REVIEW: PLENTY OF REWARD AS MACMILLAN WINS BRITISH CHALLENGE BELT
Photo Credit - Kevin Gilbo (Eat Sleep Boxing Repeat)
Saturday night brought plenty of thrills and spills as Kieran Farrell Promotions' 'Risk v Reward Bill' rocked the Bolton Whites Hotel and delivered on all levels.
In a fight that lived up to the name, the headline act, Reece MacMillan v Lee Connelly saw the two battle it out for the British Challenge belt. MacMillan, who has made steady progress since his defeat to Adam Little, put it all on the line against the veteran of fifty contests.
The bout started as expected with both men willing to engage from the opening bell, and Connelly showing he was not just there to make up the numbers. As the fight progressed MacMillan was able to work well on the inside landing multiple point scoring combinations,
and this was after being on crutches only a week ago due to a small injury to his left knee.
The fight went the scheduled eight rounds with the final stanza being the most exciting round of the night, bringing a great end to an overall closely fought contest.
Photo Credit - Kevin Gilbo (Eat Sleep Boxing Repeat)
The referee scored the contest 78-74 in favor of MacMillan who now becomes the British Challenge belt super lightweight champion.
In the chief supporting bout there was some controversy as "Big" Ben Thomas and Harry Matthews battled to a draw over four rounds with both camps feeling like they had done enough to secure the victory.
The bout was another closely fought contest with both men having success over the course of the fight, with Thomas leading from the jab and landing some hurtful looking body shots.
Photo Credit - Kevin Gilbo (Eat Sleep Boxing Repeat)
Matthews had his fair share of success with counter right hooks landing to the left side of Thomas's head, and body work when the two fought on the inside. Whilst both men feel aggrieved by the decision it is clear that a second fight between the two fighters is the most logical step at this stage of both of their career's.
"Kombat" Lee Clayton returned to winning way with a dominant performance over veteran Russ Midgley. The man from Heywood demanded respect from the opening bell, working the head and body very well with a much more relaxed look about his work than in his previous outing.
Midgley looked to be having an off night as he was unable to land much offence in the bout, but taking nothing away from Clayton his performance was much improved as the referee scored all four rounds to the home fighter.
Photo Credit - Kevin Gilbo (Eat Sleep Boxing Repeat)
It was a triumphant return to the ring for Adam Little as he looked like he had not taken 18 months away from the ring with a commanding performance over the normally durable Nathan Hardy.
Little, not known as a huge puncher was able to get the respect of his opponent very early on with some beautiful straight right hands. The end of the bout came in the sixth and final round as Little caught Hardy with a right hook which stumbled Hardy back and led to Little stepping in with one more big right hook, to which the referee stepped in.
Photo Credit - Kevin Gilbo (Eat Sleep Boxing Repeat)
After shaking off the ring rust Little will be looking to chase down his old English title, which is currently held by Ekow Essuman who faces former British champion Tyrone Nurse on the 16th March.
Another fighter looking like a prospect of the future was Khaleel Majid. The Bolton native had brought a decent following to the show and did not fail to disappoint his fans as he picked up the win over experienced Antonio Hortavic and left fans wanting more as he appears to be one fighter to watch over the next 12 months.
Photo Credit - Kevin Gilbo (Eat Sleep Boxing Repeat)
Rounding up the card, Ben Ridings moved to 2-0 with a points victory over Zygimantas Butkevicius and after a long wait for his professional debut Sam Larkin also picked up win with a points victory over Ricky Leach.
Overall Ratings:
Atmosphere - 4/5
Fight Quality - 3/5
Event - 4/5
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