By Aaron Klein: In a rather shocking upset, previously unbeaten WBU Featherweight champion Derry Matthews (20-1, 11 KOs) was annihilated by his Mongolian challenger Choi Tseveeenpurev (27-4, 19 KOs) in a 5th round KO loss at the Bolton Arena, Bolton, in Lancashire on Friday night. Matthews, 24, was knocked down a grand total of five times by Tseveenpurev – three times in the third and twice in the fifth round – eventually leading to the referee Dave Parris calling a halt to the bout after the fifth knock down of the fight at 3:00 of the 5th round.
Tseveenpurev, 36, hadn’t been expected to put up such a strong fight, as he’d previously been beaten by a number of fighters, including Willie Limond. However, a fighter with power and fighting style very similar to Kostya Tszyu, was noted for his incredible strength in the ring, in particular with sparring with the top British fighters. He showed dramatic improvement since his last loss four years ago to Limond, focusing on fighting much more aggressively from the outset and making it a point to try and rough up Matthews.
By Dan Ambrose: Unbeaten featherweight contender Derry Matthews (20-0, 11 KOs) made easy work of his opponent Nikoloz Berkatsashvili (14-3, 5 KOs), stopping him in the 1st round of a scheduled eight-round bout on Saturday night at the ExCel Arena, Dockland, in London, England. Matthews, 24, dropped Berkatsashvili twice in the first round with left hooks to the midsection. After the second knockdown, the referee counted Berkatsashvili because he was in too much pain and counted make to his feet in time. For Matthews, who’s ranked #4 in the World Boxing Organization and #10 in the International Boxing Federation featherweight divisions, he was simply far too good for the limited Berkatsashvili to handle.