Coventry undercard: Jeffries struggles / Concepcion bests Hammond again
Olympic bronze medallist Tony Jeffries (12st 12 oz) registered his sixth pro win with a points victory over Nathan King (12st 5lbs 5 oz) but referee Shaun Messer’s 59-56 scorecard didn’t tell the whole story as the Sunderland man struggled at times. Tony came out firing and caught King with some chopping right hands in the opener and left hooks in the third as he took command early on.
The capable King, who is much better than his 12-16 record would suggest, weathered Jeffries’ kitchen sink and began to establish his jab in the second half of the contest. Jeffries, who hasn’t fought since December, attacked in straight lines but started to get picked off as the bout wore on.
Tony landed with a decent right in round five but was countered by an excellent right from King which had the ‘Mighty Mackem’ briefly wanting to hold. If King was a more concussive puncher (the Welshman only has a solitary stoppage win) things could have gotten interesting.
Jeffries’ corner instructed Tony that he needed to win the last round to make sure of victory but the Sunderland man seemed unable to raise his game. The final session belonged to King who outboxed Jeffries with the jab and occasionally connected with right hands but it was too little too late. Both men finished with little knicks, King to his left eyebrow and Jeffries on his left cheekbone.
It wasn’t Jeffries’ best night’s work but he was consoled by the fact that King told him afterwards that he had given him his hardest fight in a long time. Considering that King has been in with James DeGale, Kenny Anderson, Tony Dodson and Tony Quigley, this is high praise indeed for Jeffries.
In a pulsating rematch, Leicester’s Martin Concepcion once again outpointed Lincoln’s Kevin Hammond in defence of his Midlands Area light-middleweight crown over ten rounds. Concepcion had controversially outpointed Hammond in February to secure the final slot in the Prizefighter light-middleweights tournament but fully deserved his win this time.
Martin had to withstand some shaky moments which saw him wobbled by a left hook, right hook combination from Hammond in the opening round. As in their first encounter, Hammond was the aggressor but this time Concepcion was prepared to stand his ground and inserted more venom into his artillery as he caught Kevin with some meaty hooks in round two.
Concepcion almost paid the price for his willingness to trade when he was decked after a sustained burst of punches from Hammond in the third. A left hook, right hook, right hand combination hurt Concepcion who sank to his knees after absorbing another hard right. Hammond tried to finish it but found the normally fragile Concepcion to be stubborn opposition, and by the end of the round Martin’s head had cleared.
After over extending himself in round three, Hammond was breathing heavier in the fourth as Concepcion dominated. A right hand, followed by a left hook seemed to trouble Kevin as we saw the first glimpses of Concepcion’s vaunted power. Hammond also seemed hurt by a huge right in the fifth as Concepcion began to find the target with increasingly regularity. The middle rounds belonged to Concepcion whose quicker hands, greater arsenal of punches saw him go into a lead as Hammond’s work became predictable.
Just when Martin seemed to be coasting to victory a left hook in the closing stages of the final round rattled him but he held on to clinch a 96-94 points verdict from referee John Keane. Concepcion, now 17-7 (10), may now get a crack at newly crowned British champion Sam Webb later this year. The always willing Hammond slips to 8-3-1.
Other Results:
Young Mutley w pts 8 Patrick Bogere – welterweight
Dale Miles w TKO 4 Darren Askew – middleweight
Shane Normoyle drew 4 Vinny Woolford – welterweight
James Flinn w pts 4 Kristian Laight – light-welterweight
James Mulhern w pts 4 Kevin Coglan – flyweight
Liam Cameron w TKO 3 Alex Spitko – light-middleweight
Matt Hainy w pts 4 Tony Hill – super-middleweight
