By Ryan Waugh at ringside: Leon ‘Solid’ Williams was shockingly stopped by Shane McPhilbin in the 12th and final round in defence of his British cruiserweight title at the York Hall in Bethnal Green in London on Friday.
In the other main event, former heavyweight Prizefighter champion Sam Sexton defeated local boy Larry Oluwamibo via a controversial fifth round tko stoppage after the bout was stopped due to a clash of heads.
A packed York Hall crowd witnessed another absorbing night of boxing which ended in unbelievable fashion. Williams had been coasting along to a routine victory over McPhilbin after a thunderous right hook mid-way through the first round had the Nottingham man on the canvas.
As the fight went on it was clear to see that McPhilbin was no match for the Streatham man as he used his speed and movement to control the fight while picking him off with some excellent jabs.
However, with the home favourite well up on all score cards going into the 12th round, the last minute replacement (three weeks) knocked Williams to the ground with an unexpected right hook.
The surprised and dazed Williams managed to rise to his feet but the Carl Greaves trained boxer seized the initiative to once again knock the champion to the canvas. The referee let the fight continue for a second time but the Nottingham man once again laid into a dazed Williams and the referee had no choice but to stop the contest.
Stopped
The heavyweight dual between 27-year-old Sexton and Hackney’s Oluwamibo was also eventful. The man with something to prove, started brightly and managed to cause Oluwamibo some early problems with some good combinations.
However, both traded blows and in the fourth a clash of heads resulted in a nasty cut which developed on the side of Sexton’s head. During the fifth round the cut continued to bleed heavily and the bout had to be stopped and the referee’s card was consulted with Sexton taking the narrowest of margins 49-48.
Another local favourite to please the passionate crowd was promising welterweight Bradley Skeete who collected his sixth straight professional career win. The Londoner knocked his opponent down in the first round and dominated the rest of the eight rounds as Michael Frontin had no answer to his speed and excellent jab.
One of the most evenly contested bouts was between Michael McGuire and Najah Ali in the super-bantamweight contest. Both boxers gave as good as they got until the final seconds of the last round when Ali had McGuire down with a body shot which ultimately won him the bout.
The battle between local boy John Dignum and Ryan Clark in the middleweight clash ended with a victory for the Brentwood man as he showed no signs of nerves in his first professional fight with a deserved 40-36 victory.
In some of the other contests, Charlie Hoy defeated Darren Pryce in the super-flyweight division with another fine 40-36 triumph.
East Ham’s George Jupp who was beaten by Choi Tseveenpurev in the recent Prizefighter, eased through against Dan Naylor 66-59 in his super-featherweight clash.
In the other two remaining bouts, both Daryl Williams and Peter McDonagh claimed much needed victories in their light-welterweight and super-middleweight contests with comfortable point’s victories.
January 13, 2012
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