Jordan Gill shockingly beaten by Enrique Tinoco; Leigh Wood dominates Ryan Doyle

At a noisy Nottingham Arena, on Matchroom’s NXTGEN show broadcast by Sky Sports, Chatteris’ exciting Jordan Gill shockingly lost his undefeated record and WBA International featherweight belt after 24 fights. Gill was dropped three times by aggressive, switch-hitting Mexican Enrique Tinoco and was retired at the end of round eight, shortly after the final knockdown.

Gill’s speed, movement and pinpoint jab were especially noteworthy in the first two rounds, but the rising star took more shots than most observers had anticipated and was dropped by a right to the body in the third, then again in the fifth from a similar punch and a follow-up left hook to the jaw.

Buoyed by the realisation he could hurt his man downstairs, Tinoco was relentless and scored a left to the midsection as the bell rang to end the eighth. Marked up and with the momentum against him, it looked a tough task for the 24-year-old and trainer Dave Coldwell sensibly pulled him out in the interval. Gill stated in the post-fight interview he had suspected food poisoning but had refused to withdraw from the fight.

Hometown hero Leigh Wood made the first defence of his Commonwealth featherweight title against Gorton’s Leigh Wood and rewarded the adoring crowd with a punishing, one-sided victory.

The anticipated cracker took a while to get going, as both men began in a cagey manner. Wood’s lateral movement, poise and fluidity in switching stances proved pivotal as the bout moved beyond the early rounds. As the 30-year-old established his ideal range, he went through the gears and broke down a Doyle who was kept so occupied by his opponent’s offensive variety, that he failed to launch any meaningful attacks of his own. Accurate to both head and body, Wood built a big lead before a barrage in round 10, culminating in a nasty left hook, put Doyle down for the full count.

Denaby’s WBC International lightweight champion Terri Harper took a non-title 10-twos with a sixth-session stoppage over ex-IBF super-feather boss Claudia Lopez of Argentina, the Yorshire lady’s first southpaw opponent as a pro. Harper outboxed the shorter but far more experienced South American, who was badly cut on the head from round two, to improve to 7-0.

World title challenger Stephen Smith of the famous Liverpool fighting family ticked over, winning every round of six over Des Newton.

There were also winning (four-round) debuts for former amateur stars Charlie Frankham and Dalton Smith. Frankham showed sharp punch picking against Tzemal Xouseinoglou but will need to develop a more pro-style defence. Smith meanwhile looked further ahead in that conversion process, dominating a dogged but overmatched Luka Leskovic.