Heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2 (19)) defeated David “White Rhino” Allen (24-8-2 (19)) by 12-round unanimous decision on Saturday night at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England.
(Source: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing)
In the first round, Makhmudov came out throwing punches until Allen landed a left hook to the chin, knocking him back a step. In the second round, Allen landed a low blow, giving Makhmudov some time to recover. He came back after a substantial round with Allen.
In the third round, Makhmudov again defeated Allen, who again finished the fight as the stronger of the two. In the fourth round, Allen made a good comeback and took a close round.
In the fifth round, referee Steve Gray warned Makhmudov twice for holding while he was throwing punches, and he did so several times. Good round for Allen. In the sixth round, Makhmudov overpowers Allen, who is stronger towards the end. In the seventh round, Makhmudov was winning the round, but caught Allen in the clinch again as referee Gray took the point away from him.
In the eighth round, Allen seemed to have the advantage, always coming forward, while Makhmudov was able to land more often before catching Allen. In the ninth round, Allen knocked out Makhmudov’s mouthpiece early. Tardy in the round, a demanding right corner followed by six punches from Allen got Makhmudov into trouble. In the tenth round, Allen hurt Makhmudov with a minute left with an overhand to the right chin.
In the eleventh round, everyone had their moments to land Makhmudov, but Allen hurt him several times. In the twelfth and final round, referee Gray deducted another point from Makhmudov for pushing Allen against the ropes rather than jumping off of him. Allen hurt him in the last minute while looking for a knockout, possibly losing points. Good round for Allen.
The scores were 115–111, 116–110 and 117–109.
Super secondweight Josh Padley (17-1 (5)) defeated former British and Commonwealth champion Reece “Bomber” Bellotti (20-7 (15)) by unanimous decision over 10 rounds to win the WBA International title in a foul-filled fight.
There was too much clinching in the first four rounds. Bellotti had a slight advantage. In the fifth round, Bellotti landed a right cross to Padley’s chin and then a right to Padley’s body.
In the seventh and eighth rounds, Padley came back with the advantage. In the ninth round, Bellotti drew blood from Padley’s nose in a close round by clenching too tightly. In the tenth and final round, the fight was even, with both fighters mixing things up when not in the clinch. Bellotti started speedy, then slowed down until the end, although the score could have been closer.
The judges’ scores were 99-92, 97-93 and 97-93. The referee was Bob Williams.
Before the next fight, they paid tribute to the former world champion and popular Ricky “Hit Man” Hatton, to which the fans gave him a standing ovation.
In a rematch that ended in a draw in January, Junaid Bostan (10-1-1 (8) lost a 10-round majority decision to Bilal “The Machine” Fawaz (10-1-1 (3)) in an action-packed round for the vacant BBBofC English welterweight title. Interestingly, Fawaz had a shocked look on his face when he was told he was the winner.
In the first round, the aggressor Fawaz leaves his body open for Bostan to strike while keeping his hands raised high. Referee Michael Alexander cautioned Fawaz for punching the back of the head. In the second round, both had a cut on their right eyebrow as a result of clashing heads. In the final seconds of the third round, Fawaz hit Bostan with a right to the chin, causing him pain.
In the fourth round, halfway through, Bostan injured Fawaz with a combination to the chin. In the fifth round the action continued, and in the last minute Bostan was bleeding from the mouth.
Fawaz was doing well in the sixth round before his mouthpiece fell off in the last minute. He ended up stronger and no longer held his hands high. In the seventh round, Bostan finished strongly, winning the round. In the eighth round, Fawaz had the advantage.
The action was back and forth in the ninth round, with Bostan finishing with a sturdy punch. In the tenth and last round the fight is fierce. Good round for both, with Fawaz hugging Bostan from behind, who wanted nothing to do with him. Another draw between them?
The scores were 96-95, 96-94 and 95-95.
Hamza Uddin (6-0 (3)) defeated Paul Roberts (7-7-2 (2) at 2:14 in the fifth round of a scheduled 10-round fight for the vacant BBBofC English Flyweight and WBA International titles.
In the first round, Uddin outworked Roberts and showed off a bit at the end. In the second round, Roberts was cut early on the right eyebrow by a left hook from Uddin. In the third and fourth sets, Uddin’s hand speed was too much for Roberts.
In the fifth round, Uddin dropped Roberts to the knee three times with left hooks to the middle, causing referee Michael Alexander to order a stoppage.
Super featherweight Ibraheem Sulaimaan (9-0 (4)) dominated James Chereji (22-7 (10)) to win an eight-round decision.
In the first four rounds, Sulaimaan gave Chereji a lesson in boxing with hand and foot speed, limiting Chereji to landing a few punches.
In the first minute of the fifth round, Chereji finally landed a solid chinlock and Sulaimaan countered with a combination. In the seventh round, Sulaimaan suffered a minor cut to his right eyebrow, although he dominated the round. In the eighth and final round, Sulaimaan continued to win every round, showing off a bit in the last two rounds.
Judge Steve Gray scored it 80-72.
Delicate heavyweight Conner Tudsbury (3-0 (2)) knocked out Khalid Graidia (13-16-5 (4) at 0:58 of the fourth round of a scheduled six-round fight.
Midway through the second round, Tudsbury landed six unanswered punches. In the first minute of the fourth round, Tudsbury landed three rights to the body of Graidia, who was hurt, but landed a punch and walked away, conceding when referee Michael Alexander waved him off.
Lightweight Joe Howarth 14-1 (4) defeated Karl Sampson (9-60-1 (1)) by six-round decision.
In the first three rounds, Sampson, as a late-match substitute, does what he does best: he makes his opponent look good and his performance shows that he is a “record holder”.
In rounds four through six, Howarth continues to trail Sampson and defeats him primarily with the jab due to Sampson’s defense.
Judge Michael Alexander scored it 60-54.
Welterweight Joe Hayden (20-0 (2)) defeated Angelo Dragone (10-0 (1)) by six-round decision.
In the first round, Dragone pressed the taller Hayden, forcing him into the ropes. In the second round, referee Steve Gray warned Dragone twice for punching on the break and twice for using his head.
In the third round, Dragone was defeated and Hayden had a slight advantage. In the first minute of the fourth round, Hayden dropped Dragone with a left hand to the chin, which referee Gray counted to 8. In the fifth and sixth rounds, Hayden looked piercing going after Dragone.
Judge Steve Gray scored it 60-53.
The Master of Ceremonies was Ben Edwards.
Ken Hissner is an experienced boxing journalist with over 20 years of experience covering the world fight scene. As a senior writer for Boxing News 24is well known in the boxing community for his detailed results coverage, in-depth historical articles and ringside reports of major events.
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