TalkingBoxing's British Update
Woods is the goods; Haye blows Kelly away; Hickman–Wright looking tasty
by
Dave Crellin
3/10 - And at the fourth time of asking, Clinton Woods is a world champion. The likeable Sheffield man did a number on Rico Hoye on Friday to capture the vacant IBF light-heavyweight belt. Detroit hard man Hoye came out with intent but Woods boxed well and in the first round was mixing sharp counters with his own aggression to set the pattern for the match.
Woods’ jab was showing marked improvement on recent showings (but then Glen Johnson can take the jab away from most people) and Hoye was being shaken by those straight lefts. Woods also looked good slipping and blocking as the American, vaunted as a puncher, wasn’t able to get his shots in before being countered.
The frustration boiled over to an extent in the fifth as Hoye came out guns blazing and did some decent slugging – Woods’ chin was certainly tested. But Hoye was soon deducted another point for low blows (following a deduction in the previous round) and Woods was starting to warm to the tear-up. Hoye was being wobbled by an array of Woods shots before a straight right hand knocked the American against the ropes and, with Woods blazing away with unanswered punches, referee Ian John-Lewis stepped in with second left in the fifth.
A good win for Woods, although detractors may question how good Hoye was in the first place. Naturally the rumours turned to a defence against Joe Calzaghe, the Welsh super-middle champ who’s been promising a move to light-heavy for some time. At this stage it’s unclear but if it comes off Woods showed enough skill and power to indicate he could well be Calzaghe’s hardest match since the early days of his WBO title reign.
Chief support saw cruiser David Haye demonstrate his power and little else as Australian Glen Kelly, a man with a decent record, offered very little on the way to a two-knockdown second round stoppage in favour of the Londoner. Haye, embarrassed in his last big fight against Carl Thompson as he ran out of steam following an early blitz, boxed cautiously but when the opening came it was exploited with ferocity. A hard right straight-cum-hook had the basic Kelly down hard in the first. With the Australian still wobbly in the second, Haye bided his time before landing a lovely straight left hand which decked the Aussie again and brought the towel in from Kelly’s corner. Haye’s still one to watch.
Over in Hartlepool, Michael Hunter boxed with great accuracy and at a high pace to outclass and stop challenger Sean Hughes in the sixth round of a British super-bantam title defence. Hunter’s a good boxer with excellent stamina, an asset which is starting to bring his stoppages as he wears down opponents over longer fights.
A quieter weekend coming up as the big names take a break and some minor titles are fought over. Nigel Wright and Dean Hickman clash for the vacant English light-welter belt in an interesting crossroads fight – both are about to emerge from the novice pro category. Neither is a knockout puncher so with the full ten rounds likely to be fought, this may come down to who is the fitter – my guess is that Hickman may sneak it based on his slight edge in experience (Hickman holds the Midlands area title), but it looks fun.
Chief support sees Jason Rushton tipped to win against journeyman Lee Armstrong for the Central Area light-middle belt. Neither of these guys could punch their way out of a wet paper bag, but Armstrong has at least been around and, even though he’s on something of a losing run, should give Rushton something to think about before the young Yorkshireman picks up his first pro title.
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