Return of the Gladiators on Box Rec
Sunday afternoon saw the welcoming back of professional boxing to Chester with Fight Options ‘Return of the Gladiators’ show. The action, which showcased local talent turned out to be enthralling and not short of scares for the local boys.
Topping the bill Connahs Quay Middleweight Tom Doran moved to 8-0 with a narrow victory over Birmingham’s Dee Mitchell.
This was Doran’s first venture over six-threes and was by far his hardest assignment to date. The first few rounds saw Doran show off his usual classy work. Keeping a good distance, he popped out a nice jab and threw some decent combinations. Doran appeared far too quick for his older opponent. When he moved around the ring he was a class act.
The second saw Mitchell land a few right but nothing to threaten winning the round. The third saw Doran do his best work, never staying there to be hit and throwing a good array of rights and lefts. This is where things began to change. I and everyone else thought the second half of the fight would pretty much be on the same lines as the first. We were to be proven very wrong. Mitchell began to get in much closer at the start of the fourth, and when he got there he was starting to land. Doran never stopped fighting back but Dee spent all his time on the front foot, usually landing. This was certainly Mitchell’s round, the first round Doran had lost as a pro.
The fifth was the only real round of contention. Doran began to move more, and landed with quick shots. Mitchell came back and landed a right to the head and a left to the body. Dee continued to work well, but I felt that Doran was doing the better work. What was apparent though was that when Mitchell did get close, either due to fatigue, stylistic fault, or even inexperience at getting hit back, Doran was far too upright and lacked any real head movement when in the pocket, Mitchell was finding it hard to miss.
The sixth proved to be Doran’s toughest round. Mitchell landed a lovely right over the top and was beginning to bully the young prospect. The unheralded brummie was catching Doran with ease, and although Tom would never stop fighting back, Mitchell was easily claiming the stanza. Doran finished the fight by throwing a lovely three punch combo but the dominance of the first three rounds was a distant memory. As the bell went Doran had his hand raised by the referee with a score of 58-57 being announced. I had the score slightly wider (58-56) but the right man certainly won.
In the cold light of day how will this performance be perceived? Doran has now done six-threes against a good, far more experienced opponent. Yes, there were faults, only the blindest fan would fail to see that, but he gritted out the win. He showed heart beyond his years, and that is a skill that can’t be trained. If and when Doran goes on for titles, one suspects he will remember this afternoon and what it taught him. Doran moves to 8-0 (1KO). Mitchell falls to 9-9 (2KO).
On the undercard Chester’s Paul Economides (9st 1lb) fought a rematch against Shaun Doherty (9st) over four, three-minute rounds. Their first encounter had been a lively affair, Economides (who had threatened to retire if he lost) edging a razor thin 39-38 decision. This time the fight was equally as tight, to the referee at least. Economides started off with his new sensible pressure technique. This was a far cry from the days that he used jump in with reckless abandon. Economides was working the body and throwing the right hand enough to make Doherty think twice about stepping in. Doherty would always try to counter but this was definitely an Economides round.
The second saw Doherty trying to up the work rate but Economides was soon on the front foot. The Chester man hurt his opponent twice with two right hands at separate times in the round. This was some of the best work Economides had done as a pro, the work with trainer Steve Goodwin obviously paying off. The third round was a lively session and definitely the most competitive. Economides carried on doing the same thing, but Doherty was landing some longer shots as Paul came forward. These were the good times for Doherty, but not good enough to gain him the round on my card.
The fourth was a painful round for The Bradford man. The hard shots from Economides had obviously worn him down and he started to get worked over, shots to head and body crashing home with alarming regularity. To his credit he made it to the bell, a testament to his bravery. The both went to the referee and John Latham lifted Economides’ hand to give him victory.
Doherty looked disgusted and kicked his gum shield away. I was a little confused as to why he was so upset, until the MC announced the score of 39-38. This was the polar opposite of my card and I was totally confused. As I left I asked a much respected journalist how he scored it. He had it wide for Economides as well. I was relieved to see that if I had been watching the wrong fight, then someone else had been watching the same one as me. Scoring is such a subjective business. Economides rises to 9-1(0KO), Doherty falls to 2-4-3(0KO) but is far better than his record suggests.
Former British Masters light-middleweight challenger Omar Gumati (11st 2lb) returned after a year out with illness and injury against Bristol-based Turk Rocky Chakir (11st 1lb) in a highly charged encounter over four three minute rounds. Gumati, who most in the area want to see fight Tom Doran was looking to kick-start his career after a hellish time out, began with some obvious signs of rust. Gumati, always one to show lovely skills, seemed to be very open to the right hand, one particular shot crashing into his jaw, drawing gasps from the crowd. Still, he took it and finished the round strongly.
The second saw Gumati throw some nice punches and tighten up his defence. The right hand of Chakir still landed more than he would like but it was becoming less and less regular. Gumati would continue to work, snapping the head back of his opponent; Chakir was working the shots, but mostly landing on the gloves of Gumati. Omar threw more combinations in the third as Chakir tired further. Still, Chakir fought back ferociously at the end of the stanza, both landing decent shots but Gumati certainly taking the round.
The fourth round saw Gumati really come into his stride, moving and throwing. As ever his uppercuts looked classy and hurtful. Chakir was still throwing himself forward but this was now more in desperation rather than with a set purpose. As the bell went Gumati had his hand raised and a score of 40-37 was announced. Gumati rises to 10-4-2 (2KO). Rocky Chakir falls to 5-10 (2K0). After a few more fights for Omar Gumati to completely shake the ring rust, the clamour for Doran-Gumati will become deafening. I for one will be happy to lead the shouts.
Another returning fighter on the bill was youngster Chris Goodwin (10st 3lb) who faced off against Dewsbury-based Syrian ice cream man Youssef Al Hamidi (9st 12lb) over four, three-minute rounds.
This was a strange bout. Goodwin, who has been out for over 18 months while he completes his University work boxed for me, a perfect tactical fight in places. He used the jab effectively. The first round saw him keep Hamidi on the outside, not staying in the pocket. If you get too close to Hamidi then he will throw four or five shots from strange angles. It was this style that beat Anthony Crolla and gave European champion John Murray the fright of his life. Still, the fans, who understandably are not well up on the life and times of Youssef Al Hamidi were perplexed as to why their lad wasn’t stepping in. One wonders whether this was one of the reasons why he started to try and land more rights in the second. This brought Hamidi into the fight and caused Goodwin to get back on that jab.
The third round saw Goodwin move more and Hamidi unable to touch him for the first half. The fight was a bit scrappy, but against Youssef what do you expect? Hamidi remained competitive and did have his share of success when Goodwin stood still; bulling the red headed Goodwin to the ropes at certain points. The fourth round gave Goodwin his best work by far. He continued to move but upped the pace. More shots and more movement to befuddle Hamidi. It was no surprise when the referee raised his hand and gave him victory by a score of 40-37. Goodwin climbs to 12-1-1 (0KO) whilst Hamidi falls to 8-29-2 (1KO). Maybe next time Goodwin will get an opponent where he can really show off his array of skills. Still, his performance was fine by me.
Debuting on the card was Chester lad Joe Lovell (10st 4lb) who faced off against Wolverhampton journeyman and legend Carl Allen (10st 8lb) over four, three-minute rounds. Lovell looked anything but a novice as he put in a performance worthy of his standing as one of the area’s top prospects. Joe opened by working well to body and head as Allen looked to retreat and counter. If there were nerves they certainly didn’t show. The second saw Lovell continue with his quality work from the first round. Allen, who always tries would still throw punches but Lovell would use it as an excuse to counter to body and head. This was a very good tactic, but sometimes meant that he would wait too long instead of throwing the jab, which when employed looked a real weapon.
This theme continued in the third, the jab when employed smashing into the face of Allen but maybe underused. Allen as always launched a counter attack and by the end of the round was making a good scrap of it. The fourth round gave us more competitive action, Lovell always winning the round but Allen teaching him more than a few tricks, even stinging his younger opponent with a right hand at one point. At the final bell the referee raised the young Lovell’s hand by a score of 40-36. Lovell goes to 1-0 (0KO) and certainly looks like one to watch Allen falls 18-93-7 (5KO) and never ceases to impress me.
We were also treated to a heavyweight bout between Polish Michal Skierniewiski (17st 5lb) and Noureddine Meddoune from Swindon via Morrocco (18st 3lb). From the word go Meddoune was able to land with the right hand through the centre. Then BANG, Meddoune landed with a thudding right hand which dazed Michal. The follow up attack sent the Polish giant to the canvas and left him prostate against the ring post. The referee saw no need to count and stopped the fight after 45 seconds of the first round. Meddoune rises to (1-1 (1KO). Skierniewiski falls to 3-8-1 (1KO).
So, all in all a great afternoon’s boxing. Top prospects given a frightener. Young fighters who have had a setback coming back with a vengeance and closing in on a title. Fighters who have been out coming back and showing us glimpses of what we have been missing and young lads starting out on that magical journey that is pro boxing. The next instalment cannot come soon enough.
by Martin Dobbing (Box Rec)
