Ringside Boxing Report: Morrison dethrones Daws in barnburner

SCOTLAND’S Barry Morrison last night scored a controversial 12-round split decision over Lenny Daws for the British light welterweight title, despite being wobbled numerous times down the stretch.

Fighting on the undercard of Junior Witter’s title defence against Arturo Morua, both fighters sought to impose his will early on. It was Daws, though, who seemed to have the greater success, catching Morrison with well-timed punches on the inside.

In close, Morrison unleashed his trademark hooks but could not penetrate his opponent’s high gauard, the majority of his powerful blows ricocheting off arms and elbows. However, though Daws was countering effectively in the early going and seemed to land the higher percentage of punches, Morrison’s offensive outbursts were far more eye-catching, making the rounds difficult to score.

Eventually it was Daws who took control of the fight. Round eight was a big round for the now ex-champion, as it looked for a moment as though he was only a punch or two away from stopping his man. After being staggering by a brutal combination, Morrison appeared to spit out his gum shield to escape the pummelling he was getting. There is no question that he was badly hurt, and may have gone down had there not been a break in the action.

At the end of the round, a battered but still defiant Morrison raised his hands in triumph to show that he had withstood the best that Daws had to offer. Uncharacteristically, the Scotsman spat blood towards Lenny Daws’ supporters.

Although there were no knockdown, round nine could arguably have been scored 10-8 for Daws, so complete was his dominance. Rounds 10 and 11 also belonged to the Morden resident, who was now the aggressor. He wobbled Morrison badly in the ninth and eleventh rounds, and seemed to be in total command. Morrison did have an impress final round, though, winning it through sheer grit and determination.

Although Morrison showed that he had the heart of a champion, the judges were wrong to crown him as the new champion of Great Briton. Lenny Daws was the better man last night, and should have left Ally Pally with the British title still strapped around his waist.

Morrison’s next opponent is expected to be Ashley Theopane, who featured earlier in the evening in a British light welterweight eliminator against Alan Bosworth. Although he eventually scored a knockout, he was made to work extremely hard to his victory.

As per usual, the super-fit Bosworth put his opponent on the back foot. He would pressurise Theopane against the ropes and try to land hurtful punches on the inside. Theopane, though, either tucked up or manoeuvred himself to avoid any damage.

The globetrotting light welterweight countered well throughout, and it was not long before his stinging punches began to have an effect. Bosworth, who was bleeding from the ear and from the forehead, started to buckle after taking some very heavy combinations in the fifth. Theopane picked his shots well and when the time was right unleashed a blistering combination which forced the referee to intervene.

WBC youth champion John Murray was also in action. He squared off against Ghanaian Ben Odamattey, stopping the durable import in three rounds. The Manchester lightweight varied his shots beautifully to head and body and came close to stopping Odamattey in the first round. Odamattey bravely weathered the storm and even managed to catch Murray with a few shots of his own. The action was painfully one-sided, though, with Murray in complete command throughout.

Other results:

Super Bantamweight: Esham Pickering w pts 6 Frederic Gosset

Cruiserweight: Troy Ross w ko 3 Hastings Rasani

Super middleweight: Matthew Thirlwall w rsf 5 Hussain Osman

Middleweight: George Hillyard drew Tony Rendall