Speight triumphs in Torquay
Kingsteignton’s Jamie Speight headlined Keith Mayo’s latest offering from the ICC Riviera in Torquay on Saturday night (4 December) as he scored a ten-round repeat win over Reading’s Ibrar Riyaz to capture the International Masters light-welter title.
Speight, who is now unbeaten in eight (none inside), boxed fantastically on the back foot and then picked his openings to spear his opponent with fast countering clusters over the opening sessions. Riyaz, with an unimpressive 4-5-1 slate, really fancied the job over the first two sessions. He appeared by far the stronger of the pair and pressured his unbeaten opponent looking to claim his first professional honour. Apart from not possessing a massive dig, Speight looks the business at this stage of his career and against this level of opposition. He employed fantastic footwork and a high-held tight guard to avoid Riyaz’s whirlwind attacks and then countered with piercing quick combinations to leave purists at ringside in delight.
The fourth round was a fantastic tear up and Riyaz’s fury often forced the 22-year-old to back pedal. When there was no place to hide, Jamie had no option but to grit his teeth and return fire. The Riviera Centre in Torquay is a fantastic hall for small-hall boxing. It is tightly packed with good acoustics and a viewing gallery that delivers an electric atmosphere and by the sixth, the normally sleepy off-season English Riviera was a cauldron of ferocious noise. As his hands began to slow, Riyaz was caught more and more by the youngster sharp attacks. Ibrar responded slightly naughtily at times and actually throw Jamie clear through the ropes and into the laps of the board officials in the seventh. But Speight appeared in narrow control of the fight over the second half of the contest and showed great focus and skill.
Riyaz played his part throughout but at the close of ten pulsating rounds referee Grant Wallis’ tally was 98-94 in Speight’s favour.
Newport’s returning bantam Matthew Edmonds surfaced after nearly a year to out-point previously unbeaten Lewis Browning from Exeter over six threes. Scoring referee Wynford Jones tallied a 60-57 slate in favour of the Welshman. Neither did anything of note in an extremely cautious opener, but after that up to the last session Browning appeared to landing the more effective punches and avoided Edmonds’ swarming attacks. In the third, Browning was clipping Matthew with hard right hands and generally having the last word in the exchanges. Coming back after two inside the distance losses and such a long absence from the ring, Edmond’s efforts appeared less intense than I’d previously seen them and Lewis appeared to beat his more experienced opponent to the punch over the fourth and fifth.
I gave Edmonds the last session, but my own card registered a clear win for the Devon man. Probationary referee Clarke Joslyn officiated inside the ropes.
Torquay’s Ben Wakeham’s performance clearly surpassed the quality of his skin-headed red-fringed haircut when he outpointed Ramsgate’s Vinny Woolford over six rounds at welterweight. After an even opener, Wakeham used his height and skills effectively to negate Woolford’s hooking and score convincingly. Vinny looked dangerous in close quarters in the third when the pair engaged in hard fought exchanges and delighted the crowd. The fourth and fifth sessions really gave the punters value for money, Vinny was leading off to the body then firing right hands over the top. Ben kept his boxing together under pressure and slammed in hard right hands which connected hurtfully on a downward trajectory. The sixth was messy and uneventful, but Vinny was still trying to flurry on the inside and Ben closed the show by appearing to stager his man with a long right.
Angelo Crowe from Plymouth appeared fortunate not to be stopped in his professional debut as he was bloody-faced and out on his feat and over the last minute of the his light-heavyweight six rounder at the hands of Ilkestone’s 'Prince' David Davis. Although Angelo looked to have speed, power and decent technique in the first, nerves seemed to be getting the better of him. Crowe carried his left hand low and neglected the jab as he took right hands and hard left hook from his shorter more powerful opponent. By the third, Crowe seemed in danger of letting his legion of fans down. He was failing to use his height and reach advantages to control Davis. His nose had been transformed into a bloody messy and he seemed to be boxing with a broken heart. Davis, compact and strong, marched into close quarters and hammered into the house fighter in the fifth. Crowe’s hands were down and his balance was deserting him. Bravely, Angelo tried to turn it around in the last, but after the obligatory initial effort, he really needed to be stopped. He score was 59-56 in Davis’ favour.
Plymouth’s 35-year-old Carl Drake appears to be coming to the end as he was out-pointed by Tex Woodward-trained Bristolian Martin Robbins over six=twos at super-middle. Drake entered the ring looking in good shape and sporting a poncho and sombrero. But Carl soon found himself being outworked by Robbins and for all his stout robustness Drake started to look old and hittable very soon into the contest. For the most past, Robbins was able to pick Drake off before he got himself into punching position, but even if Carl did manage to get one home he could really compound his advantage as his snap and quickness appeared to have deserted him.
Martin cleverly caught his shorter opponents with shots as he was attempting to lean and roll away from shots. The former super-middleweight masters king sported a shocked expression as he was picked off time and again. To his credit, Carl gave it a go in the last, but retired Welsh school master Wynford Jones scored it a shut out for Robbins at the close.
Plymouth debutant Ben Morrish got his paid career off to a successful start as he narrowly outpointed Calverton’s Scott Slatter by 58-57 in a super featherweight six-twos. Morrish looked by far the classier operator over the first round. Slater looked tall, slow and open at the start and consistently came off second best on my card ove the first three sessions. However, Slater showed heart and determination to claw his way back on the cards and get a reaction in Ben’s legs on occasion over the last half of the contest. Despite his face being a mess in the last, Slater had Morrish falling about raggedly in the last. It was Slater’s first loss in three (one win and a draw).
