MICHAEL GOMEZ JUNIOR got back on track with a routine points win. Gomez, from Moston in Manchester, was suspended by the British Boxing Board of Control after an outburst back in March but returned from his enforced hiatus with a win over Joe Beeden. The fight was featured on a Frank Duffin promotion at Colne’s Municipal Hall, in association with Heatseeker Boxing and Maree Boxing.
The referee, Jamie Kirkpatrick, saw the fight as a shutout in favour off the Kevin Maree-managed Gomez Jnr –– whose father was in the corner on the night –– and awarded it 40-36 against the Swindon man.
Next up for the prospect is a September 28 outing at Middleton Arena before, providing he comes through unscathed, a fourth fight of the year on November 2 at the King George’s Hall in Blackburn.
Josh Holmes, from Earby in Lancashire, brought vociferous support with him as he moved to 3-0 as a pro after putting in one of his best performances to date. The former national development amateur champion, who is trained by Bobby Rimmer, walked out to ‘One Step Beyond’ by Madness, which was suitable fare for Holmes and his fans.
He faced the game and durable London-based Swede Edward Bjorklund and the referee Darren Sarginson saw it in Holmes’ favour by a margin of 40 points to 36, leaving his fans jubilant as they left the venue, and he will now step-up to six-round contests in his next fight.
Meanwhile, Holmes’ gym-mate Liam O’Reilly got his ledger as a pro fighter off to a flyer as he got the better of 100-plus-fight veteran Fonz Alexander.
Newark’s Alexander, who recently announced that he will take a six-month sabbatical from the sport from the start of 2020, put on a good display, but was outgunned as Sarginson handed in a tally of 40-36 to the Keighley welterweight.
Artif Ali warmed up for his vacant Central Area super-featherweight title shot on December 2 with a 59-56 points win.
Accrington’s Ali, who has a date with undefeated Zeeshan Khan booked in for the King George’s Hall in Blackburn, faced Waqas Mohammed of Birmingham.
The fight was nip-and-tuck but Ali will go into his title tilt full of confidence after Sarginson gave him the victory by a three-point margin.
‘Dangerous’ Dan Catlin moved to four fights undefeated with a scrappy points win over Victor Edagha. Catlin, from Fleetwood, was in against the Southwark-based Italian and Jamie Kirkpatrick scored the contest by 40-37.
Casey Connelly got a win over Richard Harrison on Darren Sarginson’s scorecard.
The Wigan light-heavyweight kept up his winning streak since turning professional and is now unbeaten in six after beating Surrey’s Harrison by a margin of 39 points to 38.
Aaron Hayden got the only quick finish of the evening as he took out Jules Phillips in the final of four rounds.
Referee Kirkpatrick called a halt to the contest 53 seconds into the fourth and final round to give Rawtenstall super-featherweight Hayden his second victory as a professional against 24-year-old Londoner Phillips.
And proceedings started with Kurt Grieve warming up for his next fight with a win.
The Blackburn man, 35, takes on the undefeated Lewis Booth on October 4 at the Doncaster Dome for the vacant Central Area welterweight title and got the better of Glasgow’s Gary McGuire in his tick-over assignment, taking a 40-36 decision on referee Jamie Kirkpatrick’s scorecard.
The Verdict Josh Holmes’ support could take him a long way.
FULL RESULTS
Michael Gomez Jnr (132lbs 8oz), 10-1 (3), w pts 4 Joe Beeden (130lbs 2oz), 2-66-1 (1); Josh Holmes (131lbs 2oz), 3-0, w pts 4 Edward Bjorklund (129lbs 12oz), 1-25-1; Liam O’Reilly (146lbs 12oz), 1-0, w pts 4 Fonz Alexander (148lbs 8oz), 7-101 (4); Artif Ali (131lbs 12oz), 14-2, w pts 6 Waqas Mohammed (131lbs), 2-3-1; Dan Catlin (161lbs 8oz), 4-0 (1), w pts 4 Victor Edagha (161lbs 4oz), 2-62-2 (2); Aaron Hayden (127lbs 12oz), 2-0 (1), w rsf 4 Jules Phillips (128lbs 8oz), 2-23; Casey Connelly (173lbs), 6-0, w pts 4 Richard Harrison (178lbs 8oz), 3-38; Kurt Grieve (156lbs 4oz), 8-2-1 (1), w pts 4 Gary McGuire (154lbs 8oz), 0-10.
