Quigg seals British title shot: Bolton undercard review

Scott Quigg really caught the eye in dismantling Gavin Reid to earn a crack at the British super-bantamweight crown in their title eliminator at Bolton Arena last night. The big-punching Quigg took longer than anticipated to get going initially but stepped things up after the halfway stage to force referee Howard Foster’s intervention midway through the ninth after drilling a bloodied Reid with a volley of hooks. In doing so, Quigg proved that he has the speed and defensive skills to complement his potent punch power.

Everyone expected Quigg (8st 8 10z) to burst out of the traps in seek of his third successive first-round stoppage but it was Reid (8st 8) who surprisingly was the aggressor in the early stages as Scott was content to box off the back foot. The Redcar journeyman scored with occasional right hands and some good body work in round three which gave Quigg something to think about in their early exchanges.

Scott, 18-0 (12), hadn’t travelled beyond six rounds and appeared to be pacing himself in this ten-rounder but began to smash home some sharp and quick right hands around the side of Reid’s guard as he ambled forward. Warming to his task, Quigg landed a fast left hook, right hook burst and then showed his defensive qualities by neatly ducking under Reid’s retaliatory swipes and scurrying out of harms way in the fourth.

Reid, who floored Welsh prospect Ricky Owen in the Prizefighter The Super-Bantamweight tournament in May before conceding a split decision, fancied his chances of causing an upset but was simply outclassed by Quigg. Gavin’s exertions left him fatigued from round six which is when Quigg astutely began to plant his feet and place more venom into his shots. An excellent combination of hooks and right hands opened up a nasty cut underneath Reid’s right eye in the seventh as things were getting harder for the Redcar trier now.

What made Quigg’s performance all the more impressive was that it seemed so effortless for the Bury ticket-seller. Reid scored with a decent left hook in round eight but it was to prove his last success. After initially going to the body, Quigg switched his focus to the head as he whipped in two right hands and a left hook which snapped Reid’s head back. A follow-up uppercut and triple left hook, delivered with blinding speed and accuracy, wobbled Reid and referee Foster sensibly intervened in round nine to cap a very impressive and mature display from Quigg.

The current British super-bantamweight title is held by Jason Booth. However, with Booth slated to challenge IBF king Steve Molitor for the world title in September, Quigg could well be fighting for the vacant British crown in the Autumn,

Another fighter who could well be challenging for a British title in the new season is super-featherweight Anthony Crolla. “Million Dollar” Crolla decked Middlesbrough’s Chris Riley twice en-route to registering a 60-52 points win from referee Steve Gray. Crolla (9st 3 ½) was busy and accurate from the outset and seldom wasted a shot. Riley (9st 7) received a count in the opener after touching down from a right hand in the opener and finished the session bloodied to the nose.

A well-picked uppercut from the impressive Crolla floored Riley for a second time in round four and the end looked near. Chris showed plenty of determination to survive to the end though and made a decent fist of things in the final two sessions which saw him deservedly hear the final bell.

Crolla, now 18-2 (6), is chasing a rematch with current British super-featherweight champion Gary Sykes who narrowly outpointed him in their British title eliminator last year.

Cruiserweight Matty Askin (13st 10) continued his steady progress with a first-round stoppage of Lee Kellett (14 st 3). Askin’s long arms caught Kellett and momentarily froze him with a right hand and left hook before a follow-up left hook sent Lee tumbling to the canvas. Kellett rose but looked unsteady on his legs and unsure of his whereabouts but was allowed to continue by trialist referee John Latham.

It proved to be a poor decision from the novice official though as Askin crashed home another left hook upon the resumption of the action which dumped Kellett and left his head positioned underneath the bottom rope with just three seconds remaining in the session. Lee was kept down for a couple of minutes as a precautionary measure and thankfully was able to exit the ring unaided. Former ABA champion Askin is now 7-0 (4) and along with Prizefighter winner Jon-Lewis Dickinson could be the future of Britain’s cruiserweight division.

Another cruiserweight match-up saw Walsall’s Chris Keane outscore veteran Hastings Rasani 39-37 in their four-rounder. Steve Gray handled the action. At 13st 8 Keane looks to too big to get down to light-heavyweight but too small to develop into a fully fledged cruiserweight.

He largely outboxed Rasani behind a snappy jab but briefly had to withstand a spell of pressure when Hastings turned him on the ropes and landed a right hand and left hook to the body in round three which probably earned him the round from referee Gray. Keane advances to 2-0 (1) and has talent but needs to throw than just the jab.

Rhys Roberts went over old ground in outscoring Mansfield-based Latvian Pavels Senkovs over four rounds to move to 10-0 (1). Roberts (9st 5) showed some nice touches and decent handspeed which opened up a knick by Senkovs’ right eye in the first round. The Latvian was never interested in engaging with Roberts and elected to get on his bike and Rhys struggled at times to cut the large ring off. Roberts finished strongly though and two right hands made Senkovs grimace in the final round as Roberts dominated.

In the show opener, Hove-based Navid Aran (12st) gave away 12lbs but still comfortably outpointed Jamie Ambler in their four-round super-middleweight encounter. Aran, trained by former Chris Eubank trainer Ronnie Davis, is strong and powerful and drove home some determined two-fisted combinations which were mostly blocked by Ambler’s high guard. But for a brief spell in round two, Jamie remained in his defensive shell, but had to ship a chopping right and a body shot in the closer. Aran is now 2-0 (1) while Ambler slips to 8-41-2.

It must have been hard for Manchester’s Craig Watson to box in front of a sparse crowd against Ghana’s Stephen Okine immediately after Matthew Hatton’s European title winning performance. After all, Watson outclassed Hatton over 12 rounds a couple of years ago which suggests that Craig has much more to offer. Watson stopped Badru Lusambya to claim the vacant Commonwealth light-middleweight crown last time out but returned to his now favoured welterweight division for this.

Southpaw Watson (10st 9) is always exciting to watch because he likes to let his hands go and throw caution to the wind. Okine (11st) had no answer to Watson’s aggression and was floored twice in round three, the first from a right hook, and the second from a burst of punches which sent him careering around the ring off-balance to the mat. Okine extended Michael Lomax over six a week ago but never looked likely to hear the final bell here.

After another left hand decked Okine in the fifth, referee Phil Edwards signalled he had seen enough. Watson deserves to be in some big fights in the new season.

Another fighter going over old ground was Craig Lyon. The former ABA champion romped to a four-round points win over the winless Anwar Alfadli (40-35), flooring Alfadli in the second after forcing him over after a burst of punches to head and body. Lyon, who could meet Scott Quigg for the British super-bantamweight title later this year, steamrollered forward and did as he pleased in this routine mark-time exercise.

In the show closer, Bradford’s Tasif Khan delighted his army of supporters who had patiently stayed behind by outpointing Francis Croes over four rounds. John Latham ruled 40-36 for Khan who is now 3-1-2 while Croes made it no wins from nine starts. ‘Tas’ (8st 7) sometimes took too long to get off with his punches but had more success when countering Croes attacks with jabs and hooks in round two which pleased his trainer Dominic Ingle. Tas improved as the contest progressed and caught the plucky Croes with a good right hand in the final session.