McAllister makes Scottish history

Lee McAllister made history of a sort, by becoming the first Scottish boxer to hold two Commonwealth titles simultaneously, as he coasted to a points victory over Ghana's Isaac Quartey in their vacant light welterweight championship to add to his Commonwealth lightweight crown at the Beach Ballroom in Abderdeen last night. McAllister (9st 13lbs 12ozs) had a straightforward win against a durable, if uninspiring opponent Quartey (9st 12lbs 12ozs), in a bout which was frankly, fairly comatose in excitement terms!

The Ghanaian had a record which begs the question, how did he get nominated for such a prestigious title? Certainly he'll have had a decent pay day and presumably go back to Ghana reasonably happy with his bank balance. Frankly though Quartey was never going to trouble the "Aberdeen Assassin" with his tactics or indeed his knockout ability with only two TKO's over a ten year period and included in that decade, it appears that he's only had fourteen bouts. Far be it from me to question the authorities in the West African country, but I feel sure the authorities in this country will have something to put to their colleagues in Ghana.

Isaac Quartey is undoubtedly a dignified boxer with a durability that some of his peers in Ghana haven't shown previously, I think of McAllister's winning of the lightweight title in the same venue back in 2009 in that context. However, the fact remains that Quartey was not in the same league in terms of ability, nor frankly should he have been participating in the vacant title bout.It is clear (allegedly) on the documentation that Isaac was born in 1977 and accordingly will be 34 in a month's time! If that is the case then he has had a very, very hard paper round as a child.

The bout itself was akin to a tram system, the traffic all went one way with no deviation to the end of the journey! McAllister taking the fight to the diminutive Ghanaian with a caution that belied his self belief. Only in round 10 did the man from Accra arguably get even so much as a share of the points, and that was only because McAllister was blowing a bit. The African did sustain a small cut above the left eye in the latter stages of the fight but it was of no consequence and had absolutely no danger to him or his continuing in the bout.

McAllister used his right to good effect throughout the bout and with a less durable opponent may well have stopped him, but Quartey put up stiff resistance if lacking in any sparkle. I find it hard to describe the action in glowing terms as it did not match the usual atmosphere which is generated with Lee McAllister on his home turf. The Beach Ballroom is a real "Lion's Den" when the Assassin is fighting, and we have had bouts which matched the fervour which Lee generates, sad to say this one was not one of them.

None of this criticism can be laid at the door of the local man. He came, he saw and he conquered what was put in front of him, but that was not too hard a task! Ringside judges John Keane and Terry O'Connor returned shut-out verdicts of 120-108 whilst Dave Parris had it 120-110. Referee Steve Gray had a fairly quiet night with little to do in the way of discipline except when Quartey did attempt a wrestling throw which put McAllister on the canvas in unorthodox terms. That said, it is yet another belt in the McAllister household to add to his collection, and he'll have been pleased to make this little bit of history in parochial terms.

The undercard supporting the title bout saw Delroy Spencer (8st 12lbs 4ozs) lose a very close decision to Ryan McNicol (8st 13lbs 12ozs) by 77-76. Delroy should have had a wee bit more belief in himself as this bout see-sawed from start to finish. McNicol relying on his right hook too much and telegraphing its arrival which Spencer should have avoided on several occasions. This second win over the Wolverhampton centurion implies that the Glaswegian has his number, but it was close and had Spencer given a smidgen more in the earlier part of the bout he could have taken it.

Having been secretary of Inverness City ABC for a time, I was looking forward to seeing the Aberdeen debut of the "Highlander" Gary Cornish (16st 7lbs 12ozs). This 6ft 7inch giant was only having his 2nd outing in the paid ranks and indeed, had a very limited amateur career, so taking on Hastings Rasani (15st 10lbs) was going to be an interesting and informative bout for both Cornish and his coach Laurie Redfern. The Zimbabwean, boxing out of Birmingham is nothing if not awkward and hardy with more KO's on his slate than Cornish had amateur bouts! From the first bell though the "Highlander" was infintely quicker than Rasani both in terms of movement and punching.

Cornish has a lightning fast jab for a heavyweight and it does come with some dynamite behind it, so much so that Rasani seemed taken by surprise with it. He (Cornish) had the measure of his man from the first bell and it was only when he dropped his guard with a casualness born of inexperience, did he look susceptible. Cornish also had a propensity for using up an awful lot of energy with unnecessary footwork which would get him a place in "Riverdance"! Referee Terry O'Connor ruled an accidental clash of heads had opened up a nast cut on Rasani's left eyebrow in the mid-stage of this scheduled sixth rounder, but it only served to postpone the inevitable as the Birmingham boxer's corner retired their man at the end of the fourth round with Rasani ending up with a bandage redolent of a car smash over his head.

This was a nasty exacerbation of the earlier clash of heads brought about by the attention he was getting from his Invernesian opponent, and had him needing to be taken to hospital (despite his protests) for the necessary stitches to repair his eyebrows. Cornish brought a fair old band of fans down from the highland capital despite the very popular "Rock Ness" which was on over the weekend. The venerable Beach Ballroom was yet again rocking and rolling with the Lee McAllister bandwagon in full tilt. I've said it before and I'll undoubtedly say it again in the future. When the "Aberdeen Assassin" fights here, you have to hear and see it to believe the atmosphere he generates.