British Scene Weekend Recap: Edwards, Sutherland and Sykes All Win

This past Friday at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex in Stoke, Commonwealth flyweight champion Chris Edwards made the first defence of his title against tough challenger Usman Ahmed.

Also in action were Gary Sykes and Anthony Crolla who battled it out in a British super-featherweight title eliminator, as well as super-middleweight Darren Sutherland who looked impressive in his 3rd pro outing.

Dave Oakes has all the details.

Check out our preview of the show: Edwards vs Ahmed

Friday May 29 Edwards, Sutherland and Sykes are Winners in Stoke By Dave Oakes Chris Edwards retained his British and Commonwealth flyweight titles on Friday night after beating Usman Ahmed on points. The more experienced Edwards was always in control of the fight but was made to work hard for the victory against the brave but outgunned Ahmed. Edwards made a quick start to the fight, crashing several hard left hooks to the body and head of the challenger. Ahmed responded well but his punches were having little effect on Edwards who kept marching forward. As the rounds went by Ahmed began to look more dishevelled and the fight became more one-sided, but to his credit Ahmed kept battling away trying in vain to land a punch that could turn the fight in his favour. The only blemish of the night for Edwards came when he was harshly deducted a point in the eighth round for hitting on the break. With such a vociferous crowd cheering him on I wasn’t surprised that Edwards couldn’t hear the break call. Therefore I was a bit surprised that the referee decided to deduct a point at what was Edwards’ only infringement of the night. Edwards looked on the verge of stopping Ahmed on a few occasions late on but couldn’t quite put the punches together to force the stoppage. Ahmed was on a survival mission in the last two rounds and bravely kept throwing enough punches back to deter the referee from stepping in. Both fighters received a great reception from the fans at the final bell. All three judges were in agreement that Edwards had won the fight. Two judges had the fight 118-109 with the other scoring it 117-111. I also had it 118-109. Edwards should make another defence in September, with Ashley Sexton being the most likely opponent after Sexton easily came through a six rounder against Delroy Spencer on the undercard. Ahmed comes away with his reputation enhanced and should now be advised to have a few more learning fights before taking the step up to championship level again. On the undercard… Darren Sutherland bettered his old amateur and Olympic rival James DeGale by stopping tough journeyman Vepkhia Tchilaia in the fourth round. DeGale was forced to go the distance by the tough Georgian on his debut three months ago. Sutherland was in total control from start to finish, boxing behind a beautiful looking jab, taking his time and mixing shots from head to body. He really looks like he could become a major force in the super-middleweight division in the next few years. The stoppage came halfway through the fourth round when the referee jumped in to stop the fight after Tchilaia was taking far too many punches for his own safety. Sutherland moves to 3-0 (3) and is already looking capable of taking a step up in class. A fight against someone like Paul David or Nathan King would be a good step up without being too much of risk at this stage of his career. The fight of the night was undoubtedly the British super-featherweight title eliminator between Gary Sykes and Anthony Crolla. The fight was a barnstorming back and forth affair with both lads having successful periods and both having to suck it up at some stages before firing back again. Both fighters threw well over 900 punches each in a ten round fight; it was a non-stop battle that everyone in the venue was thrilled to have witnessed. Sykes’ heavier punches were just about giving him the upper hand and this is what swayed the fight his way with the referee scoring the bout 97-94 in his favour. Sykes is now guaranteed a shot at the title before the end of the year. Current champion Kevin Mitchell will be looking to relinquish his belt if he gets a world title shot against Roman Martinez. That would pave the way nicely for a Sykes-Crolla rematch. e-mail Dave Oakes

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British Scene Weekend Preview: Chris Edwards vs Usman Ahmed

Veteran flyweight Chris Edwards will be putting his British & Commonwealth titles on the line against Usman Ahmed in Friday night's Sky main event. The under-card features 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Darren Sutherland taking on Vepkhia Tchilaia in a 6 round super-middleweight contest.

Dave Oakes has the preview.

Check out our recap of the show: Weekend Recap

Friday May 29 Chris Edwards vs Usman Ahmed (SKY) By Dave Oakes Chris Edwards goes over old ground on Friday night when he makes the first defence of his British and Commonwealth flyweight titles at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke, England. Edwards has already beaten the challenger, Usman Ahmed, three years ago on Ahmed’s debut. Edwards out-boxed Ahmed with ease over six rounds on that occasion and is the favourite to win again. Ahmed, the lightest pro in British boxing, has improved since their first meeting but is still some way off being ready for a title shot. Unfortunately, the lads in the flyweight division have very limited options when it comes to picking opponents and are often thrown in at the deep end. I feel this will be the case on Friday night. Edwards is now at the veteran stage of his career, he’s thirty-three years old with a record that stands 12-13-3. He’s a lot better than his record suggests, most of his defeats were in the early part of his career when he was boxing to earn a few quid rather than to win titles. He’s only lost one of his last seven, and that was against the decent Andy Bell early last year. Edwards’ best wins have come against the classy and underrated Dale Robinson, who he’s also drawn with, and Jamie McDonnell who was considered a hot prospect before losing to Edwards on a controversial points decision. Whilst Edwards doesn’t carry significant power, his punches do have a wearing effect that slow his opponents down the longer the fight goes on. He’s also got a tremendous work rate and a reliable chin. Ahmed is a clever boxer who looks to move around his opponent to create an angle before throwing a quick jab and flashy combinations. He should have the speed advantage over Edwards and will know what to expect from the champion. I think Ahmed will put up a good fight and will take Edwards the distance, but I believe Edwards’ experience, determination and hometown backing from a usually raucous crowd will be enough to take a points decision somewhere around the 116-112 mark. On the undercard… Darren Sutherland, one of the hottest prospects in Europe, takes part in his third pro fight against tough journeyman Vepkhia Tchilaia. Sutherland will be looking to do better than fellow Olympic medallist James De Gale, who was taken the distance by Tchilaia on his debut three months ago. Sutherland is as good as De Gale technically and hits a lot harder, De Gale was landing regularly but wasn’t putting much power into his punches, Sutherland will and I expect him to take care of business and stop Tchilaia around the third round. e-mail Dave Oakes

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Donaire Dominates Martinez; Viloria Knocks Out Solis

Andrew Fruman recaps the action from last night's (Sunday afternoon if you're in the Philippines) Top Rank show.

It was a good day for Filipino boxing, as both Nonito Donaire (pictured) and Brian Viloria treated the home crowd at Araneta Coliseum in Manila to stoppage victories.

Photo © Ray Kasprowicz

In the main event, Donaire took care of business in impressive style with a TKO over previously unbeaten Raul Martinez. Using a sharp left jab and powerful combinations, which included some excellent body work, Donaire dominated the bout, sending Martinez to the canvas on 4 occasions. The final knockdown came at 2:42 of round 4, which prompted referee Pete Podgorski to call a halt to the action.

Donaire scored the first knockdown with a cross between an uppercut and a left hook that crashed into the side of the challenger’s jaw. Martinez chose to take the 8 count on his knee before rising and indicating he was good to go, but was down again before the opening frame was over. As was the case the first knockdown, Martinez didn’t appear hurt, but the gulf in class between the two fighters was abundantly clear.

The strategy for Martinez coming into the bout was to work his way inside against his taller opponent, but found it an impossible task. He came out aggressively for the second round, only to run into some well placed counters that included a left hook which deposited him on the canvas again.

Donaire was a little more restrained in the third round, choosing to use his jab more, but still had things all his own way. Other than landing the occasional right hand, Martinez just couldn’t get anything started.

Martinez landed a lunging right hand at one stage in the 4th round, but for the most part it was all Donaire. The final blow was a left uppercut that sent Martinez stumbling backwards, and had referee Podgorski signaling and end without a count. Martinez wasn’t in rough shape and was quick to protest the call, but given the one sided nature of the bout, it’s hard to find too much fault with the call.

In my opinion, there was no real value in the bout continuing. It's just one loss. Martinez can bounce back from that, while taking a really bad beating - and I think that was looking very likely - would have been tougher to rebound from.

As far as Nonito Donaire goes, I think it’s safe to say that a rematch with Vic Darchinyan is the bout everyone (other than maybe Joseph Agbeko and Gary Shaw) wants to see. C'mon Shaw, stop being an ass. If Vic gets by Agbeko, get him and Nonito signed up. Boxing fans want it. Vic wants it. Listen to your fighter! Let’s see it!

The co-main event…

Brian Viloria capped a terrific performance by knocking out Ulises Solis with a crunching right hand in the waning seconds of the 11th round. It was a spectacular finish to a bruising encounter, and a great moment for the 108 pound Hawaiian of Filipino descent, fighting for the first time in the county of his heritage.

Known more for his left hook, it was Viloria’s right hand that proved to be the story of the fight. He found a home for it right off the bat, stunning Solis on a couple occasions in the first round and continued to land the punch with authority, driving Solis back on multiple occasions in building an early lead.

Solis was most effective going to the body, especially with his left hook, although he also landed a number of right hands downstairs as well. After a rough start the dedicated body attack helped the rugged Mexican stay in the fight, but it also came at a price on the scorecards. Solis was penalized in both rounds 3 and 5 for punches that strayed south of the border.

To further his troubles in the 5th round, Solis also suffered a cut, just above and to the side of his right eye.

Undaunted by the deductions, Solis kept blasting away downstairs, and combined with an effective jab and some nice uppercuts, managed to mount a rally in the mid-rounds. After winning rounds 6 and 7 on my card – two rounds with featured several intense exchanges and great back and forth action – the 8th was up for grabs until Solis almost put Viloria down with seconds left in the round after catching the crowd favourite with a combination along the ropes.

The 9th round featured more bruising action, with Viloria rocking Solis early with a right hand and pressing his advantage by forcing the title holder into the ropes. Yet once again, as he had done all night long, Solis returned fire, digging to the body in a gutsy effort to get back his momentum. It was terrific back and forth stuff.

In the 10th, Viloria seemed to up his intensity, and the punishing toll of the battle was now clearly showing on the champ, who was starting to look a little ragged. Viloria was none too fresh either, but he continued to land the cleaner, flashier punches, and while Solis still gamely fought back, it wasn’t with the same vigor he’d shown in previous rounds.

Viloria’s upper hand became even more pronounced in the 11th, and while Solis had taken heavy leather all night without going down, it wasn’t a big surprise that he eventually gave way. Tired and bleeding from cuts around both eyes, he was still bravely coming forward, when he walked into the fight ending right hand.

It was a perfect shot on the money and Solis was down for at least a few worrisome minutes, before being helped to his stool. Eventually, he was able to get to his feet and received a warm round of applause from the appreciative crowd before leaving the ring.

As a fan, I’m always humbled when I see a fighter simply refuse to accept his fate, and Ulises Solis was the epitome of that tonight. That really was a hell of an effort. He took an awful lot of clean hard punches, especially to the head, yet remained grimly determined for as long as his body would allow.

Great win for Viloria, and especially satisfying having it take place in the Philippines.

If these two don’t go at it again, and given the grueling nature of the bout, I wouldn’t be surprised if Solis took some extended time off, how about Viloria against Ivan Calderon?

e-mail Andrew Fruman
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