Vassell eyes Lynes clash after retaining Commonwealth crown
On a week that has seen the British welterweight title change ownership from Lee Purdy to Colin Lynes, Manchester’s Denton Vassell staked his claim to be Britain’s premier 10st 7 operator with a unanimous points victory over Australia’s Samuel Colomban to retain his Commonwealth crown at Oldham Sports Centre.
It was a typical performance from Vassell – industrious, tenacious, body shots galore yet predictable in patches and lacking an explosive ending as he had to settle for his fourth points victory in five fights. Judges Steve Gray and Terry O’Connor ruled Vassell to be a 116-112 winner whilst Steve Gray’s card tallied 117-112 to stretch Denton’s unbeaten record to 19-0 (9).
Vassell (10st 7lbs), making the second defence of his title, bolted out of the traps and banged away inside against the much taller Colomban (10st 5lbs 12oz) but was guilty of being a little too enthusiastic as he slipped and tumbled over in the opening minute. Body shots were a key component of the Manchester man’s success but he was forced to revise his strategy when docked a point by referee Howard Foster in round three after Colomban made the most of a blow which appeared to strike his waistband.
Denton briefly lost his way in the immediate aftermath as he offered Colomban some breathing space to get his punches off. The challenger opened up a knick above Vassell’s left eye in the fourth as he started to match Denton’s earlier intensity. After a sticky patch, Vassell picked up his workrate and once more targeted Colomban’s angular body which had the visitor in retreat in round seven.
Despite largely being in control, Vassell still had to contend with a cut eye and a bloodied nose in the eighth yet he continued to plough forward and unleash combinations in short bursts. That extra ingredient of a fight ending punch, or an injection of variety and extra quality, was unfortunately lacking however.
Certainly at this level though Vassell will be hard to beat. Always in great condition thanks to trainer Bob Shannon putting him through his paces, Denton finished strongly and another body shot hurt Colomban in the ninth. When Vassell repeated the trick in round ten Colomban turned to referee Howard Foster in a bid to convince the official that the punch had strayed low only for his pleas to be rightly dismissed.
Vassell finally decided to take a breather in the twelfth and final round and was caught by a brace of right hands but Colomban, now 20-4 (10), never looked like mounting a serious comeback as the champion coasted to victory. Afterwards, promoter Ricky Hatton said he would try and set up a British and Commonwealth welterweight title clash between Vassell and Colin Lynes next year.
On the undercard, Blackpool's cruiserweight prospect Matty Askin (14st3 8oz) pressed his claims for a British title shot against Leon Williams with a third round TKO over a poorly conditioned Roman Kracik (14st 4lbs). Askin’s accuracy was most impressive as he repeatedly found the target area despite Kracik’s high held guard. A right uppercut midway through the third made Kracik wince and turn away in distress which prompted referee Steve Gray to step in as Askin mounted a crude follow-up assault. Now 12-0 (8) Askin looks certain to be challenging for domestic honours in 2012.
