Danny Dignum vs Grant Dennis – Result & Post-Fight Report

The first UK MTK promoted bill of 2022 came from York Hall, Bethnal Green, and at the top of the bill, Essex based Danny Dignum defended his WBO European middleweight title for a third time with a sixth round stoppage win against the game Grant Dennis.

Dignum was coming off a draw in his last outing, against Andrey Sirotkin last April, the first blot on his record, while ‘Go-Getter’ Dennis had won two four rounders since being stopped in eight by Sirotkin in October 2020, and had been a Southern Area champion in 2016. Dignum won the belt in November 2019, stopping Conrad Cummings in five.

It was a sharp start by both, with Dennis using a lot of movement meaning Dignum had to be patient initially, and he was caught in the first round when trying to rush his work. The second saw more movement from Dennis, but Dignum was closing the distance, working the body of his opponent. A clean right hand landed from Dennis to start the third, and a clash of heads opened up a cut that sparked Dignum into life, although Dennis did land with another flush right hand during the round. Dignum had a much better fourth, but Dennis’ movement was a problem for him, and the Kent man was again on his bike in round five. Dignum though turned the screw in the sixth, and he opened up, first cutting Dennis on the right eye, and then dropping him with a slashing left hand. Dennis wobbled while beating the count, but the fight went on. Dignum again attacked, and another crisp left felled Dennis again. He again beat the count, but on the resumption, a cracking left uppercut through the guard made it three knockdowns, and this time the referee didn’t let Dennis continue, despite him beating the count once more.

Lee McGregor was hoping for a huge 2022, and a move towards the world title scene, with the Scot teaming up with Ben Davison for the first time, but he had to settle for a draw over ten against the tough Diego Alberto Ruiz at super bantamweight. Ruiz was coming off a wide ten round points loss to Shabaz Masoud at the back end of 2021.

McGregor was tagged a fair few times by the Argentine early on, but the Edinburgh man settled into a rhythm with a variety of punches to head and body. Ruiz was having success of his own though at times, and McGregor wasn’t putting much of a dent on the tough visitor, although he was having the better of the action in the main. McGregor cranked up the pressure and power in the final couple of frames, but Ruiz more than held his own, firing back at regular intervals, and the two men took turns to dish out their punches. It seemed that McGregor had done enough to win, but in the end, it was the referee that was the sole arbiter, and he scored the fight a 95-95 draw.

Irish super welterweight Paul Ryan sent out another statement, halting CJ Wood inside a round. Only the ropes held Wood up after a Ryan flurry and he was counted, and Ryan troubled his man repeatedly with body shots. It was a volley of punches to the body that floored Wood once more, and he was unable to beat the count

Bilal Fawaz made his awaited professional debut, and, after two quiet rounds, he opened up on Vladimir Fleischauer, and forced a stoppage in the third round of their scheduled four rounder at super welterweight. At light heavyweight, Joe Giles took all four rounds against the ever dependable Lewis van Poetsch.

‘Gorgeous’ George Mitchell moved to 3-0, with the St Albans middleweight winning all four rounds against Vasif Mamedov, while Oxford lightweight Jordan Flynn made it to 4-0 as a pro, taking a six round decision win Marian Marius Istrate. Flynn ran out a 59-55 winner for referee Chas Coakley.