Lawton blitzed as European bid ends in disaster / Undercard review

Scott Lawton’s bold gamble to capture the vacant European super-featherweight title ended in failure as the Englishman was overwhelmed in three one-sided rounds by Armenia’s Leva Kirakosyan at a wintery Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke on Friday night.

 

The local favourite suffered the worst possible beginning when he was dropped inside the opening minute after his lazy jab was countered by a hard right hand counter by Kirakosyan. Lawton rose quickly sporting a smirk on his face but the writing proved to be on the wall.

 

Kirakosyan (9st 3 ½ lbs), who has inflicted stoppage defeats on Leeds’ Carl Johanneson in his previous two visits to Britain, steamed in for the finish and buckled Lawton’s legs with a left hook to end a turbulent opening session for the outgunned Stoke fighter.

 

Lawton (9st 3lbs) tried to get behind his jab in the second and tie the squat Kirakosyan up whenever he got close but the aggressive Armenian was not going to be denied. Having backed Lawton to the ropes and forced him to trade, Kirakosyan unleashed a devastating left hook which left Lawton drunkenly sagging against the ropes.

 

The fight should have been stopped but Danish referee Soren Saugmann instead elected to issue Lawton a standing eight count. Standing counts are no longer issued in Britain but are still enforced in continental Europe. Upon completion, Scott still seemed unsteady on his legs but referee Saugmann surprisingly allowed Lawton to continue but fortunately he was rescued by the bell.

 

Arguably, the proud Stoke fighter should have been pulled out during the minute’s interval but he was given one last chance in what was the biggest fight of his career. Lawton’s dream was emphatically ended 21 seconds into round three though after he was nailed by another monstrous right hand from Kirakosyan which left Lawton sagging against the ropes with his legs quivering all over the place.

 

Many observers questioned beforehand whether Lawton, who was only taking part in his second super-featherweight contest, was in too deep here against a dangerous European level operator, and so it proved. The brave Lawton has once again come up short after being similarly overpowered by Jon Thaxton, Amir Khan and John Murray up at lightweight.

 

At 36, Kirakosyan looked as powerful as ever and you’d be hard pressed to back any British super-featherweight to beat the now two-time European champion.

 

 

Stoke’s Chris Edwards (7st 12 lbs 9oz) gave the home fans something to cheer about as he regained the Commonwealth flyweight title with a slender points victory over Namibia’s Abmerk Shindjuu (7st 11 10oz) in a spirited contest on this Hatton Promotions show. Edwards had been previously been stripped of the Commonwealth strap following his British title loss against Shinny Bayaar in October.

 

All three judges (John Keane, Victor Loughlin and Terry O’Connor) scored the fight 115-114 in Edwards’ favour. I had it slightly wider at 115-113 for Chris. The Stoke man finished bleeding from the mouth and also suffered swelling and a knick to his left eye but hung on to deserve his narrow victory.

 

The diminutive Edwards started in typically whirlwind fashion and attacked the lankier Shindjuu to head and body to sweep the first three rounds. The Namibian remained competitive however and frequently breached Edwards’ rather porous defence with counter right hands. Shindjuu finally started to gain a foothold in the contest in the fourth as he claimed the centre of the ring and produced his best work behind a solid jab as Edwards briefly looked befuddled.

 

Normal service was resumed in the fifth and sixth though as Edwards intensified his workrate and forced Shindjuu back before working him over to the body inside. Chris’s exertions appeared to take something out of him as the pace notably dropped in round seven as Shindjuu increasingly found his target which worsened the swelling around Edwards’ left eye.

 

Edwards’ greater workrate was shading him the majority of the sessions but the Stoke buzzsaw paid a price for his efforts and looked ready to be taken down the stretch. Shindjuu dominated the tenth, clattering a tiring Edwards with successive right hands to the jaw. Fortunately for Chris, the Namibian is not a puncher having produced only two previous stoppages from his seven wins. It’s just as well. Shindjuu started to catch Edwards with increasing regularity in round eleven with right hands and left hooks as the Stoke fighter was too easy to hit.

 

Having looked out of sight after six rounds, Edwards was gradually being pegged back in the second half of the fight. Typically roared on by his passionate local fans, Chris summoned some remaining drops of energy to mount a strong push in the final round. However, Shindjuu, having taken most of Edwards’ flurries on his gloves, stormed back and seemed to shake the Stoke man with a left-hook – uppercut combination in the closing seconds of round twelve. English flyweight champion Ashley Sexton had travelled to Stoke to watch Edwards and must have been encouraged by what he saw.

 

 

Shock of the night saw Norwich’s Danny McIntosh (12st 6 ¾ lbs) stop the normally durable Tony Oakey (12st 5 ¼ lbs) in two rounds to retain his English light-heavyweight title for the third time. Oakey never got to grips with McIntosh’s superior speed and was dropped by a fast right hook counter midway through the second round. Oakey gingerly made it to his feet and came back with a left hook but McIntosh continued to bomb away with chilling speed and accuracy.

 

Another flurry, culminating in a right hand through the middle, sent Oakey careering into the ropes. Tony made it onto one knee and looked capable of beating referee Victor Loughlin’s count, but waited too long to regain his feet and was counted out on in the act of rising. Oakey initially remonstrated with referee Loughin but looked relieved to be out of there after his initial protests had subsided.

 

In the show opener, Cardiff’s Gary Buckland (9st 7 ¾ lbs) earned himself a crack at the Commonwealth lightweight title by unanimously outpointing Sam Rukundo (9st 9lbs) in their final eliminator for the title currently held by Aberdeen’s Lee McAllister. After twelve keenly contested rounds, judges Mark Green and Terry O’Connor had it 117-111 for Buckland while Victor Loughlin saw it slightly closer at 116-112, which tallied with my card.

 

Buckland made the perfect start when toppling Rukundo with a right hand inside the opening 60 seconds. The Swedish-based Ugandan recovered well though and gradually worked his way back into the contest with some steady, if unspectacular, work. Buckland was troubled by his poorly fitted mouthpiece throughout and it was dislodged by a left hook, right hand combination from Rukundo in the fourth.

 

For the main though, Buckland’s work was more persistent, had more variety and his greater handspeed gave him the edge in the exchanges. Gary did seem extremely tired though in this twelve-round eliminator from the eighth round onwards as Rukundo started to come on.

 

Sam’s best round saw him pepper a fatigued Buckland in the ninth with one-twos which stopped the Welshman in his tracks. Had Rukundo really gone for it, as urged to do so by his corner, the outcome may have been different but the Ugandon’s work was too one-paced. In the end, the more ambitious fighter, the one who was prepared to dig in when it mattered even though he was spent, was Buckland. The Welshman improves to 18-1 (6) whilst Rukundo experienced his first pro loss in his 17^th fight (against one draw).

 

Undercard review

 

6 x 3 middleweight

Martin Murray wpts 6 Shalva Jomardashvili

 

Martin Murray (11st 10 lbs 11oz) stretched his unbeaten run to 18 fights with a hard-fought points victory against bullish Georgian Shalva Jomardashvili (11st 7lbs 13 oz). With only one defeat in his previous 27 fights (sustained in his last outing), Jomardashvili entered the ring with plenty of ambition but Murray’s superior class ultimately shone through as he gradually took over as the contest wore on.

 

Boxing behind a high guard, the St Helens fighter was content to have a look at Jomardashvili in the opener who got to work immediately with right hands which were mostly blocked. Martin picked things up in round two and enjoyed success with some uppercuts through the middle and crunching left hooks downstairs.

 

Round three was more even, Murray began the session well and a right hand, left hook made Jomardashvili give ground for the first time. The Georgian stormed back in a keenly fought session and caught Murray with two right hands. As the action hotted-up, referee Shaun Messer warned both fighters to watch their heads as they rubbed together in close.

 

The fourth definitely belonged to Jomardashvili as Murray seemed to lose his way and allowed the Georgian to get off first and dictate proceedings. Murray finished the session trapped on the ropes, and while he seldom had to absorb any punches cleanly, the fight remained in the balance with two rounds to go.

 

After a testing fourth, Murray upped his game in round five and suddenly the gulf in quality between the fighters became more apparent. Murray mixed things up well to head and body, and proved he is just as comfortable fighting inside as he is at range. Martin made sure of victory with an eyecatching final session, which began with a triple left hook as Murray moved through the gears.

 

The St Helens fighter’s trademark bodywork was again in evidence as Jomardashvili started to look dispirited and the Georgian also seem troubled by a right hand. Murray’s strong finish earned him a 58-56 points triumph from referee Messer. I had it slightly closer at 58-57 (having given Jomardashvili rounds 1 and 4, with a share of the third) but the right man won. It’s worth mentioning that this fight was previously scheduled for eight rounds and had it gone that long Murray would probably have run out a more decisive winner.

 

Following another impressive performance, Murray can now look forward to crack at the English middleweight title currently held by Darren McDermott in the Spring.

 

4 x 3 lightweight

Anthony Crolla w pts 4 Jason Nesbitt

 

Antony Crolla (9st 10lbs 8oz) ticked over with routine points win over Birmingham veteran Jason Nesbitt (10st 7lbs 40z) taking part in his 112^th contest. Crolla, who scored the best win of his career against comebacking world title challenger Michael Brodie in November, earned a 40-36 verdict from referee Terry O’Connor.

 

8 x 3 super-bantamweight

Scott Quigg w KO1 Nikita Lukin

 

The heavy-handed Scott Quigg (8st 13 ½ lbs) recorded another rapid-fire win with a one-round demolition of the never previously stopped Nikita Lukin (8st 12 ¾ lbs). The Ukrainian visitor, taking part in his 30^th contest, entered on the back of two wins but a tremendous left hook from Quigg dropped Lukin for the full count in just 57 seconds. The exciting Quigg moves to 17-0 (11) and has now stopped his last five. After another impressive display it won’t be much longer before the Bury banger is challenging for titles.

 

6 x 3 super-featherweight

Stephen Foster Jnr wtps 6 Youssef Al Hamidi 59-56

 

Stephen Foster Jr (9st 8lbs), a possible future challenger for European champion Leva Kirakosyan, registers relatively comfortable points win over Syrian Youssef Al Halmidi (9st 8 ¼ lbs). Foster moves to 26-2-1 and at 29 will now want to get a move on.

 

8 x 3 welterweight

Matthew Hatton wTKO5 Mikheil Khutsishvili

 

Matthew Hatton shook off his disappointment of being held to a draw by Lovemore N’Dou in his bid for the IBO welterweight bauble in November with an impressive stoppage over Mikheil Khutsishvili. Hatton (10st 11lbs 4oz) didn’t have everything his own way initially and had to absorb a solid right hand from Khutsishvili (10st 9lbs 80z) in the opener.

 

Hatton started to come on strong in the third and a flurry of punches bundled over the Georgian. Khutsishvili climbed to his feet but his earlier ambition had now been knocked out of him. From the fourth, Khutsisvili bled heavily from the nose and after a left hook from Hatton wobbled him in round five, referee Messer stepped in at the 2.35 mark with a merciful stoppage to curtail a fight that had become one-sided.

 

6 x 3 light-welterweight

Craig Watson w TKO4 Barrie Jones

 

In a crossroads encounter, former Commonwealth welterweight champion Craig Watson halted former British welterweight title challenger Barrie Jones in round four of a scheduled six. Southpaw Watson (10st 4 6oz) began purposefully and enjoyed success with left hands. Craig became a little too left-hand happy however and Jones (10st 3lbs) began to read his attacks better and got his double jab going in round three.

 

Jones was starting to find his rhythm in the fourth but was suddenly shaken by a left hand which momentarily froze his feet to the canvas. Watson wasted no time in following up and another burst of punches prompted referee Messer to intervene at the 1.53 mark. The stoppage was fair as Jones was definitely shaken and his head was being snapped back.

 

Barrie would have been better taking a knee after taking Watson’s initial left hand but full credit to Watson for capitalising when he had his man hurt.

 

4 x3 super-featherweight

Sergei Gulyakevich w TKO3 Nikoloz Berkatsashvili

 

In the show closer, Belarusia’s  Former European super-featherweight champion and WBC title challenger Sergei Gulyakevich forces Georgia’s Nikoloz Berkatsashvili to retire at the end of round three. Despite going on at close to midnight, the rangy Gulyakevich looked sharp as he did as he pleased here.