The evening’s chief support for Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov and Joe Cordina's IBF Super Featherweight World title fight saw Sandy Ryan and Marie Pier Houle go to battle for the vacant WBO World Welterweight title. Houle started slightly better out of the two taking the center of the ring and appeared the more fluid working well behind her jab. The 2nd saw Ryan slowly get into her aggressive rhythm in a round that was hard to split. The 3rd saw the woman from Derby start to turn up the heat, the punch output increased significantly as Ryan chased what appeared to be a stoppage. Houle remained composed despite the big shots to the body through rounds 4 and 5, Ryan was now taking the fight to Houle on the front foot.
Ryan took firm control of the second half of the fight as she walked her opponent down in the second half of the fight resulting in a comprehensive win. The judges all scored unanimously for Ryan; 99-91, 98-92 and 97-93. She picked up a world title in just her seventh fight, her record improving to 6-1 (2 KOs). Houle received the first defeat of her career, the Canadian’s record now stands at 8-1-1.
It was Merthyr Vs Newport when Gavin Gwynne rematched Craig Woodruff for the British Lightweight title. The pair met last September in Bolton where they fought to a majority decision draw. The first 3 rounds saw the pair not give each other a second's rest as the pair were stuck to each other for the first nine minutes, Gwynne coming off the better of the two. Round 4 could have seen Woodruff get stopped on two occasions. He looked gone after a flurry of punches on two separate occasions, unbelievably Woodruff would produce a response with the referee on his toes ready to jump in.
The referee gave Woodruff every chance in this fiery encounter. At 2.02 of round 5 Gwynne got his stoppage. Woodruff was again pinned to the ropes, and this time had no response to the pressure. Gwynne retains his British title in his second defence of the Lonsdale belt with his record improving to 16-2-1 (4 KOs). Woodruff goes back to the drawing board with a record of 12-6-1, with a second knockout defeat on a difficult night.
Zelfa Barrett took on American Jason Sanchez over 12 rounds in the super featherweight division. The 1st round started quickly for both men, Sanchez bowling forward trying to land anything he can, Barrett did ok dealing with Sanchez on the back foot. The 2nd and 3rd rounds saw Barrett get into his grove. Sanchez did appear to be in some trouble within the first minute of the 3rd, but Barrett did not rush his work to control the rest of the round. The 4th saw Barrett really start to let go of the big right hand, which was landing more frequently as the fight went on. In round 5 Barrett’s right hand, which had been nicely set up with the left jab, saw Sanchez hit the Canvas. He made it up on the count of 8 to see the rest of the round in which Barrett applied more pressure.
Action slowed in the 6th, but the uppercut was starting to become a real weapon by now for the Englishman. Despite Sanchez’s engine and bravery, Barrett was still in firm control, although the punch output dropped. The 7th saw much of the same. Round 8 saw the pace pick up slightly as Sanchez did his best to push the action, but he struggled for answers as his opponent utilised the ring to his advantage all night. The American continued to push in the 9th with snippets of success, Barrett was still in full control though. By the 10th it looked like this one was heading for the full 12 rounds. Barrett stayed out of dangers way for the remaining 6 minutes. The scorecards read; 116-111, 118-110 and 119-108 all in favour of the home fighter. Barrett’s record improves to 29-2 (16 KOs) with Sanchez’s record depleting 16-4 and still yet to be stopped in his professional career.
To kick off the televised card Luke Watkins challenged Jordan Thompson for his IBF regional title in the cruiserweight division over 10 rounds. A tentative first round saw both men trying to establish the jab, Watkins falling under the armpit of the much taller Thompson. Thompson the superior reach which started to pay dividends in the 2nd. Watkins came out firing at the beginning of the 3rd and put together a good 3 minutes work, right hands were landing more frequently for the man from Swindon. The 4th saw Thompson turn up the heat to have a much better round, the left jab and right uppercut were the difference in what was turning into a decent fight.
The 5th was close with both having success, but Watkins stole the round at the very end with a combination that appeared to have the Mancunian in big trouble. However, by the end of the 6th Thompson proved successful. A right to the body sent Watkins to the canvas, the end was near. Thompson put a stunning 3 punch combination together that forced referee Howard Foster to stop the bout at 2.17 into the round. Thompson moves to 15-0 (12 KOs) under new trainer Tony Sims. Watkins's record moves to 16-3, picking up his second stoppage defeat.
