Spence captures Masters belt with win over Laight

On Friday night PJ Rowson put on a cracking four fight bill at the Park Inn Hotel, Northampton. The bill featured four local lads from Northampton which ensured a tremendous atmosphere throughout the evening. The night was headlined by a British Masters welterweight title fight between Jamie Spence and Kristian Laight.

Local boy Spence (9st 11lbs) came into the fight on a three-fight winning streak and made it clear of his intentions from the first bell. His right hooks to the body would continually trouble Laight (9st 9lbs) throughout the fight. The first couple of rounds were dominated by Spence and it seemed that Laight couldn’t shake off his journeyman mentality and every time Spence landed he would mimic him and wave Spence in for another attack. As the fight matured Laight realised there was something at stake in this bout and he started to step up his game and fight with some conviction.

The third and fourth rounds were even affairs mainly dominated by Spence’s body shots but Laight landed his fair share of head shots. The fight was shaping up nicely and turning into a real tear up. The fifth round saw Spence land at least four unanswered head shots on Laight as he sat back on the ropes. This was the first time either fighter had really made a dent in their opponent. By now Laight was starting to blow a bit between rounds and rounds six and seven were fairly comfortable for Spence with not a lot coming back from Laight.

This didn’t last long as Laight found a reserve of energy for the last three rounds and was determined to give as good as he got. Both guys were determined not to take a step back. Spence’s body shots still landing with ease, along with the crowd going crazy for the home fighter spurred Spence on for an eye catching finish pushing Laight back to the ropes. After ten rounds of action Spence, now (9-3) came out the deserved winner 97-94 but I think Laight has more to offer than his (6-91-6) record suggests.

The show opener featured debutant Ash Lane (9st 1lb) in a four rounder against Glaswegian Ryan McNicol. The fight started slowly with both guys working each other out. As the round went on Lane started to find his range and was landing some fast left-right combinations. Lane's confidence was clearly growing and he finished the round strongly. By now it was becoming clear that Lane’s far superior hand speed could win him this fight at a canter.

McNicol (9st 1lb) came out flying in the second round pushing Lane back. That didn’t last long as Lane regained his foot hold on the fight. Then as both fighters cued up big punches in the centre of the ring they came together and their heads clashed. This opened up a nasty cut on Lane's right eye which was enough for referee John Keane to sensibly call a halt to the fight. Lane was clearly disappointed his debut was cut short like this and was desperate for the fight to be allowed to carry on. The result was called a Technical Draw.

Next up was Liam Daly (12st 13lbs) taking on Scunthorpe’s Jody Meikle in a cruiserweight contest over four rounds. First impressions were that Meikle was game but didn’t have the skill or power to trouble the home fighter. As the fight went on Daly took control especially landing his favourite and effective right hand counter shot. Credit to Meikle as he sports a decent chin and took a lot of the shots well and was playing the clown, laughing and wobbling his legs pretending to be hurt.

In the second round Daly did land a huge right hand which shook Meikle, this time there was no play acting and Meikle had to hold on. The remainder of the bout followed much the same pattern with Daly bossing the fight. Meikle did have some success but was unable to halt the head and body attacks from Daly. The bout was scored 40-36 in favour of deserved winner, Liam Daly.

In a highly charged four round bantamweight contest, Nathan Reeve (8st 6lbs) also fighting out of Northampton took on Bulgarian Hussein Hysseinov (8st 6lbs). The very well supported Reeve was keen to keep his fans happy by making a very quick start throwing an educated left jab and vicious body shots. The first round was very one sided in Reeve's favour, the second round he seemed to let Hysseinov back into the fight. During the second and third rounds both fighters gave it their all in some real eye catching exchanges but it was always Reeve who would get the final say. During the fourth Hysseinov started to tire and wanted to hold on and spoil. He was content to run the clock down but Reeve was having none of it.

The fight ended with Reeve in total control and he was handed a 40-36 points win by referee John Keane.