“MAXIMUM FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP 30” AIRS LIVE ON HDNET THIS FRIDAY

Posted on | June 8, 2011 | No Comments

Fickett vs. Cobb and Davis vs. Spratt Headline Deep Fight Card – Friday at 10:00 p.m. ET on HDNet

DALLAS (June 8, 2011) “HDNet Fights: Maximum Fighting Championship 30 – Up Close and Personal” will be broadcast LIVE on HDNet this Friday at 10:00 p.m. ET from the Mayfield Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

The MFC has established itself as the premiere MMA promotion in Canada and its thirtieth edition features another deep, talent-laden card with a mix of well regarded veterans and promising prospects.

In the main event of the evening Drew “Night Rider” Fickett (41-13) looks to solidify his status at the top of the MFC Lightweight division with a victory over well regarded Brian Cobb (18-6). Fickett is one of the hottest Lightweights in the world having reeled off five straight submission wins in a total of fourteen minutes and twenty seconds. Cobb is riding a three fight winning steak of his own.

The co-main event features a battle of veteran Welterweights as Marcus “The Irish Hand Grenade” Davis (18-8) meets Pete “The Secret Weapon” Spratt (22-19). Four years ago the two met at UFC 69 with Davis scoring a submission victory. The two are known for their crowd pleasing styles, so expect fireworks in this rematch!

Also on the main card: Sheldon Westcott (4-1-1) vs. Thomas “Wildman” Denny (27-18-1), Dhiego Lima (5-0) vs. Jamie Toney (14-6), Robert Washington (9-3) vs. Curtis Demarce (10-9), and Andreas Spang (5-1) vs. Cody Krahn (10-3).

The event is part of a full summer of MMA action on HDNet – Your Home for MMA – featuring an exclusive premiere event every Friday night in June and July including five LIVE events.

 

Prizefighter-Welterweights II Report – The King Is Dead, Long Live The King

Posted on | June 8, 2011 | No Comments

By: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

Last night boxing fans from all over the country converged on York Hall for the season finale of the highly successful, Matchroom Sports promoted, Prizefighter series and boy were they treated to a show full of intrigue, drama, controversy and most importantly plenty of world class action.

The bookies had expected former World champions, and former foes, Junior Witter and Colin Lynes to meet in the final, well they were half right as Junior Witter made it all the way and faced London based Moroccan the Showman himself – Yassine El Maachi.

So the scene was set King of the ring Junior Witter against the man many thought of as a pretender to the throne Yassine El Maachi. Before we get to final here is a quick review of how they got there.

Quarter Final 1 – Kevin McIntyre Vs. John Wayne Hibbert

The opening bout of the night see former British Champion Kevin McIntyre against unbeaten prospect John Wayne Hibbert.

It started out as quite a scrappy affair, but settled down once Hibbert slowed his pace instead of rushing in wildly. McIntyre’s southpaw stance was causing the Essex youngster all kinds of problems, which see him easily picked off by the far more experienced Scot.

McIntyre championship stature really came to the fore, whereas Hibbert would rush in lunging, McIntyre stayed calm and collected and was taking the early rounds easily with his clean, crisp and accurate punching.

A great final round for Hibbert, who plain worked his socks off in an attempt to turn the tide in his favour.  At one point he forced McIntyre back on to the ropes with a flurry of straight shots, he also landed a couple of excellent head shots and a cracking short hook to the body. Don’t get me wrong it wasn’t all one way traffic, anything but as McIntyre landed a series of punishing big scoring uppercuts and body shots.

The judges each scored the bout 29-28 in favour of Kevin McIntyre

Quarter Final  2 – Junior Witter Vs. Nathan Graham

Round one of the second quarter final starts with a short sharp exchange of jabs between the protagonists. As both settle down former World Champion Junior Witter starts to dictate the pace with razor sharp jabs and uppercuts, of which almost all catching  the Graham as he closes in. Graham shows guts and determination but as most of the meaningful punches came from Witter I scored this round to the former World Champ.

Round two sees the patented Witter distraction strategy come into play, waving his leading hand Witter switches to southpaw briefly before lunging in with big shots to the body or double handed attacks. Witter toys with the less experienced Graham and picks him off regularly with vicious body shots. Another clear round for Witter.

Graham steps up the pressure in the third round but gets regularly caught by some powerful countering from Witter. Keeping up the pressure Graham lands some excellent straight rights, but Witter soon regains control and keeps Graham at distance and just picks him off at will. No surprise that Witter gets the nod from all three  judges, by a 30-28 (twice) and 29-28 margin.

Quarter Final 3 – Colin Lynes Vs. Bobby Gladman

It was a real cagy start between the two TKO gym fighters in their quarter final meeting, most of the first round consisting of jabs with a couple of combinations thrown in for good measure. As the round progressed former World Champ Colin Lynes started to exert his authority, on his less experienced gym mate Bobby Gladman, with flurries of shots to the body and head. Gladman held his own and countered with stiff jabs and the occasional right. I see this as Lynes’ round but only by a very close margin.

A much brisker start to the second round which see Gladman in a much more fighty mode, letting rip with some neat combinations and stronger jabs. The only problem for Gladman was Lynes countered with crisper, sharper combinations. During one of the later exchanges Lynes visibly shakes the youngster with a vicious body shot and then a little later catches Gladman with a beautiful uppercut followed by a hook to the head. Easy round to call in favour of the former World Champ.

More of the same in the third round until Gladman catches Lynes on the chin with an uppercut. After a short clinch it was back to the boxing, with Lynes in full control. Gladman tried to give as good as he took but Lynes’ greater experience see him easily control the bout. The final bit of real action see Gladman on the receiving end of a punishing hook to the body followed by a hook, cross, hook to the head.

No one was surprised when the judges scorecards showed Colin Lynes the winner by a unanimous 30-27 points margin.

Quarter Final 4 – Yassine El Maachi vs. Peter McDonagh

In the build up to their match up there had been many verbal exchanges between Peter McDonagh and Yassine El Maachi, one thing was clear from this McDonagh was determined to rattle El Maachi as much as possible, so it came as no surprise that McDonagh takes the fight to El Maachi. Big mistake, El Maachi calmly picks McDonagh off each time he would charge forward.

As the round progressed El Maachi starts to take the ‘Connemara Kid’ apart with crunching  upper cuts and hooks to the head. McDonagh lands a few shots but El Maachi just shakes them off and begins punishing him again. No doubt the first blood, sorry round, goes to the Moroccan.

More of the same in the second and third, about the only difference is McDonagh goes on the back foot as El Maachi chases him around the ring trying to finish the fight early. Whilst this may sound like it was all one way traffic it wasn’t McDonagh showed so much heart as he tried to wrestle control from El Maachi, just El Maachi was far too strong and savvy.  Again no surprise El Maachi was declared the winner by 29-28 (twice) and 30-27 points margin.

Semi Final 1 – Junior Witter Vs. Kevin McIntyre

Witter starts strongly, using swift fluid motion culminating in some neat combinations and ‘Witter’ style jabbing until McIntyre catches him with a wicked cross. Witter does what Witter does, great movement and distraction tactics until the opportunity arrives for him to attack, fast and with punishing combustion lands a vicious hook to the body, McIntyre sinks to his knees and takes the count. For the rest of the round Witter targets the body, dishing as much punishment as possible. Each punch landed clearly hurts the tough Scot but doesn’t put him down for a second time. Easy round to call – Witter.

Starting off the second where the first finished Witter goes for the body without too much success so changes tack and starts letting rip with uppercuts and hooks to the head and body whenever the opportunity presents itself. It wasn’t all one way traffic, McIntyre catches Witter with a cracking left that drives the former champ back to the the ropes, before McIntyre can take full advantage Witter amazingly finds a little space, counters and moves out of harms way.

More of the same in the third, other than a change of stance and plenty of showboating it was business as usual for the former WBC champion. I personally see it as three clear rounds for Witter, one of the judges felt the same and scored it 30-27, whilst the other two see it 29-27 for Witter.

Semi Final 2 – Colin Lynes Vs. Yassine El Maachi

El Maachi starts the round aggressively and takes Lynes back to the ropes, but fails to capitalise. Lynes keeps his head and boxes in a neat and tidy way, picking off the rushing El Maachi  with ease at times. As the round progress El Maachi starts to get a bit ragged and messy, between the clinching lets rip with wild rangy shots, of which very few actually make any contact. Lynes remains calm throughout . It was a hard round to call so I called it even, the judges could easily see it in favour of either of them.

Lynes changes tactics for the second  instead of trying to box the highly unorthodox switch hitting El Maachi he turns the pressure up, forcing the Moroccan onto the back foot with flurries of punches and then grabbing hold before El Maachi can counter. Whilst this was the main feature of the round there were some excellent exchanges. The best of these was when Lynes landed a solid hook to the head of El Maachi and then followed up with a cracking body shot.

Round three see more of the same flurry-clinch tactics from Lynes dominate the round. Again there were some excellent exchanges , the best of these see El Maachi and Lynes simultaneously throw hooks. In another El Maachi powers to the body and in another Lynes forces El Maachi back onto the ropes with crunching combination to the body.

At the end of the bout my instant reaction was that Colin Lynes had won two rounds clear, with the first round so close it could go to either of them. I thought the tactics employed by Lynes’ coach Jimmy Tibbs were sublime and had surely earned Colin his second Prizefighter final place and a date with old foe Junior Witter. One judge agreed and scored the bout 30-28 to Lynes but the other two scored it 29-28 in favour of Yassine El Maachi.

Final – Junior Witter Vs. Yassine El Maachi

Due to Witter and El Maachi both having a similar style those in the know had predicted that the final would be horrible to watch, and to a degree they were right, but there was plenty of action and drama to make up for some of the messier and plain boring times.

First round was an untidy affair, plenty of posturing and wrestling interspersed with a little boxing. Most of the good work and meaningful punches came from El Maachi, including a flurry of punches that culminated in a shot to the head that sent Witter to the canvas, only to be waved off by the referee as a slip. Not to be deterred El Maachi just got back to business and again catches Witter with a solid hook to the temple as the Bradford man rushes in.

The best way to describe the second round is an untidy brawl, it was a mess. Both fighters spent the majority of the round holding and shoving. It was a hard round to score as neither had done anything worth scoring!

El Maachi get his shots under control again in the third and catches Witter with a sharp cross hook. During one of the increasingly frequent wrestling sessions Witter receives a cut over the right eye and then shortly after during yet another wrestling session Witter flips the Moroccan over his hip and to the canvas. El Maachi’s responds with some wild and erratic shots that fail to make any contact, but soon calms down and attempts to take some control of the round by gesturing to Witter to come in.

The next bit of real action causes huge concern to many present, during a rushed attack El Maachi sidesteps and Witter is sent of balance and through the ropes, where he crashes into a Sky cameraman before hitting the floor. Witter is straight up and back into the ring to everyone’s relief.

Normal service resumes with minimal action between the ubiquitous wrestling, during one exchange El Maachi catches Witter flush on the chin and in another Witter is sent to the canvas, again it was a punch that sent him down, albeit on the back of the head this time so quite rightly waved off. Both resumed where they left off until the final bell.

After a short delay MC John McDonald reads the scorecards out, one judge sees the bout as a 29-29 draw and  both the other judges called it 29-28 in favour of Yassine El Maachi.

So there we have it, it may not have been a classic encounter but either way former ring King Junior Witter is deposed and a new King has been crowned – Long live King Yassine El Maachi.

 

PHOTO GALLERY (Photos By: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro):

Azumah Nelson Foundation Charity Auction/Meet & Greet at World Famous Gleason’s Gym -June 13th,2011

Posted on | June 8, 2011 | No Comments

 

Azumah “The Professor” Nelson, former WBC world champion, put African boxing on the map KO after KO and became the only boxer from the continent of Africa to date to be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Azumah Nelson will make his first appearance at New York’s famous Gleason’s Gym on June 13, 2011, from 6-9pm for a meet and greet charity auction, benefiting the Azumah Nelson Foundation’s “Mentoring for a Brighter Future” building project in Akuse, Ghana- which marries sports & education. The Azumah Nelson Academy is being built on 50 acres of land acquired by Azumah Nelson to give back to the young people & future of Ghana, as he calls on the help of the global village to raise every child by mentoring for a brighter future.

 

Azumah Nelson holds his title of “The Professor” to heart, as he has made it his life’s mission to educate the children of the black star nation of Ghana, West Africa. Azumah Nelson has dedicated all proceeds from his new documentary entitled Zoom Zoom -The Professor, which made its US debut at the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington DC on April 2, 2011, along with his book Azumah Nelson, The Professor: 12 rounds of Boxing & Life, to raising money for the Azumah Nelson Academy building project.

 

Azumah Nelson holds the high reverence of being dubbed the Mohammed Ali of Africa, a man who is bigger than life to most Africans and boxing fans throughout the world, whom he has inspired not only through his globally recognized accomplishments, but also through his compassion & dedication to giving back to his nation & to Africa as a whole. Today hip-hop artists from Africa name check him in their raps & young boxers from Ghana like Joshua Clottey, who has garnered international fame, fight in his name  & shadow because he paved the way to respecting the strength, power & intelligence of the African fighter.

 

Boxing Links (6-7-11)

Posted on | June 8, 2011 | No Comments

Kansas boxer Victor Ortiz to defend title against Floyd Mayweather Kansas City Star By RUSTIN DODD The victory tour had hardly even begun before Victor Ortiz started offering up hints that his next fight would send ripples through the boxing world. Just two weeks after winning the WBC welterweight title, Ortiz arrived at Kauffman … See all stories on this topic » Kansas City Star

San Rafael to allow professional boxing match at baseball field San Jose Mercury News By Jessica Bernstein-Wax SAN RAFAEL — A professional boxing event may be coming to San Rafael after the City Council voted 4-1 to allow the use in Albert Park. Marin boxing legend Paul Nave, known as the “Marin County Assassin,” had appealed city … See all stories on this topic »

Julio Cesar Chavez Jr and Boxing’s Minor League Bleacher Report It is also not good for the confusion it adds to boxing in that Chavez now has a belt and is referred to as a champion. However, overall, having Chavez occupy this position in the middleweight division may be good for the sport in the long run. … See all stories on this topic » Bleacher Report

Southland boxer Genaro Hernandez, a former world champion, dies at 45 Los Angeles Times Genaro “Chicanito” Hernandez, who ascended through the Southern California boxing ranks to become a two-time world super-featherweight champion, died Tuesday after more than two years of battling cancer, his friend and boxing publicist Bill Caplan said … See all stories on this topic »

Brandon Rios-Urbano Antillon Press Conference Quotes EastsideBoxing.com LOS ANGELES (June 7, 2011) – Undefeated World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion “Bam Bam” Brandon Rios and two-time world title challenger and Top-Five-rated contender Urbano Antillon spent more time talking to each other than members of … See all stories on this topic »

Juan Diaz quits boxing for law school ESPN By Dan Rafael Two weeks after signing a contract to fight David Torres and announcing that he would end a one-year layoff, the former unified lightweight titlist withdrew from the fight Tuesday, telling promoter Leon Margules of Warriors Boxing that he … See all stories on this topic »

Drug charges dropped against former boxing champ USA Today (AP) — Two Kansas drug charges against former heavyweight boxing champion Tommy Morrison have been dropped because the state trooper who arrested him has died. By Charles Saus, AP Tommy Morrison had the charges dropped after the officer who arrested … See all stories on this topic » USA Today

Quiz boxer Sugar Ray Leonard CNN (blog) Flashy and fast-fisted, Sugar Ray Leonard is widely regarded as the greatest boxer of all time. The retired American champion has an unprecedented five world titles in five weight classes to his name and has been part of some of the most memorable … See all stories on this topic »

Eminem’s boxing drama may land Antoine Fuqua as director Orlando Sentinel (blog) But now that a boxing picture has taken a couple of major prizes, there’s interest in more boxingpictures and Eminem has one. He may get the director of “Training Day” behind the camera for “Southpaw,” his long-awaited second shot at the movies. … See all stories on this topic »

UFC 131: An Old Boxing Dogma Will Be the Key to Dos Santos’ Win over Carwin Bleacher Report Ask anyone in the sports of boxing who will win between a fighter who has fast hands and someone who possesses power but lacks speed, and you will often get the former as the answer. If this will apply in the upcoming title-eliminator match between … See all stories on this topic »

 

Blogs

Fireworks boxing is the greatest sport that never caught on By Cyriaque Lamar This blurb appeared in a 1937 issue of Popular Science. In London, two fellows donned asbestos suits and feigned a boxing match while their pyrotechnic doppelgangers exploded alongside them, like some sort of spontaneously combusting … io9

 

Web

OnMilwaukee.com Sports: Boxing flashback: Stanley Ketchel One hundred three years ago this weekend, Downtown Milwaukee taverns ran out of champagne when Stanley Ketchel guzzled, sprayed and bathed himself in all … www.onmilwaukee.com/sports/articles/stanleyketchel.html

 

New York MMA Regulation Hits Major Roadblock

Posted on | June 8, 2011 | No Comments

By: Rich Bergeron

 

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New York MMA fans will have to wait a little longer to see the sport they love sanctioned in their state despite recent indicators that regulation efforts were making headway in the Empire State. One of New York’s most powerful lawmakers, State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, recently told a New York Daily News reporter that there does not appear to be any major support in the assembly for allowing for regulation of Mixed Martial Arts in the state.

This latest bad news for the sport comes on the heels of a more positive development for a bill moving through the legislature that would create the framework for regulation of MMA in the state. That regulatory bill recently passed through the Assembly’s Tourism, Parks, Arts and Sports Development committee by a 16-3 vote. The same bill swept through the state senate (in a 42-18 vote in support of regulation) before coming before the tourism committee.

The New York Daily News is polling readers as part of their report on Democrat Sheldon Silver’s vote of no confidence for regulation. At last check the poll shows 85 % of voters say regulation is important for safety reasons while 14 % of voters say sanctioning the sport would encourage violence. Despite the growing support among the public, politicians may still block progress on regulation for both personal and political reasons that have nothing to do with the sport’s safety record.

Though public political sentiment surrounding the sport seems to point to how “barbaric” mixed martial arts is perceived by opposing lawmakers in New York, Ultimate Fighting Championships’ President and Minority Owner Dana White has been making the rounds blaming union forces for the rising tide against regulation. White’s recently been demonizing union efforts and painting the Culinary Union’s parent company (UNITE HERE) as the enemy to furthering the acceptance of the sport in New York state. White made headlines recently after calling attention to “union idiots” in New York spending money to oppose MMA’s regulation there. UNITE HERE is lobbying against the sport in New York state due to multiple issues unions typically work to address on behalf of their members. A memo, put out by UNITE HERE members and mentioned in the above-linked story, points to problems specifically caused by the “near monopoly” the UFC created by purchasing Strikeforce.

Fighter pay and contract issues do seem to be legitimate reasons for UNITE HERE’s opposition to MMA, though the Station Casinos case against the Culinary Union is also clearly a minor, indirect contributor. The UFC and Station Casinos often neglect to keep their businesses from overlapping, so it’s no coincidence Red Rock Casino hosted the most recent fighter summit that sought to quell many of the issues calling attention to the potential need for a fighters’ union for MMA. It’s also no coincidence that the same Fertitta brothers who don’t seem to want their casinos to become union shops seem to also be concerned enough to make moves that give the impression that they care about their UFC fighters as much as any fighters’ union would.

New York Assemblyman Bob Reilly was already a staunch opponent of MMA’s regulation in New York state before hearing Dana White’s “union idiots” chatter after UFC 129. Since Reilly admittedly received many donations over the years from various unions, he was obviously offended by White’s union bashing and attempts to link the Culinary Union issue to the regulation debate. Reilly’s Colleague Sheldon Silver is 34-year veteran of the assembly who wields incredible power to determine what the political landscape might be like for any particular bill. Despite massive lobbying efforts put forth by the UFC brass in New York in recent years and a $74,600 donation by UFC parent company Zuffa given to Governor Andrew Cuomo’s election campaign last year, running afoul of unions seems to be more of a threat to New York’s political bigwigs than offending lobbyists and the governor’s donors.

There also may be an effort to impact the debate on campaign finance reform behind the blockade being imposed on MMA regulation by certain political forces in New York. Since it’s been so widely publicized that the UFC is spending a ton of cash to influence voters and politicians alike in New York, if the sport is regulated the storyline will no doubt be all about how the vote represents the “pay to play” trend in politics. This creates a climate which seems to make it more of a political victory for powerful politicians to spurn the UFC brass and their deep pockets. Those politicians also don’t seem to care that the sport could bring major revenue to the state by way of tourism and taxes generated by major events in the state. They seem to be making a statement that they refuse to be bought by out of state billionaires and would rather agree with union forces within the state who are also doing their fair share of lobbying on the issue.

Whatever the reasons behind the rising tide against regulation in New York may be, it seems clear that the sport will continue to face an uphill battle there for the forseeable future. It’s also apparent that the true underlying reasons for delaying or denying regulation will remain hidden under what appear to be uneducated claims that the sport is not safe and only encourages violence. Politicians simply don’t seem to want to own up to their real motivations for blocking regulation and the UFC brass seems content to blame unions rather than talk about their own dirty secrets. The fact is, Zuffa is acting as more of a monopoly with each passing day. Their majority owners, the Fertitta brothers, traditionally try to tackle some of the most significant issues they’ve faced by throwing money at them and buying out their competition. That approach isn’t working in New York, so Dana White’s so mad he’s resorting to name calling. He’s proving that one thing the UFC doesn’t stand for is Union Friendly Company. Zuffa as a whole is also proving that as huge and powerful as the organization has become, they’re not too big to fail.

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Providence amateur boxer Toka Kahn-Clary off to The Nationals

Posted on | June 8, 2011 | No Comments

PROVIDENCE (June 8, 2011) – U.S. Olympic Boxing Team hopeful Toka Kahn-Clary, the recent 18-year-old E3 Academy graduate in Providence, will be shooting for a berth in the U.S. Olympic Team Trials when he competes in the upcoming 2001 USA Boxing National Championships at Colorado Springs.

By finishing among the top four in the 132-pound division at The Nationals, June 20-24, Kahn-Clary will advance to the U.S. Olympic Team Trials. The winners there in each of the eight divisions will become members of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, which will participate in the 2011 World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan to try and qualify for 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The Liberia-native who moved to Providence 12 years ago already captured top honors in the 132-pound lightweight division this year at the at the New England Tournament of Champions at Foxwoods Resort Casino (CT), New England Golden Gloves Tournament in Lowell (MA), and Northeast Regional Championships at Lake Placid (NY).

Kahn-Clary’s coach, Peter Manfredo Sr., (Manfredo’s Gym in Pawtucket), explained that Toka will represent Regional 1 (New England, New York and New Jersey) at The Nationals. “All Toka needs to do is win two fights and he’ll qualify for the U.S. Olympic Team Box-Offs,” said Manfredo, who is also coach of the Regional 1 team. “Toka is looking real good. He’s had great sparring partners, pros and amateurs. I brought in all styles – power, speed, pressure, etc. – because we wanted him to work with every possibility that he may box in this tournament. The Nationals is most prestigious and important tournament because the top four make it to the Box-offs, unlike only the winners for the other four tournaments (PAL, Golden Globes, Armed Forces and Last Chance Qualifier).”

Last year, Kahn-Clary (72-7 career amateur record) captured a gold medal in the 123-pound bantamweight class of the National Golden Gloves Tournament.

If Toka earns a spot on the 2012 U.S. Olympic Boxing Team, he will become the third straight Olympic boxer from Rhode Island, joining Jason Estrada and Demetrius Andrade from the 2004 and 2008 squads, respectively.

EL MAACHI TARGETS THE “BEST IN BRITAIN” AFTER PRIZEFIGHTER WIN

Posted on | June 8, 2011 | No Comments

Moroccan stuns Junior Witter to claim the trophy at York Hall

Yassine El Maachi lived up to his nickname ‘The Showman’ as he beat former World Champion Junior Witter to win the Prizefighter Welterweights II crown at York Hall, Bethnal Green on Tuesday night, and says he’s ready to gatecrash the British Welterweight scene.

Moroccan-born Finsbury Park man El Maachi had been the centre of attention throughout the build-up to the night and he continued to hog the limelight in east London, seeing off Kevin McIntyre and former finalist Colin Lynes to face Witter in front of a packed out east London crowd.

Witter seemed to have the better of El Maachi in the opening moments of the final with a burst of action that looked to expose a gulf of class and experience between the two.

But El Maachi came right back at the former World Champion and appeared to floor him inside the opening 90 seconds of the first round, but the referee called it a slip. Either way, both men made an impression early-doors to stoke up the crowd and would go into their corners thinking they were on top.

The styles of the two fighters made for a close-up scrap that was as untidy as it was compelling, with a tetchy second round giving way to a mad last three minutes.

Neither fighter could be confident of their position in the fight, so the final round would always be decisive and while a farcical moment when Witter fell out of the ring and collided with a cameraman. Thankfully he bounced straight back into the ring, but solid body shots from El Maachi and a left towards the end may have been enough to get El Maachi the trophy, and get him the attention and big fights he craves.

“I had a lot of fans here tonight and this is for them,” said El Maachi. “I want to fight the best in the country and the best in Europe. No-one wants to fight me but now I’ve won this they cannot hide and I’ll face anyone.

“I knew Witter wouldn’t be able to beat me. We have the same style but I’ve got faster hands than him and I’ve got more skill than him and I was the best fighter on the night.

“I loved the crowd – I had lots of supporters and I thank them for turning out tonight. A lot of people see what I can do and now those guys who avoided me will have to fight me. I got tired of chasing people, I’ve been doing that for so long now, but I won’t have to do it anymore and I will take anyone on.”

It was a vicious body shot in the opening round of his semi-final against Kevin McIntyre that saw Witter through as the Scotsman took a knee. He got back to his feet but was unable to make an impression and the former World Champ cruised into the final.

Any hopes of a same-venue rematch between old rivals Lynes and Witter were dashed in the semis as El Maachi edged a tight affair against the Hornchurch fighter. The Moroccan’s bravado was replaced by caution and respect against Lynes, and as a result, it was a nervous nine minutes of action which ended in a split decision. One judge awarded Lynes the fight 30-28, but it wasn’t enough as the remaining judges gave it to El Maachi 29-28, 29-28.

El Maachi cut his shin on the entrance to the last quarter-final against Peter McDonagh, but that was the sole low point in a magical night for ‘The Showman’, who saw that all four quarters would be won by the favourites.

The first three quarter-finals saw the bookies tips dish out boxing lessons to their opponents with clinical wins. Kevin McIntyre boxed well in the opening fight of the night against John-Wayne Hibbert to claim a points decision with all three judges scoring the fight 29-28 in his favour.

Witter looked cool and composed in seeing off the challenge of Nathan Graham in the second quarter final of the night and Colin Lynes had far too much class for Bobby Gladman in the third bout of the night.

But it was the fourth quarter final that sparked the full house into life, as El Maachi and McDonagh crossed swords. The pair had words at the weigh-in on Monday and there was no love lost until the pair embraced as they waited for the decision. In the nine minutes they duelled for a semi-final spot, El Maachi roared out of the traps and looked like he wanted to finish things early against the Bermondsey-based Irishman, proving to be every part ‘The Showman’ as he exuberantly set about his rugged opponent in the opening salvo.

El Maachi acted the pantomime villain with more jibes at the end of an opening round that he dominated, and that seemed to rile McDonagh, who came out fighting in a scrappy second round – but again, the flashier El Maachi came to life at the right time and ended the second well. The third looked like the last chance for McDonagh to impress but as with the opening six minutes, his southpaw rival unloaded upper cut after upper cut to take the unanimous decision and start his march to glory.

Prizefighter Welterweights II results:

Quarter-finals

Kevin McIntyre beat John-Wayne Hibbert – unanimous decision 29-28, 29-228, 29-28

Junior Witter beat Nathan Graham – unanimous decision 30-28, 30-28, 39-28

Colin Lynes beat Bobby Gladman – unanimous decision 30-27, 30-27, 30-27

Yassine El Maachi beat Peter McDonagh – unanimous decision 30-27, 29-28, 29-28

Semi-finals

Junior Witter beat Kevin McIntyre – unanimous decision 30-27, 29-27, 29-27

Yassine El Maachi beat Colin Lynes – split decision 29-28, 28-30, 29-28

Final

Yassine El Maachi beat Junior Witter – majority decision 29-29, 29-28, 29-28

 

English Title Shot Beckons For Ochieng After Convincing Win Over Cameron

Posted on | June 8, 2011 | No Comments

 

 

Stoke Newington’s sensational Light Middleweight prospect Erick ‘The Eagle’ Ochieng returned to training, at the TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town, this week after taking a short rest following his magnificent points win over the highly rated, and previously unbeaten, Liam Cameron.

Erick happily accepted the offer to face Cameron, on his home turf in Sheffield, even though Cameron was unbeaten in nine outings and being hailed as a prospective title contender.

Young Erick put on a scintillating performance to easily take the victory by a 77-74 points margin, which see him rocket up the rankings and into championship contention. It is proposed that Erick will now challenge current holder Brian Rose for the English Light Middleweight title later this year.

Following a training session, under the watchful eyes of manager-trainer Brian Lawrence, Erick spoke briefly about the fight, “Yes, I did the business. I want to thank God for the victory.

It was a good fight. He was rated as a good amateur, former ABA champion he had nine fights, nine wins, has three TKO’s so I went to his back yard and took care of business you know.

Broke him down, you know, I was ready to knock him out, but I got the win. I’m not shocked because I knew I was going to go there and beat him. It just shows what kind of fighter I am. As I keep saying I am a World Champion in the making, you know.

He was a good fighter, I beat him because of the fighters I have fought compared to the fighters he has fought, you can’t compare. I had tough fights, you know those tough fights work to my credit and make me a stronger fighter, more determined to win.

Now I’m rated number ten in Britain, so which is good, set me up good. My next fight will be for the English title, which Brian Rose has at the moment, so we’re going to be taking it from him, hopefully in September.

Brian Lawrence is a very good coach and the best is yet to come as they say. I feel good and I’m back in training now. I took a week off and I feel good and strong so it’s just onwards and upwards now.”

Further news on the proposed Brian Rose versus Erick ‘The Eagle’ Ochieng, for the English Light Middleweight title, is expected in the near future – watch this space.

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