Ringside: Blackwell retains British title and Hughie Fury wins again

By Boxing News - 07/26/2015 - Comments

By Ian Aldous: Yesterday, a brand new venue for British boxing debuted a card full of domestic talent at the Derby Arena, which was headlined by a British middleweight championship bout as Nick Blackwell (18-3-1) defended his newly won belt for the first time against Damon Jones (13-1) live on Channel 5 and promoted by Hennessy Sports. I was ringside to watch the action for BN24.

On paper it seemed like a fight that Blackwell would probably win, but at the same time it would test his skills with Jones bringing his awkward southpaw style to the table.

Trowbridge’s Blackwell immediately took the centre of the ring at the first bell in a very cagey first round. He then put the pressure on in the second, before Leeds’ Jones began to counter effectively in the third round. The pattern of the fight saw Blackwell constantly walking forward on the front foot with Jones quite smartly boxing on the back foot and it made for some very close rounds to score. The defining moment arrived at the very end of the sixth round. A huge right hand from Blackwell came out of nowhere in a fight that looked like it has heading for the championship rounds. Jones hit the canvas and bravely regained his feet but referee Victor Loughlin waved it off. A win over a tall and awkward southpaw is a credible addition to the professional record of Nick Blackwell and despite the loss, Damon Jones proved himself a worthy challenger at this level.

In the co-main event televised on Spike TV, twenty year-old heavyweight, Hughie Fury ( 16-0) faced Brazilian veteran, George Arias (56-13). It was another learning experience for the career of Fury as he’ll hope to one day emulate his cousin, Tyson, and eventually reach world championship level. Arias was drafted in to test Fury by continuously barrelling forward and putting the pressure on for every second of every round – and he did just that. Hughie used his jab to keep the Brazilian at bay and used the jab to set-up combinations. On this night, some of the punches he threw would have stopped other men but Arias, who hasn’t been stopped in a decade, showed enviable durability and never looked hurt. It proved a good ten-round workout for Fury as he was genuinely made to work and move for the duration by the honest Arias. Referee Shaun Messer scored the bout 100-90 in favour of Hughie Fury. Prior to the fight, his trainer and father, Peter Fury claimed it had been very difficult to find an opponent for his son, so I’ll be intrigued to see who they can line up for him next time out.

On the non-televised undercard, Lenny Daws (30-3-2) warmed up for an imminent European title opportunity at light-welterweight against Mikheil Avakyan (30-21). It became clear very early on that Avakyan came to spoil the fight. It made for a messy and non-entertaining spectacle for the crowd inside the arena. At one point, Daws was almost shoved out of the ring. Somewhat belatedly, the Georgian import was eventually docked a point for holding in the later rounds and then another for a shoulder-butt. Referee Kevin Parker scored it 80-70 for Daws. He should now be scheduled to challenge Italian, Michele Di Rocco, for his EBU belt.

In a fight in which highlights were taped for the Spike TV broadcast, Jordan Gill (14-0) fought George Gachechiladze (17-20-1). It was a chance for Gill to showcase his amateur style skill set. Like most of his fights he once again showed tremendous speed and quick footwork to land and move away from trouble. His limited opponent showed stubbornness to go the distance and Gill made the fight look very easy for himself en route to winning every round. He’s looked a very good fighter so far – all that’s required now is a step up in competition.

The very first fight of the evening saw Tyson Fury’s younger brother, Young Fury (5-1) blow out Ostaps Basins (1-2) inside a round. A left-hand scored the initial knockdown and Fury piled in immediately after Basins rose to land a single overhand right for the TKO stoppage with fifteen seconds remaining in the first round.

Fight-of-the-night went to the scheduled four-rounder between Jamie Robinson (6-2-1) and Sam Sharpe (2-6-1). Both guys seemed happy to go to war in this one. The second round had the crowd going wild and Robinson ended it with a nasty cut on the side of his head that soaked him in blood during the third. The amount of blood made it even more visually emphatic when he hit Sharpe with a short right that Sharpe walked onto for an impressive knockout victory.



Comments are closed.