At the First Direct Arena, Leeds, Issac Lowe put in an impressive performance against a rugged, tenacious Jamie Speight. In a lively back-and-forth fight, Lowe demonstrated eye-catching timing and ring generalship en route to capturing the vacant English Featherweight title.
Lowe (11-0, 4 KO) had to dig deep in the 4th, but his superior skills paid dividends down the stretch. When the 8th round arrived, Lowe’s hands began flying, nailing his pressuring foe with clean punches. And it was in the 9th that the 21-year-old’s artillery plunged Speight in danger he simply couldn’t recover from.
Following a barrage of unanswered punches, the referee quite rightly stepped in to save Speight (13-8, 1 KO). Lowe is definitely one to watch in the future, and no doubt has some even bigger nights ahead of him.
Martin Murray got his win against Jose Miguel Torres, but boy was it a weird fight. Murray knocked down Torres (31-7, 27 KO) en route to picking up a 5th round TKO. But like the Bellew fight (below), it’s hard to really take much away from this bout.
Like Bellew, Murray (32-2-1, 15 KO) is also eying a world title in the near future, but what has he proven by taking on a blown up Junior Middleweight like Torres? Not a lot. His dwarfed opponent spent much of the evening trying to buy time on the canvas. And punches weren’t always necessary to land him there, either.
This thing had mismatch written all over it unfortunately. Murray is on a winning streak since moving up to Super Middleweight, but really needs to face a significant threat before facing formidable characters like Arthur Abraham.
Andy Townend turned the tables in his fight with Lee Glover, knocking down his foe with a hard right-hand in the 4th round. Glover had looked the superior boxer for the first three, and though he was able to eventually regroup, was knocked down courtesy of a Townend body shot in the 7th.
Glover (9-3, 3 KO) failed to beat the 10 count, enabling Townend to successfully defend his English Junior Lightweight title. This was a nice little scrap, it has to be said. Townend (14-3, 10 KO)isn’t looking sensational exactly, but looks like he could be a handful for many fighters on the domestic scene. His sneaky counters to the body were eye-catching, indeed.
Tony Bellew (25-2-1, 16 KO) took care of Arturs Kulikauskis (16-27-5, 8 KO) inside 5 rounds. The Cruiserweight match-up only ever had one outcome given the calibre of his opponent, and so it was surprising to hear that Bellew and promoter Eddie Hearn are chasing a world title fight soon.
After three rounds of feeling out his foe, Bellew began walking down Kulikauskis, cutting off the ring, and letting his shots fly. Shortly after the 5th had begun, Bellew sensed an early finish was within reach, and starting piling on the pressure. The referee quite rightly called off the contest, saving a dispassionate Kulikauskis from unnecessary further punishment.
Lowe vs Speight: Round by Round
Rounds 1-2: Lowe is shining through with the more quality, lightning handspeed, and quite simply bossing the action. Speight is game and throwing with venom, but Lowe is in control. Lowe, 10-9 (both rounds)
Round 3: Action simmers slightly, Speight is almost dropped, but glove doesn’t touch down on the canvas. Another Lowe round. Lowe, 10-9 (30-27)
Round 4: Speight coming back, catching Lowe with some quality shots. This is now turning into a fight. Don’t count out Speight just yet. Both men exchanging blows now, settling into the fight nicely. Speight, 10-9 (39-37)
Round 5: Fiery round. Speight is spirited, looking to punish Lowe. Lowe’s class on show now. Nice offense, combinations, timing. Lowe, 10-9 (49-46)
Round 6: This is a tough fight for both men. Lowe is finding Speight a real handful in there. It’s getting scrappy. Lowe starting to look for the right-hand counter, and eventually gets of a couple of tasty shots in. Lowe, 10-9 (59-55)
Round 7: Lowe beginning to time his shots really well. Left-hook finding the target nicely, but still, Speight is a game, rugged foe. Another left-hook from Lowe. Lowe, 10-9 (69-64)
Round 8: Lowe has Speight’s number. Starting to unload comfortably on Speight. 5-6 punch combination on rope-bound Speight. Speight lands a decent one-two on Lowe, comes right back. Lowe’s jab doing its job in this round in between exchanges. Lowe, 10-9 (79-73)
Round 9: Speight comes on strong, but Lowe counters and fights well off the back foot. Big chopping right-hand from Lowe, follows it up with attack and sends Speight sprawling backwards. Referee soon steps in to save Speight from further punishment.
Result: Lowe wins via 9th round TKO
BoxingBase Scorecard: 79-73 (going into 9th)
Murray vs Torres: Round by Round
Round 1: Murray firing the jab. Certainly the bigger – much bigger – man. Torres looks a little tricky with his movement. Stiff jab to the body from Murray. Right-hand knocks down Torres. Torres moving well, busy with his feet. One-two from Murray. Torres gets in with the jab. Murray, 10-9
Round 2: Torres showcasing some good head movement and punch variety. Nothing landing of note. Torres knocked down – flash knockdown. Torres bounces right back and goes on the hunt, getting some shots in. Torres goes down again, isn’t hurt. Bounces right back up. Seems to be more of a balance issue than anything. Murray, 10-7 (20-15)
Round 3: The size difference here is kinda freakish, it has to be said. Torres is tough, but certainly ‘plumped up’ to 168 pounds. Torres down again – once more, not hurt in the slightest. In fairness, despite four knockdowns, he’s boxing well. Torres gets a couple of uppercuts in on the inside. Murray, 10-8 (30-23)
Round 4: Murray jabbing, looking for a big right-hand. Torres throwing some leather and landing. Torres getting hammered to the body, gets dropped again. Harder knockdown this time. Torres recovers well, but gets a telling off for going in with head. Gets knocked down again – glove touches down. Six knockdowns…jeez. Could we be looking at some kind of record here? Right-hook sneaks in from Torres on bell. Murray, 10-8 (40-31)
Round 5: Both men opening up now. Torres weathers them well, Murray seems to shake them off better. Torres gets telling off for dropping to the canvas too often (when no punch has landed). This guy is just outmuscled, out-sized by Murray. That’s surely the issue. And Torres is down again. Referee calls it off. What to think about this fight?
Result: Murray wins via 5th round TKO
BoxingBase.com Scorecard: 40-31 (going into 5th)
Glover vs Townend: Round by Round
Round 1: Both men look spirited and hot out the gate here. This should be competitive. Townend is cut over right eye – not clear if from a headclash. Townend lands left-hook. Townend feels some pressure on the ropes, responds with his own attack. Right-hand over the top from Townend. Hard round to score. Ah, cut was from an accidental head clash. Glover, 10-9
Round 2: Townend is fighting on, despite his handicap. Lands a right-straight. Glover firing effective jab. Good movement. Right-hand from Townend. Both men are getting stuck in. Glover, 10-9 (20-18)
Round 3: Townend fires some decent straights at Glover. Glover sneaks in a left-hook, is edging the action ever so slightly in this fight. One-two from Glover. Some untidy inside work. Glover’s head also seems to be a weapon at times. Glover, 10-9 (30-27)
Round 4: Townend missing time and again with his big right-hand. Right to the body hurts Glover! Right-hands upstairs start landing. Right knocks down Glover! Glover beats the count. Holds on for dear life, needs to regroup. Huge round for Townend. Townend, 10-9 (38-37)
Round 5: Townend charges his man, starts nailing him with vicious shots. Glover in trouble. Combinations, all business from Townend. Glover trying to fight back. Townend sensing victory, lands another right-hand. Glover wobbly. Tying up his foe. Glover regrouping, finding his senses. Townend gets in another right, can’t miss. Townend, 10-9 (47-47)
Round 6: Glover starts well with the jab, getting back in the fight. Townend throwing his danger-shot right-hand. Glover jab. Left to the body from Townend. A right. Townend gets in another counter to the ribcage. Townend nicks round, 10-9 (57-56)
Round 7: Townend making use of the jab. Glover throwing some leather, but nothing registering. Townend drops Glover with body shot. Referee reaches 10. This fight is over.
Result: Townend wins via 7th round KO
BoxingBase.com Scorecard: 57-56, Townend (going into 7th)
Bellew vs Kulikauskis: Round by Round
Round 1: Both men feeling each other out. Bellew lands hard to the body. Big right-hand from Bellew. Bellew looking big, solid in there. Kulikauskis clips Bellew with right. Kulikauskis looking bullied, but holding his own so far. Bellew, 10-9
Round 2: Kulikauskis lets his hands fly, Bellew rolls them off. Kulikauskis again with a combination, clips Bellew with a left-hook. Kulikauskis has come to fight. Bellew still dominating, landing the more telling blows. Kulikauskis goes on the defensive for rest of round. Bellew, 10-9 (20-18)
Round 3: Bellew is clearly the more capable fighter here, but he’s not finding the target against an elusive Kulikauskis here. Bellew tries to nail his man on the ropes. Kulikauskis is a good enough mover to fend off his stronger foe. Kulikauskis, so far, is causing Bellew some problems. Not an eventful round. Bellew, 10-9 (30-27)
Round 4: The action is continuing much the same. Bellew is closing down his man now, cutting off the ring. Better stuff. Bellew jab. Bellew nails Kulikauskis with a hard right. Clash of heads. Left-hook from Bellew. Kulikauskis under a lot of pressure in this round. Bellew, 10-9 (40-36)
Round 5: Bellew has Kulikauskis trapped on the ropes, piling on that pressure. Kulikauskis hanging in there, still throwing. Body shot from Bellew. Right-hand. After considerable one-way traffic, the referee steps in.
Result: Tony Bellew wins via 5th round TKO
Boxing Base Scorecard: 40-36, Bellew (going into 5th round)
Give us your take on Murray-Torres and the rest of the Warrington-Brunker card.
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