Ryder pick of Lynes-Purdy undercard

Middleweight prospect John 'The Gorilla' Ryder improved to 7-0 and caught the eye on an uneventful York Hall undercard with a second round stoppage of Luke Osman (2-10-1).

Sparring with recent world title challenger Darren Barker has brought the 23 year old on and his potent jab rocked back Osman's head in the opening round.

Ryder (11st 9lbs 8oz) started on the attack and skilfully picked lefts, jabs and right hands. Welshman Osman (11st albs) displayed heart but was obviously out of his depth as a five punch combination was followed up by a body shot that floored Osman in the second.

He bravely rose at seven but a further onslaught which culminated in a right hand staggered Osman prompting an intervention from referee Mark Green at 2.13.

The Islington man has only been professional for 14 months, but could be fast tracked. An excited fan echoed "Billy Joe Saunders - you're next.”

Heavyweight action came with Albert Sosnowski (46-4-2) who shared the spoils with Hastings Rasani (23-61-4) after six rounds on referee Richie Davies tally of 57-57 much to the surprise of some at ringside in the show opener.

The Redhill Pole first came to prominence on these shores when he stopped Danny Williams three years ago, but has since unsuccessfully tackled top Ukrainians Vitali Klitschko and Alexander Dimitrenko, and on this performance has slipped further down the radar.

Sosnowski (16st albs) commenced by jabbing and frequently followed up with stiff right hands, which the usually durable Rasani (16st 2½lbs) absorbed well. The punches helped open a cut above Rasani's left eye in the third round - inspected by Davies in the fourth.

But the Birmingham journeyman refused to surrender and among some wildly off target swings began to fight back by landing several impressive shots which rocked Sosnowski's head back.

A man like Rasani has likely been on the wrong end of many home decisions so despite my card having Sosnowski slightly ahead, I won't begrudge him, although big Albert may beg to differ.

Cork Cuban Mike Perez improved to 17-0 with a second, but laboured, win over American Zack Page (21-37-2). The 26 year-old repeated his February 2009 result over eight rounds, running out an 80-71 winner on referee Richie Davies scorecard.

Perez (17st 9½lbs) was having his first outing since winning the Prizefighter international heavyweights tournament in May, and started by launching a chopping right on the head of Page (14st 10lbs)

The 38 year-old American Page can be useful. I witnessed him being on the wrong end of a points decision against Tom Dallas in May, but he quickly reverted into survival mode from the first to last bell. A low work-rate was applied throughout from the low handed Perez, who poked his tongue out several times and taunted Page by pointing to his chin.

The arrogant bait failed to lure Page into a fight, who touched the canvas in round three after taking a body shot and immediately shook his head claiming a slip. Perez prowled forward and continued to land single heavy right hands and body shots, but looked content to complete the distance without having to stretch himself.

Davies, like myself, was becoming frustrated at the scrappiness and lack of quality as Both Perez and Page fell to the floor in the sixth round.

If Perez were to face an opponent such as Martin Rogan maybe just maybe we would see a bit more. Here`s hoping.

There was talk of Stoke Newington light-middleweight Eric Ochieng (8-1) fighting for the English title (recently vacated by Brian Rose, who challenges Prince Arron for the British prize next month) but he had to settle for a six round win against the tough Birmingham man Dee Mitchell (9-16-1).

The 25 year-old, professional for less than two years, is well supported but was made to work hard for his 59-55 score on referee Mark Green's card.

Ochieng (11st 1lbs 12oz) carries his left hand low which saw him carelessly caught by Mitchell (11st 3 ½lbs) in the second round. Mitchell's right hand to Ochieng`s head caused a heavy gasp from the crowd yet was no surprise after he landed several jabs.

Some of Ochieng's punches were landing on the gloves of Mitchell's high guard in the early exchanges, but an accurate sharp left caused Mitchell to stagger onto the ropes in the fourth. As the fight progressed, Ochieng improved slightly and had his best sessions between the fourth and sixth rounds.

Eric appeared to be in his comfort zone at times and may show his greater reserve when tested at a higher level. I would like to see him matched with current Southern Area champion Steve O'Meara.

Upminster lightweight Ryan 'Crash Bang' Taylor got his first professional win by outscoring York's Graham Fearn 40-36 on referee Mark Green's log. Taylor (9st 13lbs) used a series of right left combinations and body shots to produce a shut out despite being somewhat fortunate not have a knock down scored against him in the second round after his right hand touched down.

One cause of concern for the 23 year-old could be his susceptibility to mark up and cut. Although Fearn (9st 11lbs 2oz) held his guard high and threw little back, Taylor's right eye was marked and cut by the end of round three.

Wood Green's Chris Evangelou (9-0) struggled against Walsall's Joe Ryan (4-1) but did enough for referee Richie Davies to mark 39-37 in his favour.

Evangelou (10st 4lbs 3oz) likes to duck in and out while picking his shots and the first two rounds saw him slightly bemused with the trickiness of Ryan (10st 6 ½lbs). Holding his hands low is something Evangelou will have to curtail if he is to move into any form of title contention.

Despite winning, Evangelou left the ring visibly unhappy with his performance and having been ringside for several of his previous outings this was certainly an off night for the 25 year-old.

Aside from Colin Lynes superb display in the main event, shock of the night was reserved for the last contest which saw Ramsgate's Vinny Woolford stop the previously unbeaten welterweight Tyler Goodjohn.

Goodjohn (10st 8lbs 8oz) took the first two rounds as his jabs and combinations frequently met Woolford's head and body. The 20 year-old pushed Woolford (10st 11¾lbs) back and displayed good defensive qualities, slipping under any oncoming punches.

From the third round onwards the tide began to change slightly as Woolford fired home four unanswered head shots in the fourth, yet the few remaining fans and media didn't anticipate the devastating ending ahead.

As Goodjohn was getting ready to take his seat at the end of the fifth he was caught flush on the chin and instead took to the canvas.

He bravely attempted to convince referee Mark Green that completing the sixth and final round was within his capabilities but that was dismissed as he staggered back after climbing off the floor.

Sensibly it was called off at 3.08 as Woolford improved to 6-4-1 while Goodjohn dropped to 5-1.

Pictures by Bernard Miller for BoxRec News