Prizefighter boys get a run out on Doncaster undercard
Two of the boxers in the next Prizefighter line up came through warm up bouts on the undercard of last night’s pulsating Jamie McDonnell v Stuart Hall title clash at the Doncaster Dome.
Margate’s favourite Iranian Takaloo (11st 5lbs) beat Scunthorpe’s Steve Spence (11st 6lbs) 40-37 on the card of referee Mark Lyson.
Peterborough’s JJ Bird (11st 5 ½ lbs) beat Preston-born, Swansea-based Chris Brophy (11st 6 ½ lbs) by the same margin on Howard Foster’s card.
Both bouts were similar in that Takaloo and Bird boxed within themselves and could have won more convincingly but eased off, allowing their opponents a share of the last round. The pair obviously wanted a few rounds in the bank before they take part in Prizefighter on Thursday 15th September at York Hall.
Sunderland’s Glenn Foot (10st 7lbs) moved to 5-0 with a shut out 40-36 win over Atherton trier William Warburton (10st 6 ½ lbs). Foot constantly looked for a big shot leading to an impressive ending but Warburton knows what he’s about – he had only been stopped twice in 21 previous losses. The penny dropped for Foot and he began to box and perhaps could have taken a share of the last round.
Tony ‘The Snake’ Pace (10st 1lb) from Talbot Green, Wales, was given a tough debut against handy Joe Hughes (10st 1lb) from Malmesbury, Wiltshire. It was a good scrap and although the 60-54 verdict on referee Foster’s card was merited, it was one of those where it was more competitive than the bare tally shows.
I gave Pace a share of the second but Hughes, unsurprisingly, was just that little bit more savvy and was more accurate too. As the contest wore on, Hughes got through with some eye-catching shots and began to make Pace miss as the debutant started to tire. Hughes looked impressive in moving to 4-0 but Pace shouldn’t be disheartened by his professional bow.
Doncaster veteran Andy Roberts (8st 8lbs) is past his best and no one would blame him for hanging them up. But he still has enough left to give problems to novices and Halifax’s Scott Gladwin (8st 7lbs) will have learned plenty from their four-rounder. Referee Mark Lyson had it 39-38 to the West Yorkshireman; I had it wider for Gladwin at 40-37.
Roberts started well and constantly bounces on his toes and by the midway point of the second half it was an even contest. Gladwin put together a couple of impressive combinations in the latter part of the second and the match was his from then on. Roberts used the experience gained in his previous 43 fights to hear the final bell, including holding around Gladwin’s waist on a few occasions in the last.
Gladwin moves to 3-0 and such is the shallow nature of the domestic bantamweight division, if he racks up a few more it won’t be long before he’s boxing for some kind of title.
Newcastle’s Robert Dixon (10st 6lbs) was Carl Allen’s 122nd opponent and like most of the others found the Wolverhampton man in no mood for an early night. Allen (10st 11 ¾ lbs) did what he usually does – boxed on the back foot and whenever his opponent enjoyed success, he threw a few back to let everyone know he was still active. Dixon predictably took a 40-36 verdict and moves to 2-0.
The Geordie is actually called Craig but boxes under Robert, presumably to avoid confusion with Scots pro Craig Dickson, though the latter hasn’t fought for two years.
Sheffield’s former ABA champion Liam ‘Cannonball’ Cameron (11st 9lbs 10oz) got back to winning ways after his May loss to Erick Ochieng with a second round stoppage of Canning Town’s Costas Osben (11st 5 ¼ lbs).
Former light-heavyweight world champion Clinton Woods now trains Cameron, and was in his corner to see him begin to move through the gears before a left hook to the head brought matters to a premature conclusion. Osben dropped to his knees and couldn’t beat the count of referee Lyson.
Time, 1:05.
