PENGE welterweight Bradley Skeete lost his bid for the European title against Spain’s Kerman Lejarraga at the Bilbao Arena in Bilbao on Saturday.
Bradley Skeete peppered Kerman Lejarraga with jabs in the opening round but never managed to unsettle the Spaniard. Lejarraga tore forward in the second round, rattling Bradley with lead lefts. He came inside and dashed a right hand to Skeete’s head, shaking him up and sending him down to the canvas.
The Spaniard rumbled forward and as Bradley moved off, a thunderous left hook to the body snatched the wind out of him and left Skeete on his knees.
Pained, Bradley rose and tucked up behind his guard. Lejarraga continued to hammer him with punches. A left hook to the head dropped Skeete a third time and the towel flew in from his corner. The referee at once waved it off and Lejarraga and the arena erupted in celebrations.
Lejarraga looks a strong puncher and is now a flawless 25-0 with 20 of those wins coming inside the distance. This was only Skeete’s second defeat. The former Commonwealth champion has also won the British title outright and was close to securing a world title shot last year. He now needs to rebuild.
