By Miguel Assuncao
MORE LIVE RESULTS TO COME.....................
Essex's Martin J. Ward (14-0-2, 7KOs) beats Andy Townend (16-3-0, 11KOs) by technical knockout in the eighth round to claim the British super featherweight title.
'Wardy' was unperturbed by his opponents reputation as a dangerous puncher, skipping in and out of range from the opening bell and pushed his opponent into the ropes with a pinpoint right hand at the end of the first.
Under the guidance of trainer Tony Sims, Ward continually circled around his Barnsley-based opponent and stunned Townend twice in round three with some neat work at mid range.
To his credit, Townend – a three time English title holder – continued to come forward looking to land straight rights but largely only found thin air as the Essex man used effective footwork to get out of range.
Ward, 25, had Townend in trouble twice in round six, unleashing a barrage a punches that forced the Yorkshireman to cover up with the referee stepping in to have a closer look at action.
Townend survived but it only served to delay the inevitable as Ward pressed again and a flush one, two left hook staggered 'The KO Kid' and made referee wave off the contest.
Middleweight Craig Richards (4-0-0, 2KOs) extends his unbeaten record with a 40-36 points win over Dalton Miller (4-7-1, 2KOs) in a four rounder.
Richards – nicknamed 'The Spider' – lived up to his moniker as he used his superior reach advantage to land randy jabs, bringing himself into range to unleash a number of meaty lefts to the body.
Hailing from nearby Crystal Palace, Richards, 26, looked intent on making a statement and two straight right hands seemed to sap energy from his opponent at the end of the second.
Despite being overmatched, Miller did land a number of overhand rights as Richards pressed forward, but he was again on the end of punishing body shots at the end of the fourth as Richards pressed for the stoppage which ultimately did not come.
Richards is expected to be out again at the end of the month at the York Hall, Bethnal Green.
Super bantamweight Gavin McDonnell (15-0-2, 4KOs) keeps himself ticking over with a laboured eight round points win over Robin Zamora (6-2-0, 3KOs). The referee scored it 78-76.
The Doncaster man is chasing world honours after picking up the WBC silver title in February, but was caught with a flush straight right that drew audible encouragement from the visiting corner in the opening exchanges.
Fighting outside of Argentina for the first time, Zamora seemed to enjoy the bigger stage and seemed to stun McDonnell as the pair exchanged straight right hands in the third.
McDonnell, 30, responded by stepping through the gears and began to edge rounds on work rate, having particular success to the body, much to the delight of brother Jamie at ringside.
The Englishman continued press forward without landing notable shots in the last two rounds but his aggression proved to be the difference on the scorecard.
Rising lightweight prospect Conor Benn (3-0-0, 2KOs) scores his third knockout in four pro outings with a second round technical stoppage of Joe Ducker (0-1-1).
Away from the pressured glare higher up the card, Benn seemed intent on pacing himself in the early exchanges but his use of angles had Ducker bewildered and the 19-year old capitalised by flooring his opponent twice in the first round.
Ducker, 31, from Leicestershire came out in defensive mode at the start of the second but a flurry of body shots had him down again and he failed to rise before the referee counted him out.
Benn, 19, is expected to box again on the undercard of the world title clash between Anthony Crolla and Jorge Linares in Manchester later this month.
Paul Smith (37-6-0, 21KOs) keeps busy with a fifth round technical knockout of Daniel Regi (28-13-0, 15KOs).
Weighing in just shy of the light heavyweight limit at 174 lbs, ‘Smigga’ controlled the opening rounds off his jab in before the fight came to life in the third.
A swift right uppercut to left hook combination had the Hungarian down for the first time before Smith, 33, piled on the body shots to send Regi to the canvas on three separate occasions in the fourth.
The Liverpudlian sent his opponent down again with another body shot in the following round before a fierce straight right hand forced the referee wave off the content after 2.16 of round 5.
Smiths latest win makes it three consecutive triumphs since he lost to Andre Ward in Oakland, USA, in June last year, albeit against limited opposition.
It's an early start for the undercard action here at the 02 Arena, London. First up, Kid Galahad (19-0-0, 10KOs) continues his comeback with a routine fourth round technical knockout over Italy's Emiliano Salvini (17-23-2, 2KOs).
Galahad – whose real name is Barry Awad – showed his superior class from the off, using his speed to land jabs at will in his second bout after a disputed drugs ban.
In the third round, Galahad dropped his European opponent with a right left combo after relentless front foot pressure before the referee waved off the contest 38 seconds into the fourth after the Italian shipped further punishment.
Galahad will now turn his attention to helping gym-mate Kell Brook prepare to take on Gennady Golovkin in tonight's main event, live on Sky Box Office in the UK and HBO in the USA.
