Unbeaten cruiserweight Ellis Zorro produced the best victory of his career when he defeated former English light heavyweight champion Dec Spelman by an eight-round decision at the Bentley-Morrison bill at York Hall, London.
Zorro, 29, started late and only started boxing in college and barely had an amateur career. This was a real challenge for him as he endured a desperate time in the sixth and seventh rounds to claim victory.
Credit must also go to Spelman, who moved up a division, as he rose from a brutal knockdown with a body shot in the fourth to bring Zorro close.
In the early rounds, Zorro did well off the back foot and threw body shots, while Spelman tried to put pressure on him, but things started to heat up as he got closer to the middle.
Early in the fourth round, Zorro landed a big left hand to the body that dropped Spelman, who was in obvious pain. He was hurt by another body shot soon after, but to Spelman’s credit, he began fighting Zorro in the second half of the round.
Spelman continued to build on the fight in the fifth as he put pressure on Zorro, but Zorro responded in the sixth round as some heavy right hands seemed to take their toll before Spelman responded and seemed to have Zorro in trouble after a left landed and he followed on the ropes.
Suddenly Zorro looked heavy-legged and the seventh was shaping up to be an excellent round. First Spelman rocked Zorro into the ropes with a left hook and then went for the finish, with Zorro trying to evade punches on the ropes. Zorro managed to survive the initial attack, though he was bleeding badly from his nose, but then Zorros held his feet and landed a series of hard shots, including a big uppercut that stopped Spelman in his tracks.
Then a left hook from Spellman rocked Zorro again, though he didn’t have the energy to continue as they both ended the round tired. Zorro was busier in the last round, as he used his jab to keep Spelman at bay. Referee Chas Coakley scored it 77-74 Zorro is now undefeated at 15.
Welterweight Khalid Ali received a six-round workout from Croatia’s Dario Borosa, who did well to go the distance after being tagged in the first two rounds.
The 21-year-old from London’s East End dominated early, changing head and body well. It took Borosa three rounds to land a worthwhile punch and although he did better later when the pace slowed, he never threatened to win a round. Referee Sean McAvoy made it 60-54 for Ali.
Ben Davison-trained prospect Royston Barney-Smith needed just 36 seconds to record the third win of his pro career, when he stopped Paul Holt with a pair of lightning left hands.
Super featherweight Barney-Smith, 18, rocked Holt with the first punch he threw, a left cross, and as Holt finished off the opening attack, another quick southpaw dropped him flat on his back. Holt was standing on shaky legs and the towel came in from Holt’s corner, which ensured that referee Sean McAvoy didn’t really have to make a decision on whether he should continue.
Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was a boxing correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001 to 2019, covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights around the world. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications around the world since the 1980s.
