A GOLDEN NIGHT AWAITS FOR DAVIES AND MCKENNA

Ohara Davies defeated Jeff Ofori to become the first super lightweight finalist of MTK’s Golden Contract tournament.

Davies (21-2), who selected competition underdog Ofori as his opponent, looked in commanding control for the majority of the fight.

Leading with an unpassable jab, he landed his renown right hand with regularity; and it was as a result of three of these successive right hands that the referee brought a stop to the contest in round six.

Ofori, who only entered the tournament as a last-minute replacement for the injured Lewis Benson, swiftly became a fan favourite, as he defeated Kieran Gething (9-2-2) in the quarter finals only a week after outpointing Gerard Carroll (11-1).

But he was outclassed here.

Bravely, Ofori rallied during round five having also been knocked down at the end of round three. He caught Davies with an uppercut which looked to have the Hackney fighter hurt and finished the round throwing ceaseless combinations of frenzied punches.

This salvo, however, was insufficient to prevent the – what seemed from the outset – inevitable Davies stoppage victory.

Davies will now face WBC International champion, Tyrone McKenna (21-1-1) who defeated France’s former EBU and IBO world champion, Mohamed Mimoune (22-4) via a contentious unanimous decision.

Choosing to stand and trade, rather than reply on his physical height and reach advantages, McKenna turned this fight into a compelling, bloody and exhausting display of aggressive, front-foot boxing.

Seemingly having the better of the earlier rounds with work that could be described as eye-catching – although often caught on Mimoune’s forearms and gloves – McKenna appeared to tire during the later rounds, was cut in round 7 and is generally accepted to have definitively lost rounds six, seven, eight, nine and ten.

Surviving to the final bell and taking the decision victory, McKenna will subsequently meet Davies in a contest which from the competition’s outset was desired and, as a showpiece final, is profitable, marketable and now hotly anticipated.