Punt In Play’s boxing correspondent, Frank Monkhouse attended Saturday night’s action at West Ham’s Upton Park ground in an attempt to uncover the value of the future whilst keeping an eye on our current investments.
In what was billed as a coming of age evening for East London’s Kevin Mitchell, it was Aussie invader Michael Katsidis who stole the show.
Despite a ring entrance worthy of any world champion, bringing the bumper local crowd in attendance to their feet, Mitchell seemed to lack his usual reassuring composure as he paced the canvas, awaiting Interim WBO lightweight champion Michael Katsidis who marched towards the steps sporting an apt gladiator headgear.
After the introductions and a rendition of God Save The Queen from X-Factor contestant Stacey Solomon, the action got underway.
There were flashes of Mitchell’s brilliance in the opening exchanges as the twenty-five year old box-puncher looked to keep the champion at bay with simplistic, straight shots, building up a lead on the scorecards that he hoped would eventually see him take the title later in the evening. There was a real feeling of optimism amongst the locals as they chanted their hero’s name as he danced around the ring to great effect.
We said in our big fight preview that if die-hard West Ham fan Mitchell let the occasion get to him then he could be seriously hurt and unfortunately that’s exactly what happened.
Encouraged by his passionate, ever vocal backing, Mitchell switched tactics and began to stand in front of Katsidis, looking to impress the spectators. The east London boxing fanatic is amongst the most knowledgeable in the world however and this show of unnecessary bravado didn’t impress anyone, in fact they now shuffled to the edge of their seats, genuinely fearing for their man’s safety. An angry call from the back of the open air arena of “On your toes Mitchell”, or as close to that as we wish to publish, fell on deaf ears as Kevin, caught on the ropes, walked into a big hook that ended his night.
‘Mighty’ Mitchell may not have known it but he was out on his feet and Katsidis didn’t have to be asked twice. The Australian unloaded with some sickening shots, aimed at the Dagenham fighter’s temple, forcing referee Dave Parris to intervene, saving the home town fighter from himself.
The night ended with the feel of a Rocky movie as the home crowd congratulated the brave champion, the same man they spat venom at only minutes before, but as I said, those Eastenders support their own till the end, but they know this age old sport from the inside out.
James ‘Chunky’ DeGale appeared on the undercard looking for a brief encounter and that is what he got. The Olympic gold medallist from Hammersmith captured his first major honour in the paid ranks, a WBA International super-middleweight title, courtesy of a fifth round stoppage win over Sam Horton. Chunky offered his most polished performance to date, looking like he could finish things at will. The twenty-four year old southpaw finally called a halt to proceedings, landing the decisive punch to put Dudley’s Horton out of his misery.
In the chief support, we advised backing Derek Chisora to stop British champ Danny Williams inside the distance, although we didn’t see it happening quite as quickly as ‘Del Boy’ did.
Danny Williams has endured a tough fifteen year career and from the first bell it was obvious that his punch resistance was shot to pieces. Chisora didn’t lunge in as everyone expected, but picked his punches with confidence, forcing Danny Williams to touch down twice before calling time on both the fight and his illustrious career.
I believe Williams should have called it a day after a controversial 2008 points win over John McDermott but he has been a fantastic servant to the sport and takes his place in the five man team to have stopped ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson.
We are now entering a new and exciting chapter in the British heavyweight story and Derek Chisora leads the way with the famous Lonsdale strap tightly fastened around his waist, leaving the likes of Sam Sexton, Tyson Fury and Larry Olubamiwo with a job to do if they are to rip it free.
Arguably the most impressive performance of the night came from two fight novice Freddie ‘Luke’ Turner. The Canning Town favourite sold plenty of tickets for his four round dust up with Duncan Cottier and he didn’t disappoint, keeping it long against his more experienced opponent to win every round on referee James Davies scorecard.
Punters and fight fans alike should take note as in Turner they have an intelligent welterweight worth keeping an eye on.
Earlier in the evening, there were impressive victories for Mathew Hall, Frankie Gavin, Billie Joe Saunders, Ryan Walsh, Liam Walsh, Craig Evans, Vinny Mitchell and George Carman whilst Scotsman Ricky Burns continued his climb towards a world title challenge with a points verdict over Youssef Al Hamidi after eight rounds.
Credit must go to Frank Warren, all of his promotional team and especially his matchmaker for putting together an incredible evening of boxing that will live long in the memory of the east end and further afield.
