By Chris Glover
Bradley Skeete got the first notch on the ladder with a victory over John Thain.
The Penge welterweight successfully negotiated the maiden defence of his British crown, exclusively live on BoxNation, at the Brentwood Centre in Essex against the game Edinburgh man.
The first half of the fight was cagey with the rounds being very close. Thain's jab matched Skeete's well known excellent jab in the first five. Thain landed some quality right hands but the higher percentage of punches landed came from Skeete, whose timing was perfect.
The fight began to open up in the sixth round as 29-year-old Skeete, who is now 25-1 (11 KOs), picked power shots perfectly after he continued to work off the jab. Thain, who unfortunately slipped to 16-3 (1 KO) in defeat, began to bleed from the nose and mouth, caused by the perfectly timed jab and straight right hands from Skeete.
Skeete seemed fresher as the latter part of the fight came. The champion controlled the centre of the ring and the pace of the fight, mostly down to the excellent use of his jab and superb counter punching.
The pockets of Thain pressure appeared to be comfortably dealt with by the exemplary Skeete who always seemed to be first to the punch on both the inside and outside.
The Scottish challenger was cut above the left eye, which had also swollen up, and a sharp right hand off the jab from Skeete in round 10 didn't help matters for Thain, who had given a great account of himself against his English counterpart.
As the contest entered its final stages Skeete still appeared fresh as his defence, footwork and timing remained perfect. The jab was still controlling the fight for Skeete as Thain did attempt to come forward with his own flurries as he worked off his own jab. Despite this, Skeete's defence was excellent and his countered remained sharp.
The last round saw Skeete showboat, showing off his skills against the gallant Thain, who is very skilled in his own right. It could be argued that Skeete is above British level as he looked comfortable throughout against a very worthy challenger for the famous Lonsdale belt.
The judges reached a unanimous decision as the contest was scored 116-112 and 118-111 twice to Skeete.
Thain received a well-deserved round of applause from the crowd as he left the ring.
Skeete will now look towards European titles and John Thain will definitely come again at British level.
The champion revealed after that he had a damage right thumb after the contest, explaining why he didn't put his foot on the gas when he arguably could have done during the contest.
