Photo Gallery: John O'Donnell vs Craig Watson; Lenny Daws vs Pete McDonagh

There were two titles at stake on Saturday April 11, at the York Hall in Bethnal Green.

In the main-event, Craig Watson put his Commonwealth welterweight crown on the line against challenger John O'Donnell in a battle of southpaws, while Lenny Daws and Pete McDonagh contested the vacant English light-welterweight title on the undercard.

Photographer Justin McKie was ringside to capture all the action from both exciting bouts.

Click on the photos to enlarge.

Craig Watson vs John O'Donnell The challenger, John O'Donnell makes his way to the ring. O'Donnell, fighting with plenty of hometown support enters the contest on a 5 fight winning streak and an overall record of 20 wins against only 1 defeat. The Commonwealth welterweight champion Craig Watson, enters the ring ready to make the second defense of the title he won from Ali Nuumbembe in December of 2007. The crafty Manchester fighter comes in with a record of 12 wins and only 2 defeats. The champion started well, and had the edge in the early rounds. O'Donnell came on strong during the mid-rounds. Here he catches Watson with a right hook. One of the many good exchanges during the grueling bout. O'Donnell fires a hook to the midsection, as Watson follows through with a left. Desperate to hang onto his crown, the tired champion digs deep and finds a home for his left hand. With the battle winding down, it's anyone's fight. The last few rounds were very tightly contested. Needing to win the final frame, and spurred on by the hometown crowd, the challenger lands a sharp uppercut. Referee Victor Loughlin raises the hand of the winner, as an elated Mick Hennessy looks on. The disappointment on the Watson side is clear. The scores were extremely close. Judge John Keane had Watson in front 116-113, while Judges James Davies and Dave Parris both had it 115-114 for O'Donnell. The new champion shows off his belt, before celebrating with his fans.

Lenny Daws vs Pete McDonagh Pete McDonagh gets warmed up on the pads. The Bermondsey fighter has been on a good run lately, with 6 wins in his last 8 fights. In his most recent bout, he earned a decision over the previously unbeaten Lee Purdy. Lightening Lenny Daws, a regular at York Hall comes into the bout with only 1 defeat in 20 professional contests. The Morden fighter, who once held the British 140 pound crown, drew with Nigel Wright in his previous attempt to win the English title. McDonagh started the bout very well and took the first couple of rounds. Here he catches Daws with a hard right hand. The action was intense, as both fighters were more than willing to come forward and mix it up. After getting off to a slow start, Daws found his footing and turned up the intensity. Here he pounds home a right hand between McDonagh's guard. As the bout wore on, Daws proved a little bit too strong for McDonagh, but the action was competitive all the way through. It's over. After 10 tough action packed rounds, Daws has his hand raised by referee John Keane. Keane's score was 97-94. The new champion proudly shows off the hard earned prize.

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British Scene Weekend Recap

Matt Chudley recaps all the action from the Hennessy Sports show this past Saturday night at York Hall in Bethnal Green.

The main event featured Craig Watson defending his Commonwealth belt against John O'Donnell. Also on the card was promising young heavyweight Tyson Fury, along with an exciting 10 round clash for the British light-welterweight crown between Lenny Daws and Pete McDonagh.

Photos © Justin McKie

Saturday April 11 O'Donnell edges Watson By Matt Chudley John O'Donnell dethroned Craig Watson via a controversial split decision on Saturday at the historic York Hall to take the Commonwealth welterweight title. While the contest may have been lacking in clean punches, both fighters gave everything they had in a hard fought grueling battle. Watson, who had been out of action for almost a year due to promotional disputes, started the stronger of the two southpaws. He looked purposeful and aggressive in the opening round and managed to successfully work his way inside on his taller opponent. O’Donnell appeared more composed in an even second round, but Watson did the better work over the next two frames. Using a lunging lead right hand and an uppercut in the clinch, Watson managed to combat O’Donnell’s awkward style; the Londoner forgoes the conventional jab, fighting with his right hand low and using the shoulder roll to slip incoming fire. The fight took a turn towards the end of the 5th when O'Donnell managed to back his man onto the ropes and fire away aggressively. O’Donnell continued to be more positive in his approach looking to push and turn Watson onto the ropes where he would try and load up with left and right hooks. In the 7th round, one such flurry visibly shook Watson, sending him sagging backwards onto the ropes, although the man from Manchester managed to remain on his feet. Having mocked the challengers power in the pre-fight buildup, Watson now seemed to have gained respect for it and adapted his approach by switching to counter-puncher. O'Donnell meanwhile seemed to take the next couple of rounds make his own subsequent adjustments. With both fighters exhausted from the spirited contest, there was little to choose between the two battling southpaws in the three final rounds, although the best punch of the late going was a straight left from Watson in the 12th. The scores were extremely tight with Judges Dave Parris and Richie Davis both seeing it 115-114 O'Donnell to John Keane's 116-113 for Watson. I had Watson in front at the end, as did many others, including colour commentator Duke McKenzie, Barry McGuigan and both Boxing News and Seconds Out by margins ranging from one to three rounds. Cynical observers may have noted that Watson was between promoters and in his opponent’s back yard, but given the closely contested nature of many of the rounds, the verdict was going to be debated no matter who came out on the winning end. Following the victory promoter Mick Hennessey vowed to seek a European title shot for his charge. A more probable next fight for the Londoner would be a first defense against 18-1 Northern Irish fighter Stephen Haughian who stopped the overmatched Drew Campbell (he came in with 1 victory in 9 outings) in a round on the undercard. Though wanting an immediate rematch, no matter who he faces, Watson will be eager for work under his new employer, Hayemaker promotions. On the undercard… Fast rising heavyweight prospect Tyson Fury disposed of the undersized Matthew Ellis in less than 50 seconds. Giving up 7 inches in height and over 50lbs in weight Ellis knew that he would have to try and get inside to test the unproven chin of the younger fighter. Having closed the distance Ellis quickly found himself under heavy fire, with Fury’s first right hand buckling his legs and the follow-up flurry sending him to the canvas. After getting up at the count of 8, Ellis was quickly put down again, where he wisely chose to remain for the full count. There was also an entertaing 10 rounder to open the telecast. After a lively opening round from Pete McDonagh, Lenny Daws's superior strength and stamina proved too much for the game Bermondsey fighter in their clash for the vacant English light-welterweight title. e-mail Matt Chudley

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British Scene Weekend Preview

Matt Chudley previews this Saturday's Commonwealth Welterweight Title bout between Craig Watson and John O'Donnell.

Also on the card, making his 5th pro appearance will be big young heavyweight Tyson Fury (pictured).

Photo © Justin McKie

Saturday April 11 Craig Watson vs John O'Donnell (ITV4) By Matt Chudley Once again, the York Hall in Bethnel Green plays host to televised boxing, this time to a Hennessy Sports card headlined by Craig Watson's defense of his Commonwealth Welterweight title against John O'Donnell. The fight marks the first return to serious action for the house fighter O'Donnell, since his American unveiling on the undercard of the De La Hoya-Mayweather mega-fight almost two years ago. Through his connections with Golden Boy, promoter Mick Hennessy managed to gain undercard slots for his two brightest prospects, O’Donnell and lightweight John Murray. The publicity tour, which included sparring with Shane Mosley, took a disastrous turn when O'Donnell was stopped in two by Mexican journeyman Christian Solano. Watson, who achieved some notoriety for dropping Amir Khan in the amateurs, upset the odds to capture the Commonwealth belt from the highly regarded Ali Nuumbembe in December of 2007. He subsequently defended the belt against Matthew Hatton, although between those fights, suffered a TKO defeat at the hands of Italian Danielle Petrucci on a short notice trip to the continent. With both fighters being tall southpaws who lack power, the fighter with the superior boxing skills and conditioning will likely prevail in a distance fight. For me, that’s Craig Watson, but many (including the bookmakers) feel this fight could go either way. I think those picks might be slightly influenced by the previous hype surrounding O’Donnell and the faith of his promoter in making this fight. We’ll find out on Saturday night. The undercard... The televised undercard features the most talked about novice fighter in the UK in the shape of young Tyson Fury. The twenty year old has been extremely active since turning pro, having fought 4 times in 4 months, stopping all of his opponents including the 21-3 Marcell Zeller in only his second fight. The talkative youngster, claiming to be the future of the division, has been dishing insults at fellow heavyweight hopeful David Price. Price opened up his professional ledger a couple weeks ago with a victory on the undercard of the Dodson-Quigley show, and Saturday night will be Fury's turn to make the next statement. Later this month, he'll be flying out to the states to fight on the Carl Froch – Jermain Taylor undercard Also in action is Lenny Daws, who will be looking to get back into British title contention by beating Pete McDonagh in a ten rounder for the English light-welterweight title. e-mail Matt Chudley

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