Hunter defeats Bakole in heavyweight brawl at York Hall
Cyclone Promotions delivered an epic night of championship Boxing at York Hall on Saturday night with 3 fighters currently trained by Shane McGuigan in action.
In a bill that boasted 11 bouts, a number of fighters were defending their undefeated records, some with belts on the line also.
Chantelle Cameron Vs Jessica Gonzalez - International Boxing Organization World Female Lightweight Title & World Boxing Council Silver Female Lightweight Title
Aiming to stretch her record to 8-0, former ABA National champion Chantelle Cameron came up against the tough Jessica Gonzalez who fought for a world title in her last fight.
In a fight dominated by Cameron, the Northampton based fighter drew blood from Gonzalez in the 2nd round, before knocking the Mexican down in the 7th with only a few seconds left in the round.
Gonzalez at times displayed a typical Mexican style of coming forward in an aggressive manner, but was unable to hit Cameron with anything substantial.
With both fighters deciding to trade towards the end of the fight, Gonzalez was deducted a point due to excessive holding in the 9th as Cameron was able to land at free will in the closing stages of the contest.
Result: 100-89, 100-88 & 100-88 all in favour of Chantelle Cameron.
Lee McGregor Vs Thomas Essomba – Commonwealth Bantanweight Title
Coming out to an extremely raucous Scottish based crowd, ‘Lightning’ Lee McGregor started his first 12 round fight well, winning the jab exchanges and using his range well against the smaller Essomba, the Cameroonian went down early on but the exchange was ruled immediately as a slip.
As the 12 round contest developed, McGregor stopped having everything his own way as both fighters were getting hit during a trading contest.
However, during the 4th round what looked like a slip to many was judged as a knockdown by Referee Ian John-Lewis.
Despite the ‘knockdown’, McGregor began to enjoy most of his success of the bout in the 2nd half of the fight with many struggling to award Essomba a round as the fight reached its conclusion.
As the fight reached the final round, McGregor managed to certify his victory with a stunning left hook to Essomba, putting the 30 year old in a position where he was unable to continue.
Result: Lee McGregor wins by 12th round KO.
Chris Billam-Smith Vs Robin Dupre – Eliminator for the Commonwealth Cruiserweight Title
The York Hall faithful were treated to another Cyclone prospect as Chris Billam-Smith looked to go 7-0 against fellow Cruiserweight and former Commonwealth title challenger Robin Dupre in a 10 round contest.
Billam-Smith was dominant in his performance, unloading a variety of shots onto Dupre who was forced into a corner or onto the ropes on a variety of occasions.
As a surprise to some, Dupre chose not to come out for the 6th round after being on the receiving end of a number of heavy shots from Smith in the last couple of rounds.
Result: Chris Billam-Smith wins by 5th round stoppage (Dupre didn’t come out for the 6th round).
Martin Bakole Vs Michael Hunter – Vacant International Boxing Organization Inter-Continental Heavyweight Title
Arguably the fight of the night was kept until the end as the undefeated Martin Bakole came up against US fighter & former world title challenger Michael Hunter.
With Bakole being billed as the favourite in this fight, possibly due to his size and experience as a heavyweight, many members were in for a shock as the fight developed.
Early on, both fighters were being hit with Bakole perhaps able to take punishment a bit easier than Hunter.
However, in regards to winning actual rounds Hunter who was mostly boxing smartly and having success in doing so did seem to get hurt when he got hit himself.
As the 10 round contest entered its 2nd half, Hunter seemed to look more and more tired as well as bloodied as the rounds went on with a stoppage seemingly pending in Bakole’s favour.
Despite Bakole starting to get the upper hand, disaster seemed to struck in round 8 for the Scottish based fighter. Bakole seemed to have injured his shoulder and wasn’t able to land like he had done in previous rounds.
As Bakole who was likely to be down on the scorecards at this point became more and more desperate for a knockout blow as the bout reached the 10th and final round.
Cementing a well fought fight, Hunter hit Bakole with a barrage of fighters despite looking exhausted, forcing the Referee to stop the contest with around a minute of the final round remaining, leaving the 30 year old American victorious.
Result: Michael Hunter wins by 10th round stoppage.