By Terence Dooley
British super-middleweight champion Tony Quigley and mandatory challenger Paul Smith brought personal animosity and the desire for local supremacy into the ring at the ECHO Arena, Liverpool on Friday night as they battled it out in front of two rival sets of rabid fans.
A 2002 Commonwealth Silver Games medallist, Smith, 12st exactly, had declared himself to be superior to Quigley, 11st 12lb 4oz, in every department only for the fight itself to be settled on pure grit and desire - rather than power and quality punching. Fans had expected to see a potential ‘fight of the year’ candidate but it became immediately clear that the occasion had got to both men as they tentatively moved around one another during the early going.
The pre-fight build up had been infused by a, seeming, lack of respect on both sides only for the fighters to show too respect on the night itself. The two boxers had stated that they could not wait to get in there and fight; however, the fight itself was a mauling, brawling grueller of an encounter.
Quigley, 25, looked a little edgy in the first phase of the contest, this gave him an edge and he used a mixture of boxing and clinching to negate Smith’s charges. Smith, 27, also played a big part in the frequent clinches, after missing his shots he would fall into Quigley and hold on until instructed to break by referee Richie Davies, who had a tough night’s work.
Smith has failed to produce at times in his pro career, often drifting through fights, this time, though, he tried too hard to deliver, looking for the perfect shot when, in reality, this wasn’t that type of contest. Smith’s aggression forced the fight but also made it very messy, this scrappy action led to a clash of heads in round 5 and this, in turn, opened a cut by Smith’s right eye.
Quigley targeted the cut with some nice jabs, allowing Smith to, finally, start landing with his overhand right and the odd left hook. Tony’s strength was proving to be a big factor; ultimately, however, the man from Kirkby was adept when it came to stopping Smith’s work but this often came at the expense of his own boxing.
Aintree’s Smith asked trainer Georgie Vaughn if he was ‘getting’ the rounds at the end of the seventh, in truth both men were nicking the odd round and matching one another on the cards, it was nip-and-tuck until the ninth, when Smith fought a terrible round and handed the initiative to his opponent. A series of missed one-twos from the challenger allowed Tony to land his own shots.
A fight finally broke out in the tenth, both men traded at the bell but, frustratingly, the round ended just as it the action was coming to the boil. The fight had, again, evened up on the cards and Smith carried the final two stanzas to establish a hold on the fight; Quigley boxed particularly poorly in the twelfth, one terrific right uppercut aside. It seemed that the man who had won the title in the final session during that war with Tony Dodson had lost his grip on the title by giving away that very same stanza.
However, when MC Mark Burdiss announced that there was a majority decision many thought the draw was due to come in; Phil Edwards turned in a 116-114 card for Quigley, Howard Foster evened things by scoring it 113-116 for Smith and Ian John-Lewis had the final say with a 112-116 scorecard in favour of Smith, so it was a split decision - Smith’s late rally had secured him the title. Boxingscene had it 115-113 for Smith.
All in all the fight never really got going. Despite this, the physical nature of the scrap made it a spectacle, if not the fight of the year that many people were expecting. Quigley is 13-2 (6 early) and still learning. Smith needed this one; he is 28-1 (15 KO’s) and should look for a defence against Belfast’s Brian Magee. The announcement that there may be a rematch failed to excite the crowd and Smith-Quigley II would be a hard sell, even in Liverpool.
Smith was delighted with the win and claimed that it could be the kick-start that his career needs. “I trained properly for this fight,” he confirmed. “I can’t get motivated for kids that I’m expected to beat. When this British title is on the line then you’ll see the best of me. That wasn’t the best of me tonight but you’ll see it.
“I’ve got a lot of respect for Tony Quigley but wanted to make him feel bad in the build-up. He is a good, strong kid and the grappling that he does in the MMA comes in, as he is strong as an ox. I want to thank Frank and my trainers and everyone around me.”
Swindon southpaw Jamie Cox, 11st 8oz, got the bill underway with a routine win over Manoocher Salari, 11st 3lb, after the Iranian failed to answer the bell for the fourth round due to a broken tooth and damaged jaw.
Jamie, 23, boxed well off the jab in the first round before letting loose with left hands to the body and right hooks to the head in round two. There was the odd flashing straight left from Mano’s southpaw stance but Cox, a Commonwealth, Four Nations and ABA winner as an amateur, took the shots well, despite suffering a nosebleed, and he also managed to freely land his own counter blows.
Mano, 35, had placed all his hopes into landing the type of solid counter punch that had felled Martin Concepcion in 2006, but it was not to be. Cox closed things out well in the third and Dominic Ingle decided to pull his man out during the break between rounds.
Jamie rises to 13-0 (8), he went the distance in his first three pro fights but has six stoppages in his last seven fights, the power is coming on; Mano is now 4-10-3 (3 stoppages) and he is riding a five fight losing streak.
The first of three Smith brothers took to the ring next as Stephen Smith, 9st 1lb 8oz, faced Gavin Reid, 9st 1lb, over a scheduled eight-threes contest. Stephen, 24, is the younger brother of Paul, although he went a step further than his brother by bringing home Commonwealth Gold in 2006, and he produced a scintillating first round display on Friday. ‘Swifty’ hit Reid, 30, with every shot in the book and buckled his opponent’s legs with a solid left hook at the end of round one.
People had already written Reid off by the second stanza but the man from Redcar, Yorkshire came out off the blocks with a solid right hand to the body; it was King Chanute stuff, though, as Smith proceeded to batter his man for the remainder of the round.
Despite going a bit gung-ho, and taking a few shots as a consequence of this, Smith’s boxing ramped up with each successive session. Reid looked shell-shocked, he was bloodied about the nose and face and taking a lot of clean shots but he simply refused to give in.
By the final bell the fight stood as a testament to Smith’s ability and Reid’s stoic refusal to budge, the visitor was hit with every shot in the book during this final session but he somehow survived to see out the fight. Referee Howard Foster awarded the contest to Smith by a 79-73 margin.
Despite a mid-rounds fade, Smith had done pretty much everything you could expect from a prospect. He switched his attacks, when the left hook to the body stopped hurting Reid he started digging in right hands to the body, and vice versa to the head. On this night, though, Smith was facing an incredibly tough and proud man, Reid deserved to see the final bell – he is now 6-4-1 (3) and will remember this fight for a long time, not fondly perhaps, but it will stick out.
Michael Jennings, 10st 10lb, put aside the disappointment of the postponement of his British welterweight title showdown with Kell Brook to register a decision win over Laszlo Komjathi, 10st 7lb, in an eight-round tools sharpener. Jennings boxed beautifully off the jab throughout the contest; he’d use the shot to make space before stepping in with precision right hands. Laszlo, now 35-27-2 (13), was buckled on a few occasions and his nickname of ‘The Pit bull’ looked a complete misnomer throughout this one-sided bout. Referee Phil Edwards’ 80-72 card was an accurate reflection of Michael’s dominance.
Jennings is a class above most operators, his last defeat came at the fists of Miguel Cotto and the man from Chorley could probably defeat the likes of Laszlo with one hand tied behind his back. ‘The Lurcher’, now 36-2 (17 KO’s), will get be given a real test when Brook is in the other corner.
On Friday’s evidence Jennings, 32, will be razor sharp for that fight. Still, his skills may be a little bit too orthodox, he could do with something extra in the Brook fight; conversely, the technical precision of Jennings’ style could prove to be the perfect antidote to Kell’s maverick punching. It is a fascinatingly poised contest. Michael’s tidy display has served as an appetiser for the upcoming main event.
Enzo Maccarinelli’s nephew Tobias Webb, 12st 5lb, took on Poland’s Pawel Trebinski, 12st 5lb, over four-threes. The super-confident Swansea boxer was roared on throughout by Maccarinelli but could not quite muster enough venom to get his man out off there.
Webb, 21, boxed off the jab, mixing in left hooks, some of them cuffed, and right hands to the chin of Trebinski, who was content to move and hold for the most of the contest. Pawel, 26, ditched the holding and gave it a go in round four; he landed some solid right hands and reddened the nose of Webb, who scored with a firm straight right hand right on the bell.
It came as no surprise when referee Mark Lyson raised Webb’s hand, the fighter calls himself ‘The One’ and he deservedly won the fight by 39-37 on judge Howard Foster’s card. Tobias was aggressive when required but he will have to turn his left hook over that little bit more in future fights.
Liam Smith, 152lb, completed the Smith family trilogy with a solid 40-36 win over Walsall’s veteran journeyman Darren Gethin, 153½lb. Liam mixes Stephen’s speed with Paul’s heavy hands and he hammered home left hooks from the first to the final bell.
Gethin, 33, ate jabs in the second but he briefly gave things a go in the third, only for ABA winner Liam, 21, to push him back with harder, sharper punching. There were no surprises when referee Mark Lyson declared Smith, now 4-0 (1), a 40-36 victor; Gethin falls to 9-18-5 (2). Lyson is still learning his trade so Howard Foster judged this match.
Liverpool’s Joe Selkirk, 11st 6lb, grabbed his first stoppage win in three pro fights by staying sharp right to the end in his contest with the durable Alex Spitko, 11st 7lb, who was taken out by a pair of quick left hooks at 0:46 of the final round.
2006 ABA welterweight Selkirk, 24, boxes in a similar style to Ashton’s Steven Bell; he worked the jab in the early rounds then brought right hands and, finally, left hooks into the equation.
The stoppage itself came from nowhere. Spitko, 23, shaped up to throw a shot and was then hammered by a counter left, the next one turned his legs to jelly and referee Mark Lyson timed the stoppage perfectly, as Spitko had not managed to get his legs, or senses, back. Rotunda graduate Selkirk rises to 3-0 (1), he is coming back from injury and hopes to be busy in coming months; Spitko is now 6-18 (4).
Tony Bellew, 12st 8lb, did not hang about in his fight with 16-7 (a remarkable 15 KO’s early) opponent Jindrich Velecky, 12st 5lb 5oz; the Liverpudlian landed a left hook to the head and body that put his man on Queer Street before launching a follow on attack that culminated in a peach of a right uppercut.
The 35-year-old Czech went down heavily and then rose on unsteady legs; he made the mistake of glancing at his corner for assurance but Bellew was already on him by this point. A short right hand forced referee Phil Edwards to rescue the visitor at 1:28 of the first.
Three-time ABA winner Bellew, 26, had a lot of energy left to expand and he did so by celebrating wildly with cornerman Anthony Farnell, who nearly had his glasses KO’d by the big-hitting Bellew.
Tony, 11-0 (8), was pleased with the win, evidently, but he also bemoaned the fact that he wasn’t able to get the rounds in. Still, Bellew’s last fight in Liverpool had seen him go the distance with Jevgenijs Andrejevs - Tony had wanted to make amends for that one and he did so in style.
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