 and 119-109, all in favour of Garner.

Fight of the Year contender? Absolutely.

Co-Main Event

Bradley Goldsmith UD12 Brad Pauls

Bradley Goldsmith (16-1-0) outpointed Brad Pauls (21-3-1) over 12 rounds to capture the IBF International Middleweight title.

This wasn’t just an upset. It was a complete shutout.

Goldsmith controlled the fight from start to finish and never allowed Pauls to build any momentum. The sixth round knockdown only reinforced what was already becoming obvious ringside.

Pauls is a good fighter, but Goldsmith made him look very ordinary on the night with sharp boxing, excellent movement and complete control of the tempo.

The scorecards told the story: 97-92, 99-90 and 99-90.

Goldsmith made a serious statement here and is definitely one to keep an eye on going forward.

Key Fight

Lewis Edmondson UD10 Lyndon Arthur

Lewis Edmondson (12-1-0) defeated Lyndon Arthur (25-4-0) by unanimous decision over 10 rounds.

Counter-puncher versus counter-puncher rarely guarantees fireworks and this one started slowly.

Arthur was often forced to come forward while Edmondson sat back waiting to pick his moments. Time after time Edmondson landed the cleaner counters and did just enough to nick rounds.

Neither fighter looked particularly confident when the final bell rang, which usually tells you it was close. Still, the judges all sided with Edmondson and it felt like the right call.

 

Undercard

Taylor Bevan improved to 9-0-0 with a points victory over Ryszard Lewicki (12-4-3) after 10 rounds at super middleweight.

Lasha Guruli moved to 4-0-0 by decision over Liam Dillon (16-6-1) across eight rounds. Guruli was dropped in the eighth round but still did enough to secure the win.

Iman Zahmatkesh improved to 6-0-0 with an eight-round points win against Franklin Arinze (10-2-0) in the cruiserweight division.

Charlie Senior advanced to 5-0-0 after outpointing Reuquen Cona Facundo Arce (18-23-2) over eight rounds.

Mason Payne improved to 6-0-0 by beating Cheikh Diop (6-1-0) on points after six rounds at super welterweight.

Leighton Birchall moved to 5-0-0 with a six-round points victory over Cesar Ignacio Paredes (18-36-1).

William Birchall wasted no time, stopping Miroslav Prochazka (8-18-0) in the opening round of their featherweight contest.

Adam Olaniyan improved to 2-0-0 with a second-round stoppage of Viktar Chvarkou (6-34-0). Chvarkou was dropped once in the first round and again in the second before the fight was waved off.

Final Thoughts

Goldsmith’s upset win will grab plenty of headlines, but the night belonged to Garner and Magnesi. Twelve rounds of non-stop action, a new interim world champion and a fight that people will still be talking about long after the scorecards are forgotten.

 

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