Written by Jack 'The punk kid' Hughes
I woke up today and got offered a great opportunity. With no media to report on the small hall show taking place in Watford Leisure Centre, Boxing Management London owner, Tony Pill, had one call to make and he didn’t call the ghostbusters. He called me, Jack "The Punk Kid" Hughes - headliner in York Hall for the Southern Area title in 2 weeks time. With only a couple hours notice, I donned my uniform and headed across to Watford. Not all hero’s wear capes, but they do wear peach suits and leopard print shirts apparently.
#1 Ollie Duffy vs Peter Aleksandrov
Kicking off the show was Ollie Duffy, making it his second professional fight. Duffy came out and looked very sharp, throwing a lovely jab to the head, straight right to the body combination. In round 2, Aleksandrov started to look very tired and Olly landed a beautiful right hand that sent his man stumbling onto the ropes.Ollie continued to land the right hand and as both men went back to there corners, Aleksandrov was cut above his right eye. He complained about it being a head butt and decided Olly was too much, so didn’t come out of his corner for round 3. Your winner by TKO in the 2nd, Ollie Duffy.
#2 Harry Armstrong vs Matt Metsis
As the heavyweights took centre stage, Matt Metsis had an unusual stance and kept falling in with his shots. When he did, Armstrong utitlised these moments to make him pay with hard right uppercuts to the face of Metsis. Armstrong, being the taller man, used his stiff jab well and worked the body throughout. The fight was scored 40-36 to Harry Armstrong.
#3 Brandon Lewis vs Stanko Jermelic
Debutant Brandon Lewis held the centre of the ring throughout the fight. He was very calm and patient in his approach but found it hard to land clean shots against Jermelic. The third round changed everything as Lewis landed a beautiful straight right hand which sent his man tumbling into the ropes. Brandon’s cool and calm style soon disappeared with pure aggression taking over for the 4th, almost gaining a stoppage for his debut. The journeyman held on though, hearing the final bell with a sigh of relief. The ref scored the fight 40-36, Brandon Lewis.
#4 Carl Fail vs Ivica Gogosevic
From the off it was clear to see why they call Carl Fail the chosen one. With absolute sublime boxing ability and pin point body shots, it didn’t look like Ivica Gogosevic was going to last long. In the second, Gogosevic was down twice - the first came from a pawing right jab, then left uppercut to the body from the southpaw stance of Fail and the second from a check right hook which caught Gogosevic on the way in. Some how the very tough Ivica Gogosevic heard the final bell. Carl’s last name my be Fail but I don’t see this happening time soon. The ref scores it 40-34 to Carl Fail.
#5 Frankie Storey vs Victor Vezhilivestev
If the place wasn't buzzing to the rooftops enough, it escalated quickly as Frankie Storey came out to “Hey Baby, by DJ Otzi”. Frankie look sharp from the start, mixing it up with shots to the head and body through out the fight. It seemed like he hurt his man in the second with a jab, left hook combo and then continued to go to work on his opponent. Frankie saved the best until last in the 4th as he was taking angles which Vezhilivestev couldn’t cope with, landing big shots and evidently hurting Vezhilivestev a couple of times. The ref scores it 40-36 to Frankie Storey.
#6 Anees Taj vs Adrian Valentin
Anees Taj vs Adrian Valentin was without a doubt THE fight of the night. Both men coming to the ring with undefeated records and high knockout ratios, you knew this was going to be a good one. The opening round was fairly even but in the second, Taj came crumbling down via a huge right upper cut from the man from Slovakia. Taj got up at the count of 8 and took a massive left hook to the face for his trouble. Valentin seemed to wake Anees up as he started to come on strong, landing big shots of his own which the man they call AV seemed to take very well. Both fighters continued to land bombs and Taj was a bloody mess by the sixth and final round. The ref scores it 58-55 to Adrian Valentin - What an absolute war!
#7 Tysie Gallagher vs Claudia Ferenczi
When you mix boxing with beauty, you get the 2-0 superstar from Luton - Tysie Gallagher. Making a step up in her third sixth rounder, taking on 117th fight veteran Claudia Ferenczi, Tysie had to be on her game and boy, did she not disappoint! With her fantastic boxing skills on show from the very start, she showed what an exceptional talent she is. Ferenczi kept dropping her hands to engage Tysie to come in and Tysie answered her call with a double jab straight right hand to her opponents face. As the rounds went on Tysie grew into the fight and only got better. I for one cannot wait to see what the future holds for this young talent. It was scored 60-54 to Tysie Gallagher.
#8 Slavisa Gegic vs Alexey Tukhtavrov
Slavisa Gegic is clearly a man that likes the longer rounds as you could see he worked the body from the start and kept coming forward. He came on later into the fight throwing good combinations to the head and the body of Tukhtavrov. The ref scores it 60-54 Slavisa Gegic.
#9 Aurel Ignat vs Gennadi Stserbin
Aurel Ignat vs Gennadi Stserbin was a great way to end the night as both men clearly wanted the win. Ignat being the bigger and stronger man of the two, controlled the fight from the off using his size and reach. He broke his man down in the 4th, leaving Stserbin like Ian Beale with nothing left. Aurel continued to came forward with big shots constantly, landing left hooks and straight rights to Stserbins face. With approx 20 seconds left, the ref had no choice but to put Stserbin out of his misery. TKO in the fourth round for Aurel Ignat, making his professional record 2 Wins, 2 KOs.
Overall it was a fantastic show put on by promoter and top coach, Tony Pill. It had everything from an amazing atmosphere, knockdowns, stoppages and even an win for the away corner. I’m glad Tony misdialled Spencer Oliver ... ah I mean, called me to report on the show and will without a doubt see you at the next one.
I’m Jack "The Punk Kid" Hughes, keeping you up to date for all your boxing needs.
The show was proudly sponsored by Light Corporation.