By Chris Williamson
Birmingham - A terrific battle of unbeaten super-welterweights saw popular Ryan Kelly and Adam Harper wage a ten round war for the Midlands area title. Kelly uses the moniker "Ruthless" and dug in a fearsome selection of body shots from the outset. Harper wears the claret and blue of Aston Villa football club and makes up for with industry what he lacks in finesse. Harper would stand between rounds and press much of the action while Kelly peppered him on the outside. By the fifth Kelly started to look tired as the crowd cheered loudly for him and Harper pressed on relentlessly and pushed out jabs and right uppercuts. Harper was warned for punching after the bell to end the sixth and still he wouldn't sit as he turned the fight turned into a battle of attrition through the second half of the bout. Harper (now 8-0) was jubilant when announced the deserved winner, shouting "the impossible dream" to the crowd and calling on promoter Eddie Hearn to sign him to a deal.
In his second professional fight former amateur star Josh Kelly (now 2-0) beat another fighter with a winning record in Spaniard Jony Vina, who moves to 6-2. Kelly's trainer Adam Booth is looking to move his charge quickly and - quite apart from his "Pretty Boy Kelly" alias, Kelly really looks the part. The Sunderland welterweight is flamboyant and clearly enjoying his apprenticeship, trying out little offensive and defensive moves. Kelly demonstrated a stinging jab which set up hurtful right hands. A right hook in the fourth dropped the Spaniard heavily and a series of follow ups had Vina lurching around the ring before the referee very sensibly call it off.
Young super-welterweight Jordan Clayton from nearby Solihull moved to 6-0 with a hard fought four round decision over Nottinghamshire-based Latvian Nick Golubs. Golubs, who has now lost all three of his bouts put up a good fight. The referee scored it 39-38.
Twenty one year-old Northampton middleweight Kieron Conway moved to 3-0 with a straightforward four round win over Czech southpaw Jan Balog. Balog snapped a losing streak when he knocked out a member of his family inside a round at a music hall in Prague back in February. Conway towered over the visitor and floored Balog in the first before the tubby southpaw recovered to last the distance. The referee posted a 40-35 scorecard.
Local super-lightweight Aaron Lovell looked sharp to post his second win in as many bouts against the limited Liam Richards. The flashy Lovell moves well, occasionally switching stances but doesn't have much pop on his punches. The referee scored it 40-36.
Unbeaten Tamworth lightweight Charlie Williams (now 6-0-1) was floored by a hard counter left en route to a four round draw with Josh Thorne (now 1-9-2). Williams will want to focus on defence when he returns to the gym. The referee scored it 38-38.
A cracking super-lightweight battle of unbeatens, Cori Gibbs and Ahmed Ibrahim. Both hurt each other in the first before Gibbs established control with shaper, more accurate bursts in the second. Switch hitting Gibbs hurt Ibrahim with a series of lefts in the third before Ibrahim found his range with his straight right towards the end of the round. Gibbs moved nicely in the fourth and final round and let go with a lovely selection of shots to underline the win. Gibbs won 40-36 and moves 11-0.