8 minute read
RYDER GETS IT
ACTION
★★★★★ OUTSTANDING ★★★★ GOOD ★★★ FAIR ★★ DISAPPOINTING ★ RUBBISH
Reporters’ star ratings for main events and undercards are based on in-ring entertainment, competitiveness and whether overall expectation was met
CLOSE CALL
John Ryder gets the decision and a precious victory over Danny Jacobs in London
John Dennen
@BoxingNewsJD RINGSIDE MUSWELL HILL
FEBRUARY 12
★★★ ★★ MAIN EVENT ★★ ★★★ UNDERCARD ★★★★ ★ ATMOSPHERE
F
OR John Ryder, when he edged out Danny Jacobs on a split decision at Alexandra Palace on Saturday, it was the fairy-tale victory he’d
been waiting for.
The Islington fighter was the underdog against an American star and for John this was a triumph against the odds. It comes after his long road through a hard career that’s seen him lose close fights with the likes of Billy Joe Saunders and Callum Smith but also rack up a sequence of impressive performances to earn a shot at a big-name opponent. That finally arrived when Jacobs came to the UK for this 12-round clash.
For much of the first half of fight, Jacobs served up a reminder of his quality. After all, he’d given Gennady Golovkin plenty of problems when they fought in 2017 and had been a worthy opponent for Canelo Álvarez. In Ryder’s hometown, Jacobs seized the ascendancy from the start, moving deftly from side to side, firing swift, straight jabs into the target. Thudding crosses stopped Ryder from closing in, allowing Jacobs to take control of the first half of the contest.
But he didn’t close Ryder out of the fight. Instead the English southpaw managed to cuff shots at Jacobs when they were up close. Ryder exploded to life in the seventh round, catching up to Jacobs, hurting him when he dug stern left crosses through. The American tied him up in clinches, no longer looking to manhandle the smaller man but trying to stem John’s attacks as he pushed forward.
In another miscalculation Jacobs switched southpaw time after time in the second half of the fight. If he intended it to throw Ryder off, he was mistaken. The American opened himself up to John’s attacks and Ryder seized his opportunities to land shots, his clubbing right hook effective. What had begun with Jacobs seemingly in cruise control ended as a close fight. The decision was split, two judges, Jean-Robert Laine and Mike Fitzgerald, scoring 115-113 for Ryder and one, Marcus McDonnell, by the same margin for Jacobs. Boxing News similarly finished with Jacobs two rounds ahead. That
FAIR RESULT? Ryder celebrates in the ring as a disgusted Jacobs storms away
TIDE TURNING: Jacobs loses what appeared complete control as Ryder raids up close
Photos: MARK ROBINSON/ MATCHROOM
makes the American unlucky. He is right to feel aggrieved, although the decision wasn’t an outrage. It was close. After starting so well, Jacobs let Ryder back into the fight and build momentum.
“When I’ve had these big nights, I feel like I’ve been on the wrong end of them. So tonight is my night and I’m going to enjoy it, I’m going to take it in, embrace it and remember it for the rest of my life,” Ryder said. “I’ve got the career-defining win that’s evaded me for so long.
“I’ve joined an élite club now that I’ve beat Danny Jacobs. Take the [Dmitry] Pirog fight out of it, he’s been beaten on points by Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Álvarez and myself now.”
Steve Gray refereed.
Ryder was quick to pay tribute to his trainer Tony Sims, who had a successful evening. He also guided his middleweight Felix Cash through a tricky encounter with Magomed Madiev. Cash recovered well from a hellacious left hook that dropped him to the canvas in the second round. Under pressure in that round, the man from Wokingham saw out the danger. Repeated jabs kept the Russian at bay and Cash began to catch him with hard rights. More mobile on his feet, Felix built up an unassailable lead. But Madiev had him in desperate trouble in the 10th and last round. With another booming shot he put Felix over again. Cash was hurt. He had to survive the round. Wrapping Madiev up in clinches saw referee Mark Lyson deduct a point but it was enough to get Cash through. Cash took a unanimous win, 95-92 for Yury Koptsev and Robert Tapper and 94-93 for John Latham.
Catford’s Ellie Scotney underperformed against Jorgelina Guanini. When Scotney stepped off and made space for her work, she landed clean shots. But with a bad cut opening over her left eye in the third round, too often she let the Argentine bustle forward and look the busier with scrappy combinations. Scotney won a unanimous decision after 10 rounds, 96-94 for JeanRobert Laine and Marcus McDonnell and 95-94 for Mike Fitzgerald. Steve Gray refereed. Still only 23, Scotney is capable of much more.
Johnny Fisher made a spectacular
HARD NIGHT: Cash outpoints Madiev [above] while Scotney struggles past Guanini [left]
SPITEFULL: Pattinson works with pace, variety and timing to win
entrance with a legion of fans singing and cheering him into the ring. Going into just his fifth pro fight the “Romford Bull” has become a ticketselling phenomenon. But he is a novice heavyweight. He didn’t find it easy to catch Spain’s Gabriel Enguema on the end of his jabs. He put his weight behind the right hands he swung, though too often they were inaccurate. Nevertheless he landed enough to win the six-rounder clearly, 59-55 for referee Mark Bates.
Alnwick’s Cyrus Pattinson settled quickly into his bout with Evgenii Vazem. The Russian backed off, moving from side to side as Pattinson looked to mark him out with southpaw jabs. Cyrus found his range and attacked the body, spiteful right hooks scoring along Vazem’s ribs. The visitor felt those, tucking his elbows in tight as he sucked up air and his movement slowed. Pattinson varied his work from the body to the head well, slipping Vazem’s cross and countering with a hard left. Vazem had to rely on his toughness make it to the final bell, clearly losing 60-54 for referee Marcus McDonnell after six rounds.
Hopey Price was too tall, too sharp and too powerful for fellow southpaw Ricardo Roman. In the first round he sent long straight lefts streaking into the Mexican, and blasted a thumping cross down to knock Roman into the canvas. He continued to batter his opponent, dropping Roman again in the fourth round. He rose only for Price’s continued assault to force referee Mark Bates to end it moments later, at 1-09.
London’s Shiloh Defreitas teed off on Alexey Tukhtarov, landing combinations, clipping the Russian with left hooks but he did not shake up the determined journeyman. Defreitas took a 60-54 points win after six rounds for referee Mark Bates.
American southpaw Austin Williams chopped Javier Francisco Maciel off his feet with a left hook in the first round. In the sixth of a scheduled eight rounds, a flush left put the Argentine down again. Williams unleashed fast punches, wobbling Maciel on the ropes and prompting referee Marcus McDonnell to stop him at 1-02. bn
THE VERDICT Jacobs can count
himself unlucky, but this was still a close fight.
FULL RESULTS
John Ryder (167lbs), 31-5 (17), w pts 12 Danny Jacobs (166½lbs), 37-4 (30); Felix Cash (159½lbs), 15-0 (10), w pts 10 Magomed Madiev (159lbs) 15-1-2 (4); Ellie Scotney (121¼lbs), 4-0, w pts 10 Jorgelina Guanini (119½lbs), 9-4-2 (1); Austin Williams (161¼lbs), 10-0 (8), w rsf 6 Javier Francisco Maciel (166¼lbs), 33-16 (23); Hopey Price (125lbs), 7-0 (3), w rsf 4 Ricardo Roman (124¼lbs), 14-13 (5); Cyrus Pattinson (150¼lbs), 3-0 (1), w pts 6 Evgenii Vazem (150½lbs), 9-22 (4); Shiloh Defreitas (143½lbs), 3-0 (2), w pts 6 Alexey Tukhtarov (143¼lbs), 4-24-6 (3).
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Three of four new starts victorious
BIRMINGHAM
FEBRUARY 13
★★★ ★★ WHOLE SHOW
A SHOW is no longer seemingly a show unless it includes a liberal sprinkling of debutants and this Sunday evening offering at Edgbaston’s H-Suite was certainly no exception with no less than four new starts occupying the six home berths.
First debutant up after Burford’s Tom Brennan had opened proceedings with a 39-37 success at the culmination of a decent tussle with Brummie Josh Hodgins was Exeter welter Shannon Willey who duly handed Blackburn’s experienced Naeem Ali an 80th career defeat, referee Mr Messer, who also oversaw the opener, having him ahead 40-37 at the finish.
Already trailing, the Blackburn man wasn’t helped when a clash of heads early in the third left him with damage to the bridge of the nose though it certainly fired him up and that penultimate session proved the closest of the bout.
Wolverhampton-based Italian Traian Tudosache (essentially a home boxer) had drawn his only previous outing so probably no real surprise that he should turn in by far the best performance the away corner saw all evening, contributing to a highly entertaining four against Walsall first-timer Darnell Duut and fully meriting a 38-38 share of the spoils on the card of Chris Dean.
Kings Norton’s Connor Goodchild conceded both height and weight to Warminster’s experienced Paul Cummings but it mattered not, a series of combinations upstairs along with a few decent right uppercuts ensured it was he who secured the 40-36 verdict of referee Messer whilst there was a 39-37 win from Mr Dean for Worcester’s Ameen Khalid who, after having a previous debut cancelled when the opponent failed to show up, got the better of still winless Swindon-based Romanian, Constantin Radoi.
West Bromwich light-heavyweight Josh Stokes, who returned recently after a long spell of inactivity, brought down the curtain with a one-sided 40-36 win over Croatia’s Stanko Jermelic who, circling throughout, switched stance to little effect.
Chris Dean was the third man.
FULL RESULTS
Tom Brennan (156 1/2lbs), 3-2, w pts 4 Josh Hodgins (160lbs 2oz), 0-12; Josh Stokes (178 1/2lbs), 6-0 (2), w pts 4 Stanko Jermelic (173lbs 10oz), 0-14; Ameen Khalid (133 1/4lbs), 1-0, w pts 4 Constantin Radoi (133 3/4lbs), 0-5; Connor Goodchild (151lbs 2oz), 1-0, w pts 4 Paul Cummings (155lbs 2oz), 2-56-1; Shannon Willey (150lbs 10oz), 1-0, w pts 4 Naeem Ali (158lbs 14oz), 2-80-1 (1); Darnell Duut (148lbs), 0-0-1, d pts 4 Traian Tudosache (139 1/4lbs), 0-0-2.
