Elliot Worsell reports live from ringside in Las Vegas, where Austin Williams and Ali Akhmedov secure 10-round decision wins.
THE last time Kieron Conway tasted defeat was boxing in the United States (Arlington, Texas, to be exact) just hours before Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez stepped foot inside the same ring and dropped Billy-Joe Saunders in seven assaults.
Tonight, 16 months after that loss to Souleymane Cissokho, Conway would again experience defeat on a Canelo undercard, this time dropping a 10-round decision to Austin “Ammo” Williams (scores 97-92, twice and 96- 93) in Las Vegas. Vegas.
Unfortunately, much like the Cissokho loss, Conway will then go to bed wondering what could have been, particularly given the momentum he enjoyed in the midsection of tonight’s middleweight bout and the fact that a knockdown in the ninth round swung a close match in favor of Williams. .
Until then, Conway had been competitive, ambitious and hopeful. He boxed competently off the back foot, putting a lot of emphasis on his straight right hand, and seemed composed under pressure, which Williams, from the first round, tried to apply a lot of.
Wanting to get the job done in style, having promised something spectacular in the pre-fight press conference, Williams would get out of Conway early, throwing his left hand, looping rather than straight, as long as he was inside. of the scope. He found success with that punch due, in part, to Conway being upright and a little hesitant at first, but sure enough, once Conway calmed down, it became increasingly difficult for the American to find range from him.
In an effort to keep Williams away, Conway landed well-placed rights on the retreat and had plenty of success on that shot, thrown as Williams prepared to throw his left, in the third. What also became apparent, however, even in the third, was that the Northampton man, with just four stoppage wins in 21 professional fights and only one stoppage (in his last fight in August) in four years, lacked the power to either put a dent in Williams or keep him from invading his space.
This was a key factor in terms of how the fight looked. For while Conway may have been producing the cleaner work at times, especially in the fourth and fifth rounds, it was always Williams, a pudgy southpaw, who loitered forward and threw both hands with reckless abandon. This, no matter how clean Conway’s counters looked, gave the impression that Williams was busier, more courageous, getting past him. Not only that, it also made Conway tire at the end, a crucial momentum shift in allowing Williams to take control and ultimately win the fight.
Before getting tired, Conway made a good sixth, stabilizing Williams with a right hand, and also prevailed in the eighth, round in which he claimed the center of the ring and began, little by little, to burst Williams. However, if that seemed like a breakthrough, it was short-lived for Conway, with Williams coming out fast for ninth and surprising the Briton with a strong left hand.
This mini-crisis was compounded by a subsequent attack along the ropes, resulting in Conway reeling from a lead right uppercut and moments later falling to the ground. It was at that point, if the fight was at all close, that Williams, 12-0 (9), walked away triumphantly, making the required statement he may or may not have needed to make to leave Conway, now 18-3-1 (4). , once again ruining his luck on American soil.
A somewhat less interesting fight at super middleweight between Kazakh Ali Akhmedov and Gabriel Rosado followed Williams-Conway and ended with Akhmedov sweeping through 10 rounds.
A circumspect start to the contest saw Akhmedov, 19-1 (14), stalk Rosado, 26-16-1 (15), from the middle of the ring as both men attempted to impress the other through right hands. Of the two, it was Akhmedov’s right hand that seemed cleaner, with Rosado’s plus a desperate thrust, and it was enough, this one, for Akhmedov to take control early.
However, it wasn’t enough for the T-Mobile Arena crowd, a portion of which could be heard booing as early as the first round. (Admittedly, the arena was at that stage in the process of filling up with Mexicans, most of whom aren’t used to the concept of a “groping” process), however, it still seemed a bit unfair to make their discontent known. within three minutes of the development of the fight.)
In reaction to this criticism, Kazakhs in attendance rallied behind their man, chanting “Ali! There! There! and the action soon picked up, with the fifth in particular a decent one, and the sixth a round in which Rosado, sprinting forward, landed some solid right hands when Akhmedov seemed to tire.
The ninth was also a good round. In it, Rosado, limited but always ready, tried to hit Akhmedov and throw over right hands, occasionally scoring, while Akhmedov, off his back foot, stung his 36-year-old opponent with groups of straight, sharp punches to take. . round.
By far the cleaner of the two, ultimately, it was Akhmedov’s pinpoint shot from mid-range that would not only keep him one step ahead of Rosado at all times, but, after a full 10 rounds, would persuade three ringside judges to score the match identically (100-90) in your favor.
