Ringside Boxing Report: Ashley Theophane – Duncan Cottier
 Click for larger image © Simon Shaw SaddoBoxing.com |
Heavyweight Champion Peter Haymer had been scheduled to defend his title against former Olympian Courtney Fry on a Derek Williams promotion at the Elephant and Castle Leisure Centre in London but the pairing was unfortunately canceled. Thus it was left up to the undercard fighters to carry the show and before the night was over, |
chapters of drama and suspense unfolded at the South London boxing institution.
The first bout of the evening was between two super featherweights; Hackney’s Mark Alexander and the less experienced Graham Higginson of Blackburn, who provided a very entertaining opening to the show. The initial session was marked by Alexander landing a decent right cross, which slowed the pace down until Higginson found the mark with a good uppercut. A pretty even first round. The action picked up a bit in the second as Alexander hammers home two excellent left hooks to the head of Higginson, who replies with a spearing right hand to the body. Higginson wisely spends much of the round on the defensive.
Alexander ups the pace to begin the third round and fires in a thudding left to the body, which Higginson counters with a solid right to the body of his antagonist. Seeking revenge, Alexander flies at his rival with a cracking uppercut followed by a hard left hook, then another, before capping off the assault with a smoking uppercut. The startled Higginson is wide open to these blistering left hooks and appears stunned by the ferocity of his opponent.
After expending such energy in the third, Alexander lessens his activity to a crawl but the man from Hackney does find Higginson with a good right cross leaving the Blackburn man looking very tired towards the end of the bout.
Mark Alexander returns to the ring after a two year hiatus to run his record to 5-3 (0) by securing a 39-38 points win on referee Jeff Hinds’ card. Prior to his twenty four month break Alexander had only come up short against respected operators Dazzo Williams, John Simpson and Henry Castle. This contest with Graham Higginson, 0-3 (0), was perhaps closer than it should have been but the Northern novice has been put it tough during his first three professional bouts and clearly didn’t come south to London in order to roll over.
Next up is a pair of light heavyweights, Danny Toombs and Mikhail Bamballra. Toombs, hailing from Sheffield, is fresh off three months of training in Philadelphia, home of his trainer and ex-world heavyweight champ, Tim Witherspoon, who is in London to work the Yorkshireman’s corner. Bamballra, originally from Poland but now residing in Staines, has yet to experience victory so far in his career despite seven starts as a professional.
After the bell rang to begin the first, Toombs immediately displays power and a come forward style as he hammers away at Bamballra’s body but wastes most of his punches on the elbows of his opponent. Toombs then lands a belting uppercut that has Bamballra down for an eight count and looking shaky. Bamballra simply can’t cope with the power of Toombs. Toombs starts the second frame knowing he can hurt Bamballra and throws huge, wild shots that all miss the mark. It seems that if Toombs boxed a little more cutely he’d have much more success. Finally, he lands a thumping left hook to the body and Bamballra kisses the canvas again.
The referee Seamus Dunne stops the fight soon after he gives Bamballra his second eight count and Danny Toombs wins RSF2, climbing to 1-0-1 (1) while the woes of Mikhail Bamballra, 0-7-1 (0), continue. Toombs seems to carry hugely impressive power but if he can get develop some kind of jab and control his aggression better then he could be a real handful in the future.
Next up is the default headlining fight of the evening, a welterweight contest between Ashley Theophane and Duncan Cottier. It’s a battle between two London area lads as Theophane comes from Paddington and Cottier from Chingford.
In the first frame, a good cross by Theophane cuts Cottier instantly above his left eye. The action slows as Theophane surprisingly doesn’t follow up and attempt to take advantage of his opponent’s wound. In the second stanza, Theophane lands a fierce combination of hooks and uppercuts to the head that stuns Cottier. Theophane starts to boss his adversary and is using the ring well. The third sees a big right cross by Theophane followed by two good combos that rock Cottier, who comes back with a late flurry but it’s not enough to win the round.
Things hot up in the fourth and both fighters exchange heavy blows for a pretty even round. Cottier lands two cracking right crosses and a thumping overhead right hand that rocks Theophane who has no answer at all during the fifth. Theophane is tiring badly by the sixth and final round as Cottier steams into him landing two hard right crosses that rock the Londoner back on his heels. Cottier finishes the stronger of the two and looks a pretty explosive fighter all around.
Unbelievably, the fight is awarded to Ashley Theophane on points, 58-56 by referee Jeff Hinds. The twenty five year old welter moves up to 11-2 (2), while the unlucky Duncan Cottier, who has shared the ring with superb domestic level fighters David Burke and Colin McNeil, drops down to 1-6-1 (0).
In the final fight of the night is a scheduled four rounder at light middle between Nathan Graham and Geraint Harvey. The first was a pretty good round with the prospect Graham, of Aylesbury, landing left hooks and right uppercuts at will upon the Welsh trialhorse Harvey. The second frame was slower but the action heats up when Graham lands a good straight left, which Harvey counters with a fierce left hook to the body.
Graham comes out fighting in the third and unloads some serious punishment. The undefeated twenty three year old bangs in a hard right uppercut followed by two left hooks to the head. By the fourth and final round, Harvey is tiring as Graham closes in to finish and lands additional power shots to the head and body of the generally durable Welshman. The bell ends the fight and Nathan Graham wins on points, 40-37, improving to 4-0 (3). The light hitting Geraint Harvey loses his ninth contest on the bounce to plunge to 3-21 (0).
Also on the card, Colchester flyweight Shanee Martin, 4-0 (2), dominated hapless Frenchwoman Valerie Rangeard, 0-10 (0), over six rounds and Watford’s heavy handed light heavyweight Gary Ojuederie, 2-3-1 (2), put an eleven pound weight advantage to good use and upset previously undefeated Albanian native Eder Kurti, 3-1 (1), by way of a fourth round stoppage.
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