Wilton Wins In One: Bulgarian's Belfast Beatdown
East Belfast flyweight Luke Wilton made the most of his first major bill-topper, smashing Sofia veteran Sali Mustafov in the opening session of a scheduled eight-rounder. 21-year-old Luke is now eligible for the Irish title and is also chasing British honours, targeting the winner of the forthcoming Ashley Sexton-Shinny Bayaar British title fight on May 14th.
Wilton (8st) enjoyed a rapturous reception from a packed house on this Belfast Promotions card in the Holiday Inn. Pushing out a purposeful jab from the first bell, Luke shipped a right hand as he sought to make an immediate statement. A bewildered Mustafov circled the ring in search of respite from the trademark crowding style of the now 7-2-1 hometown hero.
He could run but the ring offered no hiding place as Wilton landed a combination that sent Sali sprawling into the neutral corner, desperately pawing at the rope to help drag his frame off the canvas. Mustafov’s legs were weak and even though the 0-5 veteran managed to haul himself vertical, the referee’s decision to call a halt was entirely justified.
“I’ve been working on my power and doing plenty of strength work in training to improve my punching and I can see it paying off,” said Luke at the post-fight press conference.
“I’m strong at flyweight and my improved head movement is down to Paul McCullagh who was drilling it into my ears before the fight to keep my head down, duck and roll, move about and punch, then get out of the way.
“It was a brilliant atmosphere and as soon as the next fight comes I’ll take it. I’d love to headline again as soon as possible. I really enjoyed topping the bill.”
Wilton relaxes after his first-round knockout
Mustafov says Wilton punches hard
The fervent crowd eruption that welcomed Lurgan debutant Ryan Greene into the ring was a result of the 25-year-old having sold a bucket load of tickets for this show. We were reliably informed prior to his first paid contest that Greene was a devastating hitter as an amateur and the fired-up southpaw came out throwing bombs from the start.
His opponent, Ryan Clark from Waddington, Lincolnshire, was caught in the eye of the storm, trying urgently to cover up and fiddle his way through the onslaught. Greene capped a frenzied opener by landing a looping left hand that knocked Clark (11st 5llb 4oz) through the ropes and onto the BBBofC board inspectors at ringside. Amazingly, not only did Clark clamber back into the ring, but also appeared unhurt and ready to resume warfare.
The away man was spitting blood into his bucket in between rounds but was incredibly game throughout and threw back plenty of defiance. There were ‘afters’ when the second round bell sounded, but both men eventually touched gloves and when Greene (11st 8lb 2oz) started blowing hard in the third (an even round) I wondered whether he may have empted his tank.
Instead, the big punching ticket-seller showed a further dimension to his game and started outboxing Clark off the back foot, using lateral movement to confuse his tough foe. 20-year-old Clark –who had ‘never back down’ emblazoned on his shorts- was warned for talking in the fourth, but this was an honest scrap between two hungry fighters.
Ryan Greene’s facial damage gave testimony to the intensity of his debut fight and certainly announced him as an exciting new prospect on the Irish circuit. I scored the bout 40-36 in Greene’s favour (one round even with an extra point for Greene’s first-round knockdown), while ref McCullagh had it much tighter at 38-37.
Cocksure Clark (now 1-10-2 but never been stopped) meets another debutant, Galway’s Alan Donnellon, in Limerick on May 15th – I hope Donnellon is well prepared.
“My next opponent won’t hit like train fists Greene anyway!” joked Clark after the fight.
“I’d never been put down before in my life and he hit me with some bangers. He shocked me but I nodded to myself and carried on going. I’ve had 12 fights and it’s his debut so fair play to him he’s done well.”
Greene enjoyed the fans’ reception and paid homage to trainer Damien Denny, “I met Damien Denny and his brother Frank who’ve pushed me on that bit further and taken me to a different level,” he stated.
“I’ve always had a big following, even when I fought in the Dockers [amateur club] I sold tickets for the shows no problem.
“When Clark went through the ropes I thought ‘happy days’ he’s away now, but he survived and I just rushed in a bit too soon and felt out of breath, getting the nerves out of the way.”
Puncher Greene sustained facial damage....while cool Clark looks fresh
2000 Olympic bronze medallist Vladimir Chanturia (who beat Ruslan Chagaev en-route to that accolade) is now managed by Gary Hyde and based in Belfast under trainers Tony Dunlop and Paul McCullagh Snr. He dispensed with Budapest’s Sandor Forgacs in the opening round of his Belfast debut.
Weighing in at 18st 1lb 6oz Vladimir looked chunky but focused as referee for the evening Paul McCullagh Jnr called the men in for final instructions. Forgacs looked to use his southpaw stance to confuse Chanturia and narrow the clear weight disparity (Sandor scaled 15st 6lb 4oz).
The Hungarian visitor landed a couple of meaty shots as Chanturia stalked with jabs and right hands. An uppercut, followed by a fairly innocuous flurry of punches, resulted in Forgacs suddenly dropping to one knee and taking a count. He rose and appeared set to continue only to see referee McCullagh call it off somewhat prematurely. The crowd were surprised and Forgacs offered a meek protest, but after such an early collapse it was difficult to see him lasting too much longer.
The time was recorded as 1.13 of the opener with the official verdict being that Forgacs was unable to continue. Vladimir seemed pleased with his night’s work, gesturing to ringside and staking his claim as a future world champion. That remains to be seen, but “The Midnight Train from Georgia” got the job done on this occasion.
"V-Train" steams through Hungarian opponent
In a middleweight 4x3’s Lincoln import Rick Boulter appeared a little unfortunate to be on the wrong end of a 39-37 points reverse to Bangor’s Phil Townley. Rugged Townley lost his debut to Joe Rea in the Odyssey last November but rebounded here with his first pro victory in a hotly contested affair between novice pros.
Southpaw Boulter (11st 7lb 4oz) also lost his debut (in the York Hall via stoppage) but started swiftly, using a sharp jab and fast left hand to keep Townley at bay before the home fighter warmed up with some left hooks of his own. 30-year-old Rick had a more solid look about him, using straight shots down the pipe to discourage Townley (11st 7lb 10oz) whose shots were thrown from wide angles.
I had Boulter winning two of the first three rounds (with one even) leaving Phil needing a big last round to try and pull it out of the fire. He was more aggressive and pushed Boulter hard in the final session to take the round, but not the fight, on my card. Referee Paul McCullagh raised Townley’s hand much to the chagrin of the away fighter and his corner man Carl Greaves, who protested the decision.
Boulter later expressed his disappointed with the verdict.
“I thought I was robbed and people in the crowd said I’d won, but I would have taken a draw at least,” he said.
“That’s two losses as a pro now; Townley was just a swinger and I don’t know how the ref gave him the decision. “I haven’t been training recently but I thought I boxed to plan tonight.”
Slick Rick Boulter disputes his loss
Downpatrick beanpole Paul Kayes, a regular sparring hand for headliner Wilton, entered into the professional boxing world with a points win over plucky Frenchman Norredine Dahou. 22-year-old Dahou came in with a 3-1 record and a winning mentality but soon discovered that the swift jab of Kayes would be a problem.
Paul hooked well off his jab and showed plenty of movement but still carried his stance a little upright as he attempted to hone his style from the unpaid ranks.
“I’ve found the transition from amateur to professional tough but okay so far,” Kayes said at the press conference. “I didn’t know what to expect but I enjoyed it and I’m hoping to be back out as soon as possible. Whatever comes along I’ll take it.”
After a slow start Dahou showed plenty of aggression for the remainder of the bout and put a flagging Kayes on the back foot in the last session. To his credit, Paul battled through the fitness barrier and found a second wind to pull him through for a 39-37 win.
The victor also had a word for his club mate and headliner Luke Wilton, “Wilton’s good and tough and hits very hard, his power has improved a lot recently,” he revealed.
Kayes gets off to a winning start
Former Immaculata clubman Brian Cusack could prove to be an interesting addition to the light-heavyweight ranks after posting a 39-37 victory over Doncaster’s James Tucker. Cusack remained in control throughout, working over his survival-minded opponent with right hands and a steady lead left.
Tucker turned southpaw in an attempt to turn the tide but James has long since adopted ‘opponent’ status and allowed well-supported Cusack, who was cut under the right eye, to cruise home for his first pro win in the opening bout.
Tony Dunlop watches Brian Cusack claim a debut win
The final debutant of the evening, Gary Hyde’s super-featherweight hope Paddy McGarrity, won a nondescript four-rounder against Wiltshire’s negative Dan Carr. McGarrity (9st 5lb 12oz) moved forward but was often dragged into a maul by Carr (9st 9lb) who cynically held at every opportunity, even leading with the left hand just to drag Paddy in for a clutch and wrestle.
McGarrity’s gum shield was knocked out in the third round (it couldn’t have been by a punch!) and this was viewed as the highlight of a fight long since consigned to the scrap heap. In his defence, Paddy was trying to make a fight of it but failed to use a commanding jab and was continuously bogged down by Carr who had taken to using both arms to bear hug his way to the final bell.
Referee McCullagh scored all rounds to the home fighter at 40-36.
Ex-pro Stevie Quinn muses over McGarrity's performance
Notes: Jane Wilton’s Belfast Promotions outfit packed the Holiday Inn function room with some good quality action. The fact they were offering a professional start to four debutants went down well with the crowd and seeing some of the away fighters giving it their all made for some tasty scraps.
