Callum Simpson (10-0, 8KOs) opened up the televised broadcast at the Manchester Arena, where WBO cruiserweight champion Lawrence Okolie returns to the ring under the Boxxer promotional banner. Okolie defends his cruiserweight title against mandatory challenger David Light (20-0, 12KOs) after a thirteen-month layoff.
Simpson of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, is a recent new arrival to Boxxer and had been touted as one of the best prospects in the country prior to his acquisition by Boxxer. The current central area super-middleweight champion took on Celso Neves (9-3-2, 2KOs) over a scheduled eight rounds.
Simpson had a very impressive first round with a knockdown in the opening minute. A short right hook sent Neves to the floor and ultimately would get to his feet. Callum would ultimately dominate the round with a number of flurries as he looked to secure a stoppage.
The second frame would be fought at close quarters, with Neves looking to spoil and smother the work of Simpson. Simpson would not be deterred, however, as he sunk in some hooks to the body and targeted the shorter Neves with the uppercut, frequently landing with ease.
The end would come in the third round with Simpson unleashing a right hand straight crunching Neves and sending him to the canvas. Neves would attempt to carry on as he rose to his feet. However, referee Dan Sarginson had seen enough and waved off the contest after 1:36 of the round.
Olympic bronze medalist Karriss Artingstall (2-0) continued her professional journey against Linzi Buczynskyj (4-1) with a composed showing in a super-featherweight contest .
Artingstall boxed behind the haj and boxed well at range, negating Buczynskyj, who attempted to close the distance. The lead jab would prove to be impressive for Artingstall however could not follow up with anything of note due to the lateral movement.
The second saw Artingstall corner and pin down Buczynskyj against the ropes on the corner multiple times, leading off with the right-hand check hook with pace and venom.
This pattern would continue from the third to the fifth. The highlight would be a left straight leading from Artingstall’s jab, which snapped the head back of Buczynskyj. Artingstall’s footwork was even more impressive, which would maneuverer her opponent into the corner and ropes often and trap her to release combinations with little resistance. Buczynskyj would attempt to work off the ropes and corner but with limited success.
The sixth and final round saw Artinstall go through her repertoire of shots and made Buczynskyj look uncomfortable towards the end of the contest. Referee Mark Lyson would rule the contest in favour of Karris Artinstall with a scorecard of 60-55.
Michael Gomez Jr (18-1, 5KOs) came out on top in his “grudge match” with Levi Giles (13-0, 3KOs) to claim the English super-featherweight title courtesy of a narrow split decision victory.
Giles would make a very comfortable start in the early rounds, boxing on the back foot as Gomez attempted to come forward and land heavy shots from the off. Giles was able to potshot and counter regularly as Gomez toiled with the nimble footwork of Giles.
Gomez would come back into the fight in rounds four, five and six as his front-foot nature started to affect Levi Giles. Giles was more than willing to close down Gomez himself and take the lead in proceedings regarding initiating the action, and Gomez was able to target the body and slow down Giles even further.
Giles reverted back to how he boxed the opening rounds, on the back foot, with Gomez unable to close off the ring allowing Giles to box and move. Gomez, for his efforts, had closed down the space and was able to work on the inside and at close quarters with industrial effect. Landing hard punches over technically correct ones.
The punch of the fight came in round nine on the bell, with Giles countering Gomez with a sharp chopping right hand, which stopped Gomez in his tracks. Unfortunately for Giles, the bell came at the wrong time for him.
The tenth and final round saw Gomez attempt to go hell for leather but was negated by Giles, who opted to box cautiously and attempt to avoid engaging with Gomez.
A fight of contrasting styles which, after ten rounds, saw Gomez claim scorecards of 97-93 & 97-94, with Giles claiming a scorecard of 96-95.
In the chief support, Heavyweight and Tokyo 2020 bronze madalist, Frazer Clarke (5-0, 4KOs) claimed a second-round stoppage of late replacement opponent Bogdan Dinu (20-4, 16KOs)
Clarke made a comfortable start in the round, jabbing effectively and targeting the body immediately of Dinu. However, a head clash did cause a cut for Clarke between the eyes in the top of the nose.
Clarke upped his pace in the second and targeted the body again, not headhunting and showing a mature mindset, which you would expect from an Olympian. Dinu had begun to become flustered and uncomfortable with the body shots, especially the left hook from Clarke, which had marked the ribcage of Dinu.
Ultimately at the end of the second round, Dinu was withdrawn from the contest, being deemed by his corner to be in no position to continue.
