On a warm
summer's evening at the Newport Leisure Centre, Wales, Lee Selby retained his Commonwealth
featherweight title, scoring a fifth round stoppage over Ghana's Patrick Okine.
Heading into the bout, little was known about Okine, so Selby opted to tentatively
start looking for openings without pressing too hard. The second round burst
into life when Selby was cut underneath the left eye; unperturbed, he continued
to be patient, boxing behind the jab. By the third round, a pattern had formed
where Okine looked to counter, landing a haymaker. At this point, the cat-and-mouse
fight seemed to be a distance fight before Selby walked Okine down into his own
corner, throwing several shots before bludgeoning him to the canvas. When Okine,
11-2-1 (9), rose, it was clear he wouldn't take too much more and the action
was halted at 1.54 of the fifth round by referee Terry O’Connor. With the win
Selby, 25, from Barry, moved to 13-1 (5). It's clear he's huge for the weight
and looks like he would be a handful for anyone in Europe at the moment. Though
still a work in progress, he hopes to win the Lonsdale belt outright and win
the European title later this year.
Middleweight Liam Williams received an early 20th birthday present when he scored a four-round decision victory over tough
Gilson De Jesus 1-3. Williams was able to win all four rounds in front of a
lively crown of supporters who travelled to see him move to 3-0. The Clydach
Vale prospect won six British titles and seven Welsh titles in an impressive
amateur career.
Former 2007 World amateur champion Frankie Gavin
moved to 13-0 (10), beating Laszlo Komjathi, 43-41-2 (16), when referee Marcus
McDonnell halted the action at the end of the fifth round. “Funtime” had his
own way for the majority of the fight and picked off his Hungarian opponent
with precise shots prior to the stoppage. It was the second fight Gavin's had
this year, having been out of action for eight months. One minor concern may
have been that Gavin weighed in at a career-high 150. Next for Gavin could be a
British welterweight title fight with Junior Witter.
Lewis Rees, 4-0 (3), impressively stopped debutant
Jerome Samuels in the second round of a light welterweight bout. In all,
Samuels was on the canvas four times before referee Reece Carter stopped the
fight at .56 of the second after a left uppercut dropped Samuels in the centre
of the ring.
In a battle of two young Welsh fighters Tony Pace
shocked Luke Robinson, outpointing the previously unbeaten fighter by the
single score of 39-38. Pace pressed the action all the way while Robinson
looked somewhat lethargic. Though he was able to land counterpunches, Robinson
wasn't able to make an impression on Pace, who moved to 2-4. Robinson dipped to
4-1.
In a super featherweight bout, Craig Evans, 7-0 (3),
from nearby Blackwood, stopped Dougie Curran, 5-13-2, at 2.21 of the opening
stanza, having forced Curran to retire with nose damage.
Liam Smith, 10-0-1 (5), opened the seven-bout card,
getting things off to a good start, stopping Andrew Patterson, 5-31-3 (4), at
2.48 of the opening round. Smith, 23, from Liverpool (the third of four
fighting brothers), has developed well and uses an impressive body attack,
again evident in this fight.
