Scottish Amateur And Professional Boxing
| Scottish Amateur And Professional Boxing |
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Glasgow's Craig Dickson put on a near punch perfect display last night at the St. Andrews Sporting Club as he forced Liverpool's David Keir to retire at the end of a third consecutive round of one way traffic in what was a great main event.
The fight got off to an untidy start with both men falling into clinches, but soon after this Dickson (10st 9¾ lbs) began to settle in behind his jab. A long right hand thudded into the midriff of Keir who had his back on the ropes as he shipped the follow-up blows, which produced a trickle of blood from his nose. As Keir (10st 10¾ lbs) would try to work on the inside, Dickson would just push him back and pepper him with the jab to keep the fight on the Glasgow man's terms.
Dickson was again the aggressor in the second as he commanded centre ring and controlled the fight with his educated jab and accurate body shots. It was definitely the body shots that were having the greatest effect and another right and left downstairs had Keir sucking air and trying to hold his man. He tried to counter with a huge left hook but, as was the case all night, Dickson would see the punch coming and simply stepped back out of harms way.
In the third round Keir landed his first real punch of note as he rolled out of a crouch to land a big left hand, but Dickson shook it off and got back to work. After backing Keir to the ropes once again, the Scot continued to attack his opponent's lower torso, and when Keir tried to turn off the ropes Dickson slammed home a peach of a right uppercut that drew gasps of appreciation from the crowd.
The pressure was now being turned up by Craig and a one-two bounced off the fleshy ribs of Keir, only to be followed by a left hook that seemed to wobble the Liverpudlian, who was now cut over the left eye.
During the interval between rounds three and four Keir's cornerman signalled to referee Vic Loughlin that the fight was over due to the cut, and Mr Loughlin suitably waved off the six-three’s contest.
It was one of the most composed displays of Dickson's career and he should be pleased with his performance against a man who holds a win over Matthew Hatton.
The all-action Jamie McIlroy of Stevenson improved to 2-0 with a 59-55 six-twos points win over Blackpool tough guy Rocky Flanagan in what was a fantastic battle.
In a fight not for the faint hearted, McIlroy (9st 9 ½ lbs) engaged Flanagan right from the opening bell and both were happy to go toe-to-toe early on to see what the other had to offer.
McIlroy got the better of the early exchanges, and banged hard to both head and body, opening up a long cut on Rocky's right brow, but he did have to take some shots to land his own, such is his style.
Flananagan (9st 10 lbs) was drawing cheers from the crowd with his “so what!?” expressions whenever he took a good shot, but those diners in the know could tell he was feeling the punches, especially a right hand after the jab that McIlroy was employing to good effect.
The jab was again working well in the second and third as McIlroy landed it almost at will to set-up the right hand and left to the body combination. It was this combination, along with an additional left hook, that dropped the Blackpool brawler, now bleeding from the nose to one knee in the third. Flanagan took the eight count but was now looking like he might get stopped. Testament to his heart though he dug deep and saw out the round.
By round four Flanagan was looking exhausted as McIlroy continued to hunt him down with his jab establishing a target for his heavy hands to attack. Four and five punch combinations rained down on Rocky, but you sensed that McIlroy’s prior urgency had taken a little of the snap from his punches.
Between rounds four and five Flanagan looked ready to call it a day as he shook his head at the referee Kenny Pringle, but he did answer the bell for the fifth stanza.
The tempo slowed in the final two rounds Flanagan feeling the effect of Jamie's body shots and hard hooks up top, and McIlroy having maybe exerted too much energy in looking for a stoppage.
McIlroy was still dominating with the jab and then the hooks to the body, but Flanagan was nothing if not all heart. Time was called in rounds five and six to replace Flanagan's mouthpiece, which was never displaced by anyone, punch, and may indeed have been a clever tactic to earn himself some respite
While McIlroy was content to take some shots to land his own throughout he was never really troubled and his style is sure to make him a crowd favourite at the dinner shows in the future. While his brother George is more of a boxer, Jamie is an old fashioned fighter who likes getting stuck into the action early doors.
The show closer between Sandy Robb of Inverness and Shane White from Wells was delayed due to a clash of shorts, with both men in blue. Strangely Robb, the home fighter, was asked to change his shorts first before White had even been spoken to about the matter (in these circumstances it is normal for the away fighter to have to change his attire.)
The first two rounds were not good ones for Robb (12st 7½ lbs) as he was continually beaten to the punch by his shorter opponent, and found himself taking short right hooks on the inside. Sandy, who is a noted slow starter, was not getting off first and this was not pleasing his trainer Arthur Melrose who was urging him to get his jab going.
The fight followed the same pattern with Robb walking in without punching and getting picked off by White (12st 7 ½ lbs), but two shots downstairs from Robb and the occasional jab kept him active him the fight.
In the third, White had more trouble closing the range and Robb was know jabbing well. A cracking left hook crashed into White's skull but he took it well. By now Robb seemed to have switched on and his jab was proving to be a useful ally in fending off the advancing White.
Robb was two rounds to one down going into the fourth, but he was now into a stride and set about his man with some hurtful blows. A left hook sent White down for a count of eight early in the round and when he got up Robb moved in for the kill.
He clubbed at White but was guilty of smothering his own work through over-eagerness. Then after a good shot to the body, Robb smashed home a jab, which brought about an opening that the Scot used to detonate a monstrous right hand.
White dropped heavily and it was clear to those at ringside that he was not about to get up anytime soon. Referee Pringle waved off the count at five, as it was clear White was out, and the doctors were quick to get in to the ring to have a look at the beaten fighter.
Official time was 1:18 and White was said to be “stunned but fine” after being inspected in his dressing room.
In the opening fight of the night Kilmarnock’s heavyweight Billy McClung (14st 7¾ lbs) won a six-twos decision over Bristol's Henry Smith (14st 12lbs) by 60-54 on the scorecard of referee Loughlin.
Smith connected first in the opening round with a solid one-two combination but McClung shook it off and looked to establish his jab. McClung got through with a crisp right hook on the inside but apart for this there was little more to report as McClung jabbed and countered Smith in what was effectively a "feel out" round.
The second saw Smith come charging out like a bull and he found success with a looping left hook that McClung took well before coming back with his own left hand. The man from Kilmarnock then pushed Smith back out to arms length with a stiff left-right combo. McClung then backed Smith up to the ropes and unloaded three hooks downstairs to the delight of the assembled diners.
In rounds three and four McClung kept the action on the end of his jab and he was continually getting off first and punishing the slow jab of Smith. The right hand often found its target in these rounds but landed most impressively at the end of the third. Billy chased his opponent around the ring with his jab and then banged his man with a right cross when Smith was on the ropes. This made Smith hold on in an attempt to see out the round, which he did.
The final two rounds of action were again bossed by McClung who was just one step ahead of the man from Bristol and kept up his accurate jab as he carved out openings for his body shots. It was no surprise when the score was announced and both men received a loud reception for their efforts.
By Gavin McLeod at ringside