Choi has too much for action for Jackson; York Hall undercard
On Saturday night, Choi “The Mongolian Warrior” Tseveenpurev proved at 39 why he is still the most avoided fighter on these shores as he savagely battered and slashed accomplished “Action” Jackson Asiku into an attritional 98-93 points defeat in a classic York Hall battle over ten pulsating rounds.
The Australian-based Ugandan had made a big impression here back in 2005-6 when he stopped Marc Callaghan and Jamie McKeever in a round a piece to capture and defend the Commonwealth featherweight strap. But here he seemed to tangle with a force of nature.
It is no wonder Choi has had trouble getting fights in the past. He is massively brave, explosive and isn’t built with a reverse gear. He wastes no time admiring his successful punches and just hurts every piece of body that he can punch as often as he can. In addition, he makes opponents work so hard to stay out of trouble that over the ten or twelve round course he seems to pestle and mortar adversaries into mental submission.
Over the first two sessions, Jackson realised that his slick skills and potent darting attacks were best employed from long range. Asiku, who in addition to the Commonwealth has held Australian, ABU and IBO titles, body hunted well in the third. But then Choi electrified the crowd by walking his man into a massive right hand that put Jackson into survival mode.
By the fifth, Jackson was working so hard to stay away from Tseveenpurev. Choi landed with hard left hooks downstairs and to the head. Despite getting caught with some hard whipping counters, Choi kept coming forward looking for opportunities to cause damage.
Jackson was unlucky to take a count in the seventh as he lost his footing on the advertising underneath the ropes and went to the canvas taking a jab on his way. After an exhilarating eighth where the pair came off even from some vicious exchanges, Jackson thought the fight was over and went to touch gloves with the opposing corner men.
The ninth could be a candidate for domestic round of the year. The two world class fighters savagely went toe-to-toe amidst deafening noise. Such was the support for Choi, you might have thought that he was born within the sound of Bow bells rather than in Ulan-Bator. The last was quieter, but when Wooten Bassett referee Grant Wallis raised the Mongolian’s hand in victory, the chants of “Choi” erupted again.
In chief support, Darren Hamilton was disqualified after 1:42 of the first round for blatant use of the head. His opponent Dave Ryan from Derby was cut prior to the incident, and after he was butted he had crimson streaming down his face.
But Hamilton, who was too hyped up from the off, gave referee Ken Curtis no choice as the offence was obvious and inexcusable. Ryan captured the British Masters light welter strap.
Simon O’Donnell had only his second British fight on the card as he shut out game Latvian Sergej Savrinovics over the four round distance in a middleweight affair.
O’Donnell boxed with his hands low and punched well on the back foot. He consistently beat Savrinovics to the punch and easily took every session. If he chooses not to return Stateside, he could be a very interesting addition to the middleweight mix indeed.
Jim McDonnell-trained Steve O’Meara has every punch in the book; he went through his full repertoire and took a convincing eight round decision over A.A. Lowe to bounce back from a loss to Joe Selkirk last December. Third man Ken Curtis scored the contest 80-74 in a one-sided affair in which O’Meara shone and showed that despite not having massive stoppage power he can still be a player domestically. He moves to 13-2 (2).
19-year-old Joe Catchpole bettered Scunthorpe’s Steve Spence at the second time of asking as he scored 40-37 point victory in a light-middleweight affair. The pair had previously boxed to a draw in Rotherham last November but Joe overcame a quiet start to start to get the better of the Yorkshire man by midway through the second session. Catchpole strung his punches together well in clusters of two and three and showed some educated movement.
West Ham’s Mickey Coveney scored only his second win in five years as he proved too seasoned for 20-year-old Alex Dilmahghani from Worthing. Grant Wallis scored the bout 39-38 in the East Ender’s favour. Southpaw Coveney stamped his intentions on the fight straight away and caught the younger man with Southpaw rights from the get go. Alex was pinned to the ropes too often and simply couldn’t keep the determined Londoner off of him. At times Alex tried to fight his way off the ropes, but his efforts carried so little power that Mickey simply piled the pressure on. It was Dilmahghani’s first loss in six fights (no draws).
Hayes’ welterweight Robert Lloyd-Taylor returned after 20 months out to score a win over Leeds’ Tommy Broadbent. Robert showed signs of significant ring rust over the first two sessions of this four round affair as he appeared to be waiting far too long to get his shots off. However, by the last both men were exchanging hard punches in a full committed effort to win. Braodbent slips to 6-4 (1) and Taylor stands at 15-7 (4).
All images courtesy Bernard Miller
