LYNDON ARTHUR produced a measured performance, and overcame several prickly moments, to outpoint and dethrone Bradley Rea earlier this evening.
Their absorbing light-heavyweight contest took place at the Co-op Live Arena, Manchester, with Arthur, 25-3 (16 KOs), coming away from their Lancashire derby as the new European champion.
It was, in the end, a relatively convincing display, yet the scorecards seemed to reflect a slightly different story on the undercard of Joshua Buatsi vs Zach Parker.
Arthur landed a sumptuous right hand – a shot he expertly set up with his prolific jab – in the opener, only for Rea, 21-2 (10 KOs), to respond with a spiteful cross of his own just moments later.
The silky rhythm of Artur was then thrown into chaos in the second round, as Rea marched forward, destruction written across his eyes, and floored his opponent with a sneaky left hook on the chin.
After scrambling back to his feet, though, the Manchester man kept behind his trusty lead hand in the following visit, ensuring not to engage in any fierce exchanges.
But despite opting for a more defensive approach, Arthur would nonetheless spring into range with the odd sharp combination here and there, which Rea, in turn, only saw as an early Christmas present.
The Stretford man then seemed to hurt his man, once again delivering an assertive flurry, in the fourth round, though Arthur soon restored his composure and enjoyed a far more steady fifth frame.
That was before Rea came pressing forward with his ferocious fists, encountering few hurdles as he held his feet and almost dominated the sixth session.
Again, the 27-year-old opted for relentless aggression in rounds seven and eight, while Arthur, to his credit, began to utilise his sharp footwork and crafty counter-punching prowess.
The ninth was then a particularly encouraging round for the 34-year-old, who made sure to keep targeting the nasty swelling that had appeared around his opponent’s left eye.
By this point, it seemed as if Rea was running low on ideas, or at least felt no urgency to adjust his approach, as Arthur found plenty of openings with his right uppercut.
Heading into the 11th round, Rea was given a right earful from head coach Andy Abrol, who said something along the lines of, “your life depends on these next two rounds. You don’t want to go back to Winter Gardens [a small hall venue in Blackpool]”.
Those words of inspiration, however, did not seem to produce the desired outcome, as Arthur simply extended his control for the remainder of their contest.
As a result, ‘King Arthur’ was rightfully crowned the new European champion, with scorecards of 115-113 and 115-112 overruling a 114-114 verdict.
