Connor O’Neill reports from the M&S Bank Arena after Jack Turner and Andrew Cain picked up impressive victories
Jack Turner delivered on his pre-fight promise by claiming a devastating knockout victory over Ryan Farrag. Speaking in the build-up to the fight, Turner told Farrag that he was going to knock him out, and that is exactly what occurred at the M&S Bank Arena.
The 23-year-old had almost stopped Farrag in the first-round, but in the second, the Joe McNally-trained fighter delivered on what he promised. Backing the 37-year-old up against the ropes, Turner unleashed a barrage of shots that sent the more experienced fighter flying to the canvas.
A 10-count initially started, but the fight was quickly waved off by referee Steve Gray, and Turner vowed afterwards to now work his way through the flyweight division.
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“Never judge a book by its cover,” he said. “I believe that I’ve got God-given power. I think I’m going to run through the lot of the flyweight division.
“I can do a bit of everything, and I haven’t shown that yet. I’m really happy with my performance, and I want to thank all my team and coaches.
“I’ve had a hard camp. It means the world to me. As soon as I hit someone and they feel my power and I sense they’re hurt, I’m coming for you.
“It’s special, what a show to be on. It’s unbelievable. I want to headline my own show very soon. Most of the people here are here to see me. I’ll fight anyone.”
Before Turner’s explosive finish, Andrew Cain retained his British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles with a win over Charlie Edwards that won’t live long in the memory. Cain claimed on Thursday that the now former European champion was coming to spend the contest running, and while that didn’t quite happen, the crowd certainly didn’t appreciate Edwards’ tactics.
The 32-year-old spent a large chunk of the fight on the back foot looking to counter, and it was telling that midway through the fight boos could be heard from the crowd. But while those in attendance didn’t appreciate Edwards’ approach, his work certainly caught the eye of one judge who awarded him the fight after 12-rounds of boxing.
But while that scorecard was greeted with more boos, the other two scorecards were cheered as Cain picked up the victory via a split decision. A controversial knockdown, though, cost Cain’s gym-mate Brad Strand the European super-bantamweight title against Ionut Baluta.
The Everton Red Triangle fighter started the bout on the front foot and won the opening three rounds, but the middle rounds were much tighter to score. And the contest swung in Baluta’s favour in round nine when referee Marcus McDonnell ruled that Strand had been knocked down following a double jab to the head.
Strand protested that he had slipped, but the count carried on, and after 10-rounds of boxing, two of the ringside judges scored the fight in favour of the 31-year-old from Romania.
Elsewhere on the undercard, Lucas Biswana picked up his second victory in the professional ranks with a comfortable points win over Ezequiel Gregores. Biswana, who fights out of the Everton Red Triangle gym, knocked down Gregores in the second round with a big left-hand before winning the contest 40-36.
Ste Clarke also moved to 6-0 with a points victory over the experienced Dmitri Protkunas. Fighting for the first time this year, the 23-year-old won every round of the six-round contest.