Via Ken Hissner: At Nottingham Arena, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, UK sold out, Saturday ahead of DAZN Eddie Hearn (Matchroom Boxing) in the Main Event WBA World Featherweight Champion “Leigh-thal” Leigh Wood of Great Britain defended from behind to knock-out 2- First Olympian and WBA ranked “Irish” Michael Conlan of Belfast, Ireland, in the final round to retain his title.
(Image source: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing)
In the main event, WBA Featherweight champion “Leigh-thal” Leigh Wood, 26-2 (16), #125 ½, of Gedling, Nottinghamshire, UK, knocked out “Irish” Michael Conlan, 16-1 (8), #125 ½, of Belfast, Northern Ireland, at 1:25 of the 12th inning and finally to retain his title.
In the first round, after thirty seconds, Conlan turned south and played pretty well, delivering the final punch of the round, a left-hand backhand to Wood’s chin. Conlan kicked Wood halfway into the second half with a left kick to the chin.
Wood continued to move forward, taking the lead when a head impact caused a cut below Conlan’s left eyebrow. In the third round, a fruit on Conlan’s nose sucked Wood’s blood. It goes back and forth to who is in the lead.
In the fourth round, Wood had the best round keeping Conlan against the ropes most of the time. In the fifth inning, there was an early clash and Wood had his left eye cut off mid-round.
Conlan had better action sequences with good bodywork. In the sixth inning, Conlan’s bodywork continued to influence the incoming Wood.
In the seventh round, the action was chosen more back and forth with Conlan’s left and Wood’s right. Conlan was thrown on the rope by Wood. Wood seems to be leading Conlan. In the eighth round, Wood continued to overtake Conlan. In the ninth round, Conlan’s right hooks continued to land as Wood continued to pressurize Conlan to wind up with his chin.
In the tenth inning, half way through, Conlan landed on the left, giving Wood a double. Suddenly Wood bounced back in an instant, knocking out half a dozen unanswered punches to win the round. In the last minute of the eleventh inning, Conlan was missed by referee Steve Gray with a left hook into referee Steve Grey’s net, while Conlan’s corner missed.
In the twelfth and final round, Wood pushed Conlan over the rope and out of the ring with a series of closing punches. Conlan is conducted on a stretcher. This writer led Conlan by a point 104 to 103 to get to the final round.
WBA Men’s Lightweight 10th Gary “The Diva” Cully, 14-0 (8), #134, of Naas, IRE, knocks out former IBF lightweight champion Miguel “Titere Puppet” Vazquez, 44-11 (17) , #134, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, MEX, at 0:41 of the fifth of the ten scheduled rounds.
In the first round, the taller (4″) Cully made good use of Vazquez with his reach. At the last minute, a header from Cully’s left chin stopped Vazquez. In the second round, Cully countered Vazquez, who rushed in, missing most of his punches. At the end of the half, Vazquez had his left eyelid cut off after Cully’s left cross. In the third round, Vazquez took the lead from Cully’s chin, knocking Vazquez down to his knees and quickly climbing up for referee Steve Gray to count eight with over a minute of play left.
In the fourth round, Cully continued to dominate, nudging Vazquez’s knee with a left punch to the chin with half a minute left. In the fifth round, Cully landed with a jab and a left to the chin, and knocked Vazquez into his right shoulder, knocking out Referee Gray. It was Vazquez’s fourth appearance in England without a win.
Former WBC and IBO super featherweight world champion Terri Harper, 12-1-1 (6), 133 , of Denaby, UK, dominated Argentine lightweight champion Yamila Belen Abellaneda, 13 -5-1 (3), #134, of Buenos Aires, Distrito Federal, Argentina, over ten rounds to win the vacant WBA Women’s Intercontinental title.
In the first two rounds, Harper used an effective jab and left hook into Abellaneda’s body. Due to a head collision, Harper suffered a cut to her left eye and on her forehead in the third round. Harper dominated the round. From day four to Friday, Harper continued to go out, landing Abellaneda. Harper appeared in southpaw on round seven, with Abellaneda going from orthodox to southpaw and back again. Abellaneda ended the round with a solid left hook to Harper’s chin.
In the eighth round, Harper returned to the mainstream and had a good round that rocked Abellaneda with a headbutt in the chin at the last minute of the round. In the ninth round, Harper returned to southpaw for most of the round. Her cut reopens the half-round where she dominates. In the tenth and final round, Harper continued to overwhelm Abellaneda.
All three judges and writers gave it a score of 99-91. The referee is Bob Williams. Abellaneda was 7-0-1 in her last eight games before losing.
WBA International Middleweight Champion Caoimhin “Black Thunder” Agyarko, 11-0 (7), #159 ¼, of Belfast, Northern IRE, dominated men’s tennis player Juan “El Terri” Carlos Rubio, 18-2 (9 ), #159 ¼, of Zapopan, Jalisco, MEX, more than ten innings.
In the first two innings, Agyarko took down many of the leads to nampaw Rubio. In the third round, Rubio landed firmly on Agyarko’s chin with lead in the first minute of the round. It made Agyarko go on the defensive because Agyarko became a stalker. Agyarko again became the aggressor in the fourth round and performed well until the final seconds when Rubio knocked a snake to the chin.
In the fifth round, Agyarko kept his left arm at his hip, continuing to throw his right hand. Agyarko was hit on the chin by Rubio at the last minute but still had a chance. In the sixth round, Agyarko’s best puncher landed with a right into the arena of Rubio, who was backed into a corner at the last minute.
In the seventh inning, Agyarko overcame Rubio. Both landed with lead punches to the chin simultaneously in the final 30 seconds. At the last minute of round of 16, Agyarko injured Rubio with a right punch to the chin, nearly knocking him down, causing his left eye to begin to close and Rubio grabbing Agyarko to strangle him. Agyarko continued to try to finish the match for the rest of the round.
In the ninth round, both fighters used the lead blow. Agyarko, in the last half-minute, crouched unnaturally to get inside Rubio with his right. In the first inning of the tenth and final round, Agyarko’s attempt to close the match was thwarted by a hit back hook from Rubio, sending Agyarko back south and beginning to dance around the ring during the rest of the battle. Both perform well in sports.
The score is Gray and Pineda 100-90 Jankowiak 98-92 with this writer 99-91. The referee is Michael Alexander.
Superlightweight Sandy Ryan, 3-1 (2), #144 ½, of Derby, UK, lost in the deciding match to former world 2nd champion Erica “La Panerta” Anabella Farias, 26-5 (10), #141, by Escobar, Buenos Aires, ARG, ten rounds.
Farias charged for the first two rounds while the taller (5 ½”) Ryan used an effective jab to keep her at bay. Farias, sometimes, is bragging with her arms at her side, walking away from Ryan. Farias put Ryan against the ropes in the third round with half of her punch landing, and the rest blocked. In the final 20 seconds, Ryan had a chin-touching combination that caught Farias’ attention.
In the fifth round, referee Kevin Parker twice warned Farias for hitting the break and hold. On the other hand, it was a good round for Farias. Ryan dribbled past with left hooks in the sixth inning, leaving Farias unable to defend. In the seventh inning, Farias went to Ryan’s body, sometimes, combining three punches. In the final seconds, Farias hit a left hook into Ryan’s chin.
In the 1/8 round, Farias sucked Ryan’s nose with an excellent two-handed attack. In the ninth round, Ryan overcame Farias in the full-motion round. In the tenth and final round, Ryan landed with both hands on Farias’ head. Farias was deducted points by referee Parker for repeatedly using his head.
Scores are Alexander 97-93 Ryan, Gray 97-94 Farias and Williams 95-94 Farias. This writer had it 96-93 Ryan.
