KNOCKDOWNS CONTROVERSY BUT TWO GOODWIN BOXERS WIN TITLE FIGHTS (Review of Fight Night 18/3/2023)

At a packed out York Hall two more title wins for Goodwin Boxers with one winning defence and one new champion in two fantastic bouts.

Denis Denikajev (9-0-1) defeated Tom Ansell 96-93 on referee Mark Bates card. It was a well deserved win and in line with how scored from outside the ring but did not look like it would go that was in round two and Ansell's team though they had done enough to win the bout.

Denikajev came out in round 1 and took centre with the pair trading blows winning the round. Round 2 disaster struck with Ansell landing a fantastic punch putting Denikajev to the floor. Testament to Denikajev's conditioning,  he managed to rise from the punch and got up and survived the round but a 10-8 to Ansell. By the end of the fifth many had Ansell one up and some level. The second half of the fight belonged to Denikajev who threw more punches and used boxing skills to keep Ansell at bay. At the end of the fight the crowd rose to applaud both warriors. Denikajev is 26 and still improving whilst it would be criminal if Ansell does not win a title during the remainder of his career. Denikajev and coach Dave Sadler now move on and will have many options available to them with manager Steve Goodwin.

In the co main event Peter Mirga proved too much for former champion Ryan Walker in a rematch of their 2019 championship bout which Walker won. It was clear from round 1 that Mirga was a much improved fighter and he dropped Walker heavily to win 10-8.  When watching the fight there was clearly only going to be one winner. Whilst the fight was very competitive, Mirga was always the one ahead and doing that bit more and ran out a 97-93 winner on referee Lee Everys scorecard. This was Mirga's trainer Mark Massows second champion in his career with Matt McCarthy being his first some years ago. For Mirga it is on to bigger and better things, for Walker now 12-5 it is time to reflect having lost 4 of his last 5 albeit at either championship level or against championship level fighters.

Elsewhere on the card super-lightweight George Hennon showed again he is ready to move up to title level with a third round stoppage of Bulgarian Iliyan Markov. Markov had gone the distance in his last 7 fights but Hennon was far too strong and far too accurate stopping Markov in the third round. Hennon will now be discussing with manager Steve Goodwin a plan for title glory. Credit must also be given to young upcoming trainer George O'Mahoney who has done a fantastic job with Hennon.

The card commenced with "Super" Youssef Khoumari who was warming up for a British title eliminator with Reece Belotti who destroyed Cruz Perez with a stoppage in the opening round. Class told with Khoumari unloading a barrage of punches to ensure referee Bates rescued the hapless Perez at 1:33 of that opening round.

Super Lightweight Ronnie Mulock then made it 2 from 2 with a 39-37 win over warhorse Michael Mooney. In an entertaining scrap, Mooney had his sucesses but Mulock ran out a well deserved winner.

Ellis Steward trained by his father Terry is improving with every fight and ran out a 40-36 winner over Fernando Valencia. Already ranked 19th in the country Steward will be back out again in June at the same venue.

Mikey Webster Kane has got a big future and this Graham Everett managed lightweight ran out a 60-54 winner over 6 rounds against Cristian Narvaez.

The Michael Amoo-Bediako managed Ahmed Hatim got 6 valuable rounds under his belt running out a 60-54 winner against Rustem Fatkhullin. Hatim put on a superb display and this super-lightweight now hopes to secure some form of title fight in June.

Jerome Campbell returned after 3 1/2 years out of the ring (last fight against world number 9 Nick Ball) and triumphed 39-37 in a really engrossing fight against Daryl Tapfuma. This was the test Campbell needed after such a long break. It ill not be long before Campbell now 7-1 will be in the title mix.

Super Welterweight Shocki Khan moved to 5-0 with a shutout win over George Rogers. It was a good performance for Khan considering he had a very interrupted run up to the fight through no fault of his own. He maintained his momentum and will look to be out again in the summer.

A fantastic show enjoyed by all. Had everything title fights knockdowns, stoppages and competitive fights.