Maxi Hughes defeats Kid Galahad in forgettable contest as Terri Harper impresses against Hannah Rankin, writes Andy Whittle from ringside
LIKE most of the initially loud but increasingly quiet spectators at Nottingham Arena, I was hoping that the 12-round lightweight bout between Rossington’s Maxi Hughes and Sheffield’s Kid Galahad might catch fire at some point, but it never showed any real sign of doing so. .
There was a feeling beforehand that this counter-puncher reunion might not be exactly epic and as it turned out, the blue touch paper never turned on.
Coming back from that surprising loss to Kiko Martinez at featherweight last time out, Galahad had the best of it behind the early jab doors, going on the offensive and scoring with hooks and right hands up the middle. But he wasn’t particularly tidy and he was booked on more than one occasion for stepping on Maxi’s foot, prompting a switch to lefty a bit more often than was probably planned.
It wasn’t until the middle rounds that Hughes began to land his left regularly, and since Galahad didn’t follow up his jab with anything significant, Maxi was able to make up that lost ground early on, with his upper hooks proving to be the most eye-catching. With something of a spring in his step, he was skirting more of the nip and tuck sessions that followed.
The scorecards at the end read 116-111 (Marco Morales), 114-113 (Giulio Piras) and 114-114 (Terry O’Connor), giving Hughes, who received a cut over his left eye in the penultimate session, a majority decision win. . Had it not been for the fact that an increasingly frustrated referee Marcus McDonnell had docked a point from Galahad in the 10th for using his head, Maxi would have retained by virtue of a split decision draw.
It is not a classic.
Having risen through the divisions, a fine performance by Denaby Main’s Terri Harper at super welterweight saw her rip the WBA belt from outclassed Scottish Hannah Rankin.
At this time last year, crowd favorite Terri was still at super featherweight, but anyone who doubted the wisdom of her moving up to chase honors in a higher weight class was left eating their words as they took control from the start. Her movement was good, there was more force in her punches and she was having more and more fun.
Not so Hannah, who against the ultra-confident Yorkshire girl was not helped when already in the second she suffered a nasty diagonal cut over her left eye, the result of a punch according to Watford referee Bob Williams.
Scores of 98-92 (twice) and a slightly closer one of 97-93 confirmed what everyone in attendance already knew.
For 10 long rounds, Warley heavyweight Solomon Dacres threw everything but the kitchen sink at Argentine Ariel Esteban Bracamonte, but the visitor simply refused to budge. Three scores of 99-90 at the end demonstrated the one-sided nature of the competition.
Dacres was deducted a point in the ninth for a low blow by referee Kevin Parker and while he couldn’t shake off a particularly tough and durable opponent, he will have learned a lot from the experience.
A scheduled 10th at welter between Newcastle’s Cyrus Pattinson and 33-year-old Jorick Luisetto of France went just past the middle of the stage before, with 119 seconds left of the final sixth, referee Bob Williams decided enough was enough.
Crawling down the proverbial country mile and with a high cut on his scalp, Luisetto looked sadder by the day. In the sixth, a lopsided shot knocked him back and although he was allowed to continue, another volley from Pattinson on the restart sent him sideways as Mr. Williams stepped in this time.
Seemingly on his way to racking up six solid rounds against an opponent with a record equal to his own, Rotherham’s Junaid Bostan showed what he was capable of when the clock ran out on the final one. Untethered, he stepped forward and duly hit Brussels operator Anas Isarti, referee Kevin Parker intervening and saving the Belgian with just 22 seconds remaining.
Newark referee Mr. Parker stopped another when bearded Buenos Aires cruiserweight Marcos Karalitzky, too often guilty of holding and always second best against Gravesend’s Cheavon Clarke, was stopped with 39 seconds of fourth still to go. run.
In trouble in the corner twice before, Karalitzky’s night was almost over and a big right to the head was the whole reason Parker needed to step in.
Warrington southpaw Rhiannon Dixon took all six rounds on Mr. McDonnell’s card against experienced Hungarian Edina Kiss, who found herself increasingly on the receiving end.
Rhiannon suffered a little damage to her right eyebrow late in the second, but it didn’t get any worse and she went on to rock the Budapest queen with a pair of heavy lefts in the fifth.
Undefeated Mohammed Sameer of Peterborough delighted his raucous supporters at the opening of the show, scoring an easy 40-36 win over Hyde journeyman Dale Arrowsmith. Again, Mr. McDonnell refereed.
THE VERDICT: The loss of main attraction Leigh Wood in the weeks leading up to the show was a huge blow
