British Scene Weekend Recap: Rhodes Stops Moore, Napa and Bayaar Win, Rushton Injured

Dave Oakes recaps this past Friday night's Sky show.

Photo © Chris Royle

Ryan Rhodes became European champion on Friday night after stopping Jamie Moore in the seventh round of a classic domestic fight. Rhodes was a massive underdog going into the fight but out-toughed the usually teak tough Moore to claim the win of his career.

Moore started the fight well, repeatedly catching Rhodes with hooks to head and body in the opening round.

Moore continued the onslaught in the second round, he was beating Rhodes to the punch and was landing some hurtful body punches, a couple of which seemed to have an effect on Rhodes. The Sheffield man responded well to the heavy shots he was taking, firing back with his punches that made Moore think before he charged in.

Rhodes was expected to make full use of the ring whilst countering the aggressive Moore; instead he seemed intent on standing his ground and taking on Moore at his own game. This didn’t seem like the brightest of ideas, especially after the third round in which Moore teed off on him from start to finish with powerful combinations to head and body.

At the start of the fourth, it looked like it was a case of when could Moore get the stoppage, not if he could get the stoppage. There mustn’t have been many people in attendance who could have foreseen what was to happen.

Yet again Moore was the aggressor, he was seemingly far too big and strong for Rhodes to cope with. Rhodes was battling bravely and was having his own successes at times but Moore was landing some telling blows, in particular a left hook that rattled Rhodes’ jaw and visibly hurt the challenger. It was Rhodes though who landed the best punch of the round; he landed a vicious hook under the ribs bang on the bell that had Moore wincing and gasping for air as he made his way back to the corner.

The fifth round saw Rhodes getting dropped to the canvas, but it was a clear low blow that put him there. Despite the roars from the back of the arena, the referee correctly ruled it as a low blow and gave Rhodes the adequate time to recover. The round itself was very close, Moore was still pressing forward but Rhodes was increasingly upping his work rate and was now matching Moore punch for punch.

The sixth round was the first clear round that Rhodes won, you could make a case for him in another couple of rounds but this was the round in which he really made his mark. He was catching Moore repeatedly with spiteful body shots and was starting to boss the usually rock solid Salford champion around. To his credit Moore was still trying to force the pace but he was clearly tiring from his efforts in the earlier rounds, the number of heavy whacks to the body he was receiving didn’t help him to much either.

Moore tried to re-establish his superiority in the seventh but soon found himself on the canvas after a well timed counter right hook by Rhodes had him in all kinds of trouble. He managed to beat the count but he looked unsteady on his legs. He then, in typical Jamie Moore fashion, decided to go toe-to-toe with Rhodes rather than clinch and buy himself some time to recover. Amazingly he seemed to have turned the tide midway through the round and was once again hurting Rhodes to head and body.

Just when it looked as if Moore had weathered the storm and was beginning to break Rhodes heart, he inexplicably dropped his hands and was caught with a monstrous overhand right that sent him staggering backwards towards the ropes. Rhodes jumped on Moore straight away and unleashed a non-stop two fisted salvo that left the referee with no alternative but to stop the fight.

It was a remarkable end to a remarkable fight. A lot of credit has to be given to Rhodes, who at 32, showed he still has the appetite to dig deep and come through adversity to win. He’s had a career of many highs and lows but this has got to rank as the most impressive win of it.

It’s hard to believe that Moore will be able to rebuild from the defeat, he’ll still be able to compete at European level at either light-middleweight or middleweight but hopes of a world title shot now seem to have gone forever. It’s a shame that his world title dream has fallen apart after so many years of hard work and after spending the past three or four years begging to be given the opportunity he deserved.

Bizarrely, despite the fight being billed as a world title eliminator, it now seems that Julio Cesar Chavez Jnr has jumped ahead of Rhodes in the rankings and will fight Sergio Martinez sometime next year. Rhodes will have to be patient, let’s hope he doesn’t have to be as patient as Moore was made to be.

On the undercard...

Ian Napa recaptured the British bantamweight title after a close points decision over Gary Davies. A pumped up and emotional Davies started the fight at a furious pace, possibly letting the occasion get the better of him. His work rate was enough to secure him the first two rounds and make the next four close but it was the silky skills of Napa that dominated the fight from there on in.

Davies tried his hardest but was being beaten to the punch on the inside and at range. He had to survive some problematic moments late on in the fight as Napa unleashed two powerful uppercuts and numerous left hooks that had him rocking and rolling but he courageously hung on to hear the final bell.

Two of the judges had the fight in Napa’s favour (115-114 and 116-112) whilst the third judge scored it as a draw (114-114). I scored the fight 116-112; I felt that Napa’s work was the cleaner in the rounds that were close.

Shinny Bayaar produced the performance of his career to capture the British flyweight title after beating Stoke’s Chris Edwards on a split decision. Edwards, who was making the second defence of his title, never seemed to get going. He was unusually negative throughout the fight and only had himself to blame when the scores were announced.

The likable Bayaar was the aggressor for most of the fight, and despite not being able to hurt Edwards or get complete control over him, I felt he was the clear winner. Two of the judges scored it in Bayaar’s favour (117-112 and 115-113) whilst the third had Edwards winning 115-113.

David Price, the 2008 Olympic bronze medallist, won his third fight in the pro ranks after an uninspiring points decision over Yavor Marinchev. Price controlled the fight from start to finish but looked far from the potential world beater he’s being touted as.

Doncaster’s Jason Rushton was rushed to hospital after collapsing in the dressing room shortly after his fight against Brian Rose. Rushton was stopped in the tenth round after a hard fought fight but seemed to be fine initially.

He was induced into a controlled coma after scans revealed a small tear to brain tissue. His condition was described as being stable on Sunday and initial signs are good.

Everyone here at The Boxing Bulletin would like to wish Jason a speedy and full recovery.

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Photo Gallery: Ryan Rhodes vs Jamie Moore

This past Friday at the Bolton Arena, Ryan Rhodes continued his career resurgence with a dramatic 7th round stoppage of world ranked Jamie Moore. With the victory, Rhodes claimed the European 154 pound title and put himself in the mandatory challenger's position for the WBC junior-middleweight crown held by Sergio Martinez.

Photographer Chris Royle was ringside to capture all the hard hitting action.

Ryan Rhodes vs Jamie Moore

Photos © Chris Royle - Click on the images to enlarge. Salford's Jamie Moore (left) entered as the reigning European champion, having captured the belt with a 3 round destruction over Michelle Picirillo earlier this year.The all-action fan favourite brought an 11 bout winning streak into the contest, and an overall record of 32-3. Ryan Rhodes (right), the challenger from Sheffield, also entered on a good run having won his last 7 bouts, reviving a career that until recently appeared destined to fall well short of the promise once shown. As expected, Moore set a fast pace from the opening bell, attempting to overwhelm the challenger with heavy pressure. He succeeded in backing Rhodes up, but the 32 year old used movement and solid counter punching to hang tough in the early going. The intense action was starting to even up by the 3rd and 4th rounds with the bout developing into a give and take battle featuring a number of good exchanges. The 4th through 6th rounds were fought at a torrid pace, with both men standing in the middle of the ring and trading. Moore still had a slight edge, but Rhodes had several good moments. Rhodes stunned the crowd by landing a huge right hand early in the 7th. The punch caught Moore flush as he leaned in, sending the favourite crumpling to the canvas along the ropes. Moore quickly found his legs after the knockdown and proceeded to take the fight hard to Rhodes, only to run out of steam in the final minute of the round. A crunching right hand from the Sheffield fighter sent Moore staggering backwards into the ropes. A follow-up assault left referee Howard Foster with no choice but to jump in with 25 seconds remaining in the round. The new European champion, and now mandatory challenger for the WBC 154 title celebrates his stunning victory with his team.

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British Scene: Jamie Moore vs Ryan Rhodes Preview

Dave Oakes previews Friday night's SKY show featuring a 154 pound match-up between European title holder Jamie Moore and challenger Ryan Rhodes. Also on the card are two British title match-ups, with Gary Davis defending his bantamweight crown against Ian Napa and Chris Edwards putting his featherweight belt on the line against challenger Shinny Bayaar.

Being called the most entertaining fighter in Britain should be taken as a big compliment but for Salford’s Jamie Moore, it isn’t enough, he feels the time has come to stake a claim for being the best fighter in Britain. He starts this Friday at the Bolton Arena with an intriguing European title defence against former world title challenger Ryan Rhodes, with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger to WBC champion Sergio Martinez.

Moore has been desperate to step up to world title level for the past three or four years and is now about to dip his toe into it against the seasoned and dangerous Rhodes. This will be Rhodes (42-4 KO 28) biggest fight since the one year hiatus he took following his defeat to Gary Lockett in the summer of 2006. Rhodes’ career has been one of many ups and downs; he made a blistering start to his career, winning the British light middleweight title in just eleven fights, becoming one of the youngest ever title holders in its history (he’d only just turned 20) before failing in an ambitious attempt at a world title up at middleweight a year later.

The decision to move Rhodes up to middleweight so early in his career is one that still leaves me baffled. He was finding it hard to make the light-middleweight limit but had been doing so without it taking anything away from him, he certainly wasn’t looking weight drained. I believe his camp thought that Otis Grant was very beatable but that decision backfired when Rhodes was out-pointed by the tough Jamaican. I know that Rhodes himself has said that he moved up because he was struggling to make light-middleweight but you have to question the validity of that statement when you consider he can still make the weight now.

The defeat shouldn’t have had a detrimental effect on Rhodes’ career, I’m a great believer in the theory that a loss can sometimes make a fighter. Unfortunately for Rhodes, he suffered another defeat just eighteen months after his first loss, this time for the interim WBO middleweight title. It was in far more brutal fashion though; Jason Matthews knocked him out inside two rounds and almost destroyed Rhodes’ career.

A less than focused Rhodes then treaded water for years, facing journeymen opponents and failing to live up to the reputation he’d made when claiming the British title at such a young age. Even another shock knockout defeat wasn’t enough to fire him up; he looked totally disinterested with the sport when Lee Blundell stopped him in the third round of a fight in which Rhodes should’ve won with ease.

The turning point in Rhodes’ career came after his last defeat, a points loss against Gary Lockett just over three years ago. Rhodes seemed to be regaining his hunger in the four fights he had before facing Lockett but I sensed he rediscovered his confidence after running Lockett close on the scorecards. It was almost as if he realised that he could still be a champion if he fully dedicated himself again.

He regained his British title in 2008, nearly 12 years after first winning it, destroying Gary Woolcombe in brutal fashion. Woolcombe was the defending champion and the betting favourite going into the fight but Rhodes out-boxed him before producing a spectacular finish, knocking him clean out in the ninth round. The victory has definitely been the best performance of the second part of his career; he followed it up with good victories against Jamie Coyle and Vincent Vuma, as well as a routine knockout win over Janos Petrovics in his last fight to confirm that he’s back to his best.

Moore is also no stranger to the ups and downs of professional boxing, he’s suffered three defeats in his career (32-3 KO23) but has comeback from them well each time. It has to be said that his disqualification loss to Michael Jones was very debatable (Moore has two wins over Jones as well as the defeat), and the knockout defeat to Ossie Duran was as much to do with a hip injury rather than any punch Duran landed.

Everyone in Britain knows Moore as being an all action fighter but I feel his technical ability is often overlooked because of his aggressive style. The way he was catching and rolling away from punches in his war with Matthew Macklin was very impressive. He boxed clever as well as trading heavy punches that night and the victory looks even more impressive now that Macklin has become a European champion himself.

Moore has been looking sensational of late, respected European level fighters Roman Dzuman and Michele Piccirillo were both blown away early, neither of them being able to match Moore’s strength and aggression. Moore looks massive for the weight and seems to be hitting harder than ever, he’s certainly showed that he’s now well above European level and should be confident of winning a world title if he comes through on Friday night.

There’s no doubt that Rhodes will be the hardest test of Moore’s career, his switch-hitting style could cause Moore some problems and he has a wealth of experience to draw from. Despite the knockout defeats on their records, both fighters have solid chins, both also have respectable punch power and both firmly believe they’ve got the beating of each other. It has all the makings of a very good fight.

I can see Rhodes being very cagey early on, looking to counterpunch Moore rather than trading with him. Moore will be made to work hard to land clean punches but I think his size, strength and body punching will eventually take its toll on Rhodes. I wouldn’t be surprised if it went the distance but I’ve got a feeling that Moore will want to make a statement and stop him. I think Moore will have to be on top form to do so but I believe he’ll get a late stoppage win.

The Undercard...

The undercard sees two British title fights. Gary Davies defends his bantamweight title against Ian Napa, whilst Chris Edwards defends his flyweight title against Shinny Bayaar.

The fight between Davies and Napa should be an entertaining fight. The improving Davies is coming in off the back of two impressive victories, his second round destruction of Martin Power and his seventh round stoppage of Matthew Edmonds.

Davies is an aggressive boxer who hits very hard; he also has considerable height, reach and strength advantages over Napa. This won’t be anything unusual for the diminutive Napa but he must improve on his last outing if he wants to regain the British title he vacated a couple of years ago.

Napa looked like a fighter on the slide last time out when he lost his European title to Malik Bouziane. He didn’t have an answer to anything Bouziane did and allowed himself to be outworked on his way to a wide points defeat.

It could be that Napa just had a bad day at the office and will be back to form in this fight, but one thing is for certain, if he loses this fight, he won’t have many options left afterwards and would have to consider hanging his gloves up.

I think that could spur Napa on to victory, he’ll be determined to erase the memory of the Bouziane performance from his mind. Napa has always relied on his speed and skills; if he is on the slide then it could prove to be a very hard fight for him because Davies won’t take a backwards step all night. If Napa’s still got something left in the tank, which I believe he has, I think he should be able to outbox Davies to win on points.

Chris Edwards v Shinny Bayaar is an interesting match up. Bayaar has been disappointing so far in his career, losing four times in eighteen fights, usually when he’s tried to step up in class. He’s a hard fighter who looks to have a rock solid chin but unfortunately he doesn’t have much else in his arsenal.

Edwards is a much better fighter than his record (13-13-3) suggests but is no world beater by any stretch of the imagination. He likes to swarm all over his opponents, trying to grind them down with body shots. He doesn’t punch particularly hard but can sicken opponents with his relentless attacks.

I think this fight will undoubtedly go the distance, the early rounds will be close but Edwards’ better fitness and hunger will help win the late rounds to take a wide points decision.

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British Scene: Pound-For-Pound Top 15

Dave Oakes and Matt Chudley round off The Boxing Bulletin's preview of the upcoming British boxing season with their updated British Isles (Irish fighters are included) P4P Top 15 list.

There's been some movement since our last list, most notably Amir Khan jumping several spots, and the arrival in the top 15 of rising Welsh star, Nathan Cleverly (pictured landing a right hand on Danny McIntosh's jaw, photo © Justin McKie).

Make sure to check back in with us later in the week, as Dave and Matt will be back with previews of John O'Donnell vs Tom Glover and John Simpson vs Paul Truscott.

The Boxing Bulletin British Isles P4P Top 15 By Matt Chudley & Dave Oakes 1. Ricky Hatton Remains at no.1 on our list, mainly due to David Haye not fighting Nikolai Valuev until November, he may drop a place after that fight. Until then, he’s still got to be considered the best in Britain due to what he’s achieved in the past five years. It’s rumoured that he’ll make his return to the ring in March or April of next year, it’ll be interesting to see what he’s got left in the tank. - Dave Oakes 2. David Haye (vs Nikolay Valuev - Nov 7) After pulling out and opting out of fights with both Klitschko brothers, Haye now finds himself fighting 7 foot Russian Nicolai Valuev for the WBA strap on the 7th November in Germany. Should the south Londoner leave Germany with the trinket, he will be forced to defend against John Ruiz but will have greatly improved his future bargaining position against the Klitschkos. - Matt Chudley 3. Carl Froch (vs Andre Dirrell - October 17) The Cobra will defend his WBC super-middleweight title on October the 17th against unbeaten American Andre Dirrell in the opening round of Showtime's Super Six tournament. With fights against the divisions best assured over the next year, Froch could soon find himself on many full P4P lists. - Matt Chudley 4. Jamie Moore - up 2 (vs Ryan Rhodes - October 23) He jumps two places on our list due to the defeats of Witter and Woods. He’s already no.1 on the most exciting fighter list and is slowly climbing up this list. Moore looks to be the Brit most likely to capture a world title next year, but he must come through a hard test against Ryan Rhodes later this year before he sets his sights on world glory. - Dave Oakes 5. Clinton Woods (lost UD to Tavoris Cloud) He remains at 5 on our list despite his loss to Tavoris Cloud. Woods showed great heart in losing and regained the respect of the American fans that were less than impressed with his pitiful performance when losing his title to Antonio Tarver. The Sheffield man may decide to retire rather than fight again but he can leave the sport with his head held high after achieving far more than what people thought he would when he first turned pro. - Dave Oakes 6. Amir Khan - up 5 (won UD over Andriy Kotelnik) He’s become world champion by picking off the easiest target at light-welterweight. He boxed well against Kotelnik but questions must still remain about how he’ll cope when he’s put in with a decent fighter who can punch. Expect him to make a few easy defences arranged by the wily Mr Warren before stepping up to genuine world class. - Dave Oakes 7. Bernard Dunne (vs Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym - Sep 26) Well rested after his epic truimph against Ricardo Cordoba, Dunne will return on September 26th to make a first defense of his "Regular" WBA 122lb title against Thai Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym. The fight will take place in Dunne's hometown of Dublin, after Dunne's promoter Brian Peters won the purse bids with a minimum bid of $120,000. - Matt Chudley 8. Junior Witter - down 4 (lost to Devon Alexander - did not come out for 9th round) Witter drops down four places on our list after giving up 8 rounds into a WBC title fight with Devon Alexander. He once again faces a hard road back and with his akward style and limited marketability, he may need to get in line for British or European title fights if he is make another run at a world title. - Matt Chudley 9. Rendall Munroe - down 1 The usually busy Munroe has been taking a well deserved break after defeating Isaac Nettey on May 2. With the European scene already conquered, expect him to chase a world title next year. A possible match-up with Bernard Dunne would make sense if the Dublin successfully defends his title in September. - Dave Oakes 10. Ola Ofalabi - down 1 Out of action since his upset win over Enzo Maccarinelli back in March due to promotional and visa confusions, can now focus on his next opponent. Marco Huck recently dethroned Victor Ramirez to claim the full WBO cruiserweight, leaving interim champ Ofolabi expecting a December or January trip to Germany. - Matt Chudley 11. Nicky Cook - down 1 Inactive since losing his WBO super-featherweight title to Roman Martinez, Cook has taken some time out to recuperate before launching a new assualt on the 130lb division. With gym mate Kevin Mitchell out of the picture, a European title run might be in the offing in the near future. - Matt Chudley 12. Jason Booth (vs Michael Hunter - Oct 16) The reigning British super-bantamweight champion is enjoying an Indian summer to his career. It looked to be all over for him after losing to Damaen Kelly in December 2004; it took him two years to shift the demons that plagued him outside the ring before he returned to slowly rebuild his career. He’s gone unbeaten in his past six fights, five of which were for domestic titles. He fights former British and European champion Michael Hunter in October in what should be a really enjoyable fight for the fans. - Dave Oakes 13. Ian Napa (vs Gary Davis - Sep 11) Napa has decided not to move down a weight after losing his European bantamweight title in meek fashion against Malik Bouziane last time out. He now challenges British champion Gary Davis on September 11 in a fight he must win to keep his career at title level going. - Dave Oakes 14. Nathan Cleverly NEW (tko 7 over Danny McIntosh - Jul 19) The young Welsh light-heavyweight, impressively added the Lonsdale belt in stopping Danny McIntosh (check out Justin McKie's photo gallery of Cleverly vs McIntosh) over 7 one sided but entertaining rounds last time out. With little competition left on the domestic scene, it may now be time for Cleverly to make a run at the European title. He returns on the undercard of Sexton-Rogan 2 in October against an opponent to be announced. - Matt Chudley 15. Matthew Macklin (vs Amin Asikainen - September 25) The first marquee pro signed by Hatton promotions, Macklin opted out of an huge all British showdown with Darren Barker in favor of a fight for the vacant European title against Finn Amin Asikainen. Should Macklin come through, a big fight with Andy Lee in his ancestral home of Ireland could be in the offing. - Matt Chudley e-mail Matt Chudley e-mail Dave Oakes

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British Scene Weekend Recap

Along with giving his thoughts on Ricky Hatton's devastating loss at the hands of Manny Pacquaio, Dave Oakes recaps this past Saturday night's Sunderland show that featured world title aspirants, Jamie Moore and Rendall Munroe.

Photo © Ray Kasprowicz

Saturday May 2 Hatton Overview and British Undercard By Dave Oakes Many people may feel that Saturday night was a bad day for British boxing, but there were some positive signs shown on the Sunderland card that made up the PPV on British television. Two of Britain’s potential world champions came through title fights with ease and will be hoping to be in the next wave of champs now that the Calzaghe, Hatton and Woods era seems over. And yes, the Hatton era is most certainly over. Whilst taking nothing away from the breathtaking performance by Manny Pacquiao, Hatton doesn’t look like the same fighter he was years ago. Don’t misunderstand me, Pacquiao is and always will be a greater fighter than Hatton, that’s beyond question, but I believe Hatton’s career has been in decline ever since the Tszyu fight and maybe even before it. It may seem easy for me to say that after the fight, but I believe the Hatton that fought Kostya Tszyu would’ve been able to take the punches that knocked him down in the first round. The punch that levelled him in the second would still have done so, but that monstrous left hand was good enough to knock out any light-welterweight in the world. I believe the many years of Hatton not living the life of a boxer have finally caught up with him. You can’t put 50lbs on between fights and not expect it to come back to haunt you. His punch resistance has gone, and with a defence as poor as Hatton’s, that can be a dangerous thing. It must be said that Hatton wasn’t helped one bit by Floyd Mayweather Snr, whose petulance and unprofessional approach in the build up and on fight night itself was nothing less than disgraceful. It’s been well reported that Mayweather Snr was late numerous times for training sessions but I don’t think many people would’ve expected him to do that on Saturday night. He did, and then barely said a word to anyone in Hatton’s team all night. It was Mayweather’s assistant, Lee Beard, that prepared Hatton in the dressing room. Mayweather turned up just before the ring walk and kept his distance during the introductions. When he did speak, it was less than ten words in between the first and second rounds. He seemed to be more intent on proving some childish point to Hatton rather than helping him or at least acting in the professional manner that nearly every other trainer in boxing would have. The most disgusting aspect of the whole night was when Hatton was laying on his back having been poleaxed by Pacquiao; Mayweather didn’t seem at all bothered and completely ignored Hatton. It’s the responsibility of the trainer, as well as the referee, to help the boxer when he’s in need of medical attention. You get in the ring as fast as possible and get the boxer on his side to stop him swallowing his tongue. You don’t hang around at the edge of the ring posing for the cameras and trying to do as many interviews as possible. Mayweather should have his licence revoked for such a scandalous and dangerous display of incompetence. He seems to enjoy dismissing Freddie Roach’s credentials as a trainer but there was only one winner between the pair on Saturday night, even if Hatton had won, Roach would still be the better trainer and the better man. Mayweather’s earned a lot of money in his career but he just goes to show that the old saying is right – money can’t buy you class. If Hatton does continue, Mayweather will undoubtedly be sacked. Personally, I think Hatton should call it a day; he’s got nothing left to prove, has a lot of money in bank and has a great family to enjoy. He would still be competitive against all of the light-welterweight’s bar Pacquiao, but the way he responded to the knockout on Saturday was worrying and was a sharp reminder as to how dangerous boxing can be. Most people in the trade believe it’s time for Hatton to retire, including Freddie Roach, who spoke honestly about his own decision to fight on longer than he should’ve done and the effects he believes it has had on him. That’s called class, something Hatton, Pacquiao and Roach will always have no matter where their futures takes them, Mayweather Snr on the other hand, will always be viewed as the lowest form of humankind in many peoples eyes. Whilst Hatton’s career looks to be near the end, Manny Pacquiao’s just keeps getting better and better. I think all boxing fans should enjoy watching him whilst they can, you don’t get to see many fighters like Manny Pacquiao in your lifetime. He’s done everything needed to be classed as a legendary fighter; he’s gone through the weight divisions, he’s fought the best opponents he could face, he’s entertaining, has improved his technique ten fold since he started, and above all else, done it in a respectful and professional manner that makes him a great role model for young kids and a great ambassador for boxing. Hatton Undercard – The British Leg Jamie Moore made a successful defence of his European light-middleweight title by blowing away Roman Dzuman in two one-sided rounds. Moore started aggressively, pounding Dzuman with hard hooks to the body. His work on the inside was very intelligently done; he was switching from his usual southpaw stance to orthodox at times and was repeatedly catching Dzuman with the left hook thrown from that stance. The end came in the second round when Moore caught Dzuman with two crisp straight lefts followed by a vicious left hook under the ribcage. Dzuman went down heavily and did well to get back on his feet. It was only delaying the inevitable though and he was over from the same shot again seconds later and was counted out whilst he was on his knees trying desperately to catch his breath. Moore moves to 32-3 and is looking far too good for European level. His promoter, Frank Maloney, said he expects to make a major announcement within six months about a world title opportunity. I think Moore would stand a very good chance of beating any of the current champions and should be aiming for the ageing Vernon Forrest as soon as possible. In the joint headline slot, Rendall Munroe added the Commonwealth belt to his European belt after he was taken the distance by the strong and determined Isaac Nettey. Munroe made a slow start to the fight but was controlling Nettey with his jab. Nettey was trying to stand and trade with Munroe throughout the first six rounds and occasionally landed a heavy looking overhand right; Munroe still remained in control though and was beginning wear Nettey down with some neat body work. In the seventh it looked as though Munroe might me able to stop a tiring Nettey late on, but the brave Ghanaian battled his way through the last six rounds and even found the energy for a late burst of aggression in the eleventh. There were no doubts who had won, with the judges scoring the bout 120-109 and 119-110 twice in favour of Munroe. Munroe has been very busy in the past twelve months and should take a short break from boxing to help recharge his batteries before making another defence of his European belt in September. On the undercard… Danny Williams retained his British heavyweight title after a split decision victory over John McDermott in a predictably tedious affair. Williams won the first six rounds behind a sloppy jab with McDermott barely throwing a punch., McDermott put more effort into the fight in the last few rounds but it was too little too late. Both fighters were deducted a point during the fight, McDermott for use of the elbow in the third, whilst Williams was harshly deducted a point in the sixth for holding, I agree with the referee that he was holding but having just sat through six rounds of McDermott doing the exact same thing, it seemed to me that the referee was rather too keen on evening things up. Two of the judges scored the fight 116-111 in favour of Williams, whilst the third judge had McDermott winning 115-113. I was in agreement with the score of 116-111 to Williams. Olympic hero Tony Jeffries made his hometown debut a night to remember by demolishing hapless Roy Meissner inside two rounds. Jeffries received a massive ovation during his ring walk and looks like becoming a major ticket seller on the British scene. He came out all guns blazing and had Meissner badly hurt from a clubbing left hook within twenty seconds. He kept blazing away until a big right hook to the side of the head sent Meissner sprawling across the canvass barely a minute in, which the referee bizarrely ruled as a slip. Meissner got to his feet but was put back on the seat of his pants seconds later when he was caught with another overhand right. He dragged himself up yet again but was dropped heavily with a hurtful right hook to the body moments after. He managed to make it to the bell but should’ve been pulled out by his corner, they didn’t seem to think that way though and deemed him fit enough to come out for the second round. The end came seconds into the round when the referee waved it off with Jeffries using Meissner as a walking punch bag. In a crossroads fight, Sam Webb edged out Thomas McDonagh 96-95 to record the win of his career. Webb was the busier fighter and took advantage of McDonagh’s lackadaisical approach to boxing to outpoint the more experienced man. Webb will now be looking towards a British title fight sometime in the future. e-mail Dave Oakes

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British Scene Weekend Preview

While American boxing fans will have to make do with a less than impressive undercard as they await this Saturday night's main event between Ricky Hatton and Manny Pacquaio, British fans will have a little more to look forward to.

Dave Oakes previews the full slate of bouts airing from Sunderland before Sky Box Office shifts its attention to the big show in Las Vegas.

Friday April 17 Hatton Undercard - The British Leg (SKY Box Office) By Dave Oakes Before the big fight starts in Vegas, there’ll be an opportunity for two of Britain’s most popular fighters to keep busy and increase their fan base on a jam-packed card from the Crowntree Leisure Centre, Sunderland, England. Jamie Moore makes the second defence of his European title against perennial letdown Roman Dzuman. Moore starts as the hot favourite against a fighter who hasn’t won in his last four fights and always seems to find a way of losing in the big fights. Dzuman, a natural welterweight, is looking more vulnerable these days up at light-middleweight having been stopped in his past two fights, including last time out when he was destroyed by Alexander Abraham in six one-sided rounds. Moore will be hoping for a similar outcome on Saturday night. He’ll be looking to put on a classy show of intelligent pressure boxing to impress the huge PPV numbers expected. I can see Dzuman trying his best in the first couple of rounds before accepting his fate and being stopped sometime between rounds four and six. Sharing top billing is European champion Rendall Munroe, who makes his PPV debut when he challenges for the Commonwealth super-bantamweight title against tough Ghanaian Isaac Nettey. Nettey is officially 3-2-1 (although it's safe to say he's had more bouts than that) in his career but can fight a bit and is as tough as old boots. Munroe is a fast improving boxer. He’s come back well from his only career defeat against Andy Morris three years ago, when he lost on points in a British title shot at featherweight. The move down to super-bantamweight proved to be the making of him; he’s massive for the weight, carries reasonable power in both hands and can trade inside as well as box on the outside. He’s closing in on a world title fight and has been calling out Bernard Dunne ever since the Irishman produced the performance of his career to stop Ricardo Cordoba last month. Munroe is unfortunate to be in one of the strongest divisions in boxing, it would have been much easier for him to win a world title if he’d been a natural featherweight. He may still be tempted to try his luck at 126lbs rather than take on the impressive trio of Israel Vasquez, Juan Manuel Lopez and Celestino Caballero. Nettey won’t be a threat to Munroe but he’ll make him work hard early on and will be as brave as a lion when Munroe starts to pick up the pace from the fourth round onwards. I think Munroe will be too big, too fast and far too good for Nettey to cope with for the full twelve rounds and will stop him around the eighth round. On the undercard… Danny Williams and John McDermott meet again in a rematch of their putrid twelve round sleep-inducing fight of last year. Williams prevailed last time by a controversial majority points decision and McDermott has been crying about it ever since. He will finally get the chance to avenge that decision, although I’m not too sure whether he will. It all depends on which Danny Williams turns up. If he turns up weighing less than 260lbs, then he has to be considered the favourite. If he wobbles in above 260lbs, then anything could happen. The only thing guaranteed is another tedious fight between two overweight boxers that will test the resolve of every fan watching. Olympic Bronze medallist Tony Jeffries makes his second outing in the paid ranks against a yet to be named opponent. Jeffries will be hoping for an impressive performance in front of his hometown fans. There are also two crossroads fights on the bill, with Thomas McDonagh taking on Sam Webb and Gary Woolcombe fighting Andrew Facey. The losers of those fights will have nowhere to go in their career, whilst the winners will be looking to take a step towards a British title fight. e-mail Dave Oakes

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