Anthony Yarde again did as he pleased, but at least took some shots back, in stopping American Travis Reeves in five rounds. Marcus McDonnell impeccably stopped the contest as two chopping rights and a left saw Reeves tottering on unsteady legs. There was no protest from Reeves or his team. Yarde said post-fight that he is learning on the job, and again seemed to dodge the question of facing WBO Champion, Sergey Kovalev. He alluded to being ranked number one with the organisation, but more on winning the belt than facing the Russian. It will be interesting to see what the next move is for Yarde, as the domestic Light Heavyweight scene is mostly filled with Matchroom fighters, so European or World level may be the only options.
Daniel Dubois bettered domestic rival, Nathan Gorman’s efforts in hammering Razvan Cojanu to defeat to pick up the WBO European Title. Dubois fought with much more variety than in his educating points win against Kevin Johnson in Leicester at the back end of 2018. Cojanu came to London in better shape than in his loss to Gorman, and had a bit more ambition, but after two heavy left hands to the jaw in the second round, the Romainian was on the canvas. To his credit, he did attempt to get up, but his legs betrayed him, and he was counted out. A clash between Dubois and Gorman is in the works for 2019.
There had been some spice in the build-up, but Liam Williams impressively retained his British Middleweight Title against the rugged Joe Mullender with a spectacular second round knockout win. Williams started brightly, landing with decent body shots as well as piercing Mullender’s tight guard with solid head punches. The end came in the second, and it was a beautiful uppercut from the Welshman that signalled the beginning of the end. Mullender was visibly buzzed, and several rights and left finally dumped him on the canvas. Referee Bob Williams unwisely allowed Joe to continue, and a single right hand on the resumption gave Liam a one punch finish. Williams said post-fight that he wants big fights, and he wasn’t happy that the referee allowed the fight to continue. Trainer Dominic Ingle wants his charge to move back down to Super Welterweight, and mentioned WBO Champion Jaimie Munguia as a possible opponent down the line.
Chris Jenkins ripped the British Welterweight Title from Johnny Garton in Garton’s first defence, with a dominant point win. Jenkins started off brightly off a crisp jab and landed with some decent right hands in the opener to get Garton’s attention. Jenkins’ boxing was generally better than Garton’s which allowed him to accumulate points. The two traded leather in the eleventh, but the Welshman got the better of the exchange towards the end of the session. With Garton and his team sensing defeat, Garton came out for the last round with intent. Jenkins’ boxing was proving superior though, and his one-twos were impressive. The Peckham man wasn’t losing his Title without a fight, and the last round was a trade-off. Jenkins enjoyed more of the successes though, as Garton was visibly and understandably tiring. In the end Jenkins was announced as the new Champion by comfortable margins of 119-109 for Bob Williams, 116-112 for Marcus McDonnell and 117-12 for Steve Gray. Jenkins becomes British Champion following two failed attempts at Super Lightweight against Tyrone Nurse.
