Hall's well that ends well

A solid, getting the job done performance by Hall without ever hitting the heights saw him gradually wear down Power after the London man shipped big head shots and momentarily turned his back which prompted referee Mark Green to decide he had seen enough; whilst not hitting the heights Hall it has to be said looked good for a man in his ninth professional fight.

 

Roared on by his loyal followers Hall started fast in round one, pressurising Power with the jab and had success early with straight right hands. It was noticeable very early on that Hall was the bigger, stronger man. Power however was not without success early doors and the odd right hand would keep the Darlington man honest.

 

Indeed in Round two although again this was a Hall round it was noticeable that Power was a man not to be taken lightly and again he had success with single right hands, however Hall was still the dominant presence and did enough to win the session.

 

The action hotted up in round three with both men landing shots, it was Power however with body shots who was getting the better of it, however from ringside you always felt that Hall had things pretty much under control.

 

This proved to be case in rounds four and five which saw Power driven back to the ropes where Hall unleashed a barrage of punches to body and head and looked to take over. In both rounds Power looked on the verge of being stopped and it was noticeable at the end of the fifth that Power’s tank was verging on empty, a big gulp at the end of round five and a look of a man who knew he was being dominated would bear testament to that. Power’s gameness and bravery it has to be said should be applauded.

 

All the while Hall had the look of a man in complete control and after essentially taking a round off in the sixth again had Power in trouble on the ropes in Round seven. However, just as you would think Power was ready to go he would fight back bravely with right hands to the body which drew encouragement from his corner, and saw a few concerned looks from Hall supporters.

 

Round eight started with a huge uppercut from Hall who looked at this stage like he fancied the stoppage and again dominated the round without finding the finishing punches, Power always looking to come back into things and again showing bravery and then some.

 

Round nine was the calm before the storm. A quieter round, scrappy action and the first signs of frustration amongst Hall supporters and no real signs that the finish was on its way, indeed Power having looked gone around the fifth looked like he was getting his second wind.

 

This would prove to be his undoing, after having success with a left hook Power left himself open and Hall capitalised with a left hook of his own and straight right hand which seemed to have Power in trouble, two more big shots and a momentary turn of the head from Power was enough to convince Mark Green that he had seen enough. The stoppage whilst for me a little early cannot really be criticised too much and it has to be said after initial protests from Power he seemed to accept that the third man in the ring has made the right call.

 

A decent performance by Hall who you have to remember was only having his tenth pro fight, putting that into context and the fact he has now beaten two solid bantamweights in Ian Napa and Martin Power you would think the future is bright for the man from Darlington, a good performance in truth and definitely more positives than negatives to work on moving forward in his career.

 

For five rounds during his English title win at light-welterweight Crook's Nigel Wright looked as good as we have seen him. Wright, seemingly unable to miss Dean Harrison with straight lefts from the southpaw stance looked razor sharp and built up a healthy lead, Harrison it has to be said for the most part looked stiff and nervous.

 

Generally when things are going swimmingly something happens to bite you on the behind and indeed in round seven after having his worst round of the fight Wright found himself on the seat of his pants from a big right hand and had to take an eight count right on the bell.

 

The fight at this point took on a new dynamic, Harrison pressing, coming forward and crowding Wright who showed another side to his character by digging deep against a rejuvenated Harrison and showed enough courage, and class to weather any Harrison storm to come out a deserved winner at the end of ten pleasing rounds, Wright picked up the English title with a unanimous decision, 98-92, 97-93 and 98-92 on the scorecards. I thought Wright looked impressive and would be a good match for the likes of Lenny Daws at this stage of their respective careers.

 

Tony Jeffries looks like a man caught between a rock and a hard place. Here is a fighter with a huge following and a crowd pleasing style who looks at this stage like he does not know whether to box or fight. This was never more evident than in his bruising encounter with Michael Banbula over eight rounds.

 

Jeffries for me started impressively enough with good jabs from the centre of the ring and, with promoter Frank Maloney imploring the use of the jab from ringside looked to build up a decent lead after four rounds. However, the Sunderland man seemed to unravel rather alarmingly and Banbula who had enjoyed fleeting moments of success seemed to sense an upset was on the cards.

 

At the end of round six Jeffries looked in plain English terms ‘knackered’ and having mistakenly offered his hand to referee Andrew Wright had the look of a man in trouble when he realised that there were two rounds left. Trouble indeed he was in, for the last tworounds Banbula completely took over scoring with big right hands and the open mouthed Jeffries looked in disarray, fighting through a bad cut on his left eye.

 

Tremendous back and forth action at the end of round eight saw Jeffries on the verge of being stopped and you have to think if this had been a ten round fight the Beijing Olympian may have lost. For my money I had Jeffries one round up at the end of the fight but only a mean spirited man would deny that Banbula deserved something for his efforts, particularly in the second half of the fight.

 

It’s back to the drawing board for Jeffries who looked unfit and out of sorts with what style he wants to move forward with.

 

Speaking of back to the drawing board, in a huge upset Prizefighter cruiserweight champion Jon-Lewis Dickinson lost his unbeaten record, being stopped at 2.38 of round three after a grotesque swelling had developed under his left eye after shipping a desperation right hand from opponent Tyrone Wright.

 

This was not in the script for Dickinson who would have been looking to build on his Prizefighter success. For the most part Dickinson controlled matters but worryingly looked a little open to right hands over the top which would prove to be his undoing. Two right hands of his own had dropped Wright at the end of round two and this should have proved to be decisive. However, what did prove to be decisive was a massive Hail Mary right hand Wright landed after an exchange in round three and very quickly Dickinson’s eye began to close leaving referee Andrew Wright no option than to stop the contest 2.38 into the round.

 

Dickinson will be happy that a re-match has been arranged on the undercard of Jason Booth’s world title fight on 11th September and you would think he would set the record straight, should he do that you would think the damage caused to his career with this loss will not be terminal.

 

Another cruiserweight who will not be happy with his nights work is David Dolan, despite taking a narrow 58-57 verdict over tough journeyman Hastings Rasani. Dolan whilst getting the job done looked rusty and won you have to say on workrate alone. Rasani, landed by far the more flashy shots, especially with the right hand but these tended to be single shots and over the piece probably not do enough to win. I had it a draw but would not have argued either way to be honest.

 

Dolan will look to keep company with Dickinson and Jeffries at that ever growing drawing board!

 

Other highlights on a lengthy 13 fight card, saw stoppage wins for Curtis Valentine who basically clubbed local fighter Martin Marshall for three rounds and debutant Jonson McLumpha who looked a division higher in stopping Chris Brophy in tworounds, McLumpha could be one to watch and looks to be a big puncher.

 

Family pride was restored with Travis Dickinson dominating over four rounds against the awkward Jamie Ambler; Travis will have learnt more from this fight and also last time out against Rasani than most prospects after six fights. Dickinson remains one to keep an eye on for the future.

 

All in a decent nights boxing and Maloney to his credit seems committed to bringing more boxing to the North East. East Rainton did a good job and whilst the arena was small, it was intimate and a good setting for a bill like this. After a marathon bill this writer went home with more questions than answers about the likes of Jeffries and Dickinson but top billing has to go to Stuey Hall who marched on and looks to have many successful domestic nights ahead.