AFTER a successful first show here at Woodhouse Park Lifestyle Centre just three months previously, Joe Gallagher’s M22 Promotions returned with more of the same. Seven bouts were offered up to the appreciative audience, who numbered more than on that debut promotion and with several big names on show on and two potential further dates pencilled in before Christmas, things appear to be going swimmingly. Hattersley middle Marcus Morrison last time out silenced the locals in Rome by stopping highly ranked Emanuele Blandamura in the ninth of a 10-rounder – and he might defend the title he won that night on the next Wythenshawe show.
He excelled in the afternoon’s curtain-raiser against Nicaraguan Edwin Palacios who, having been made to eat a couple of snappy, venomous jabs inside the opening minute, was then tagged by a cracking left to the body and sent to all fours. It was a position in which, in obvious distress, he remained for not only the duration of referee Jamie Kirkpatrick’s count but a good 10 seconds afterwards before returning to his corner.
It had been slated for six rounds but was all over three seconds shy of the two-minute mark.
Sale cruiser Sam Hyde, who needed less than two minutes to triumph in his most recent outing, was next up in another set for six. Mirroring the achievement of Morrison, he won once more by the short route as Fleetwood referee Steve Gray stepped in to halt it with 55 seconds of the fourth remaining to save Jiri Svacina any further punishment.
The Czech was increasingly frustrated at his inability to land anything of note against a fleet-footed and confident Hyde.
The visitor, slowly being picked apart, had been down twice in that fourth session, firstly from a spell of concerted pressure and then shortly after the resumption from a chopping right – and while he arose at a count of seven, it was a case of game over.
Yet another early winner (as recently as May) was Ellesmere Port’s former world bantamweight champ Paul Butler. Still with his eye on returning to the main stage, he kept busy with a one-sided 60-54 win over Mexican Joseafat Reyes, another Spanish-domiciled Latino who was in as a late replacement for Croatian Antonio Horvatic.
No surprise that this one should finish a shut-out for referee Kirkpatrick despite Reyes manfully having a go, Butler, mixing it up nicely and switching his attacks up and down regularly, is a classy operator and he dominated from the opening bell through to the last.
He saved his best work for the closing session when, having fully settled into his stride and obviously enjoying himself, he stung Reyes with a left downstairs.
Southpaw Nathan Farrell had impressed on his recent debut in Liverpool and did so once more here, proving too much for 39-year-old Slovakian Ivan Godor for whom, going down 40-36, it was a 94th paid outing.
Using his reach advantage to good effect and boxing at quite a pace, Farrell led the older man, who was several times told by the referee to watch his head, quite a dance. He hurt him with a left uppercut late in the first and forcing him to cover under fire in his own corner in the third.
There were 40-37 home wins over four for Middleton’s Connor Lynch against Brummie Daryl Pearce, the pair of them both finishing tired after serving up a cracker of a final round, and for Altrincham’s George Brennan, whose snappy work behind a nice jab kept him on course for victory over Kent trier Ricky Leach.
Respective referees were Kirkpatrick and Gray.
A clash of debutants at light-heavy saw Chester’s well-supported Wycombe King dominate throughout against Irlam’s extremely tough Ryan Hibbert, who took some mighty shots but finally crumpled in front of his own corner with the very last attack of the bout, referee Mr Gray scoring 40-35.
Nice to see local lad and former British featherweight champ Andy Morris among the interested onlookers, who included Anthony Crolla, Natasha Jonas, a couple of Smith brothers and hot prospect Lyndon Arthur.
The Verdict Impressive stuff from the home boxers, who look like returning soon.
FULL RESULTS
Marcus Morrison (163 1/2lbs), 22-3 (16), w ko 1 Edwin Palacios (162lbs), 12-11-1 (8); Sam Hyde (203 1/4lbs), 15-1-1 (8), w rsf 4 Jiri Svacina (205 1/4lbs), 13-37 (2); Paul Butler (129lbs 6oz), 30-2 (15), w pts 6 Joseafat Reyes (126 1/2lbs), 8-10-1 (2); Nathan Farrell (142 1/4lbs), 2-0, w pts 4 Ivan Godor (142lbs), 20-70-4 (6); George Brennan (128 1/4lbs), 10-3-1 (1), w pts 4 Ricky Leach (130 1/4lbs), 3-43-1; Connor Lynch (145lbs 6oz), 5-0, w pts 4 Daryl Pearce (142 1/2lbs), 1-2; Wycombe King (177lbs), 1-0, w pts 4 Ryan Hibbert (179 1/4lbs), 0-1.
