By Oli Smith
A stormy night in Sunderland saw Lee Haskins making his first defence of the British Super Flyweight title, the weather was prophetic for the challenger Ross Burkinshaw, who had to endure a turbulent four rounds before referee Ian John Lewis had seen enough. Burkinshaw, an army man, who squeezes his 5’8’’ frame into the 8 stone 2 pound limit, was by far the least experienced of the two, having boxed just over 30 rounds in his young career. Ultimately it was this lack of experience that would be his undoing. The first round action started cautiously, both men feigning but not throwing. Lee Haskins is well known for his unorthodox approach and Ross Burkinshaw did well to measure up his foe before charging in.
True to form, Haskins dispensed with the jab early on in the round, typically leading with the right hook, whilst keeping his hands at waist height. The tricky southpaw seemed supremely confident. Ross Burkinshaw on the other hand was the polar opposite. Guard held high and shoulders far too tense, he allowed Haskins all the time in the world to pot shot him almost without response. When he did let his hands go, it was infrequent and certainly not a deterrent to the British champion.
The early signs of frustration were there, Burkinshaw was admonished for using the elbow excessively, barely halfway through the first. The second round began much where the first left off, largely taking on the appearance of a sparring session for Haskins. Burkinshaw looked too slow and ponderous, allowing Haskin to time him well from all angles. The most effective shot Haskins would throw was the right hook, as Burkinshaw covered up; he would whip the hook around the guard of Burkinshaw, landing flush every time. The gulf in skill between the two was evident for all to see, Burkinshaw simply had no answer and little experience to draw from in order to compete, unless he could change his game plan drastically.
The third round was by far the most competitive of the bout, Burkinshaw had received a talking to from his corner and went out for the third stanza to make up for his slow start. The pressure applied to Haskins certainly evened out the disparities between champion and challenger. The round would still go to Haskins however, who managed to land the better, cleaner shots. The game plan for Burkinshaw would be to tire Haskins out, believing him to have a stamina problem and likely to blow himself out by the mid rounds. Unfortunately for Burkinshaw, he wouldn’t have an opportunity to put the theory to the test. The fourth round saw both men trading shots, each man wobbling the other, before Haskins opened up and out gunned his man, to win the exchange. The next exchange would be the last of the evening for both men, having found his way through Burkinshaw’s guard; follow up right and left hooks caught the challenger flush on the chin, visibly shaking him and then sending him to one knee. At this point the referee had seen enough, waving the bout off at 1.09 of the fourth.
Whilst it could be argued that the fight was ended early, what couldn’t be disputed was that Lee Haskins was a level above his competition tonight, an early ending was all but inevitable as Burkinshaw had no answer for the awkward southpaw style he was confronted with. In not moving his head and holding his guard too tight in front of his face, he was open to the well timed hooks thrown by Haskins all night long. Against a puncher as clinical as Haskins it was a recipe for disaster. Whilst Burkinshaw looks to rebuild his young career, Haskins will now move on to new challenges. The Commonwealth title being number one his list.
The main event of the evening was a non-title fight home coming for local hero Tony Jeffries, a bronze medal winner at the Beijing Olympics. Tonight he headlined the action and would face an opponent with a winning resume – all be it a padded one – for the first time. Ilya Shakura of Belarus came to the ring with a record of 2-1 (1KO), although all of his fights were against boxers making their fight debuts. Jeffries wasn’t sticking around to find out if Shakura would provide a stern test, having boxed just three rounds so far in his professional career; he would add just one more to that tally by the end of the evening. From the opening bell Jeffries’ disproportionate strength was shocking. His jab rocked Shakura’s head back, who immediately went into fight or flight mode. Fight it is, to his credit Shakura didn’t stop coming forward, throwing everything he had a Jeffries.
The first knockdown came as Shakura endured a barrage of shots, before succumbing to a left hook to the ribcage that knocked every bit of wind from his sails. Rising at eight and sporting a bloodied nose, Shakura didn’t take a backward step, unfortunately for him, Jeffries didn’t either. Smashing through Shakura’s guard and staggering him against the ropes, Jeffries began to unload. The referee rightly jumped in to save the helpless contender from Belarus, who was all but out on his feet, slumped over with his hands by his waist.
An impressive win takes Jeffries record to 3-0 (3KO’s) and with just four rounds to his name, it may be time to start looking for some quantity to go with his quality. Experience is the most valuable asset available to Jeffries at this stage in his career, just ask Ross Burkinshaw. Jeffries did everything that was asked of him tonight and is very clearly above this level. It may be time shortly, to start feeding him a steady stream of experienced journeymen and fringe contenders in order to get some well needed rounds under his belt. But for now, the man from Sunderland is looking like an exciting prospect for the future.