EBU European middleweight champion Tyler Denney defended his title against former British and WBC International champion Felix Cash on Saturday night at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, West Midlands, England, by technical decision after five rounds due to a cut on his right eyebrow and a bloodshot right eye.
(Photo by Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing)
In the main event, former British and current EBU European middleweight champion southpaw Tyler Denney (18-2-3-1), defeated former British, Commonwealth and WBC International champion Felix Cash (16-1-10), in the fifth of a scheduled 12 rounds after a clash of heads left Cash with an injury to his right eye.
Cash, returning after 18 months, overpowered Denny in the first round. In the second, Cash suffered a cut on his right eyelid. In the third, Denny landed a punch without a warning from referee Mark Ryerson, grabbing Cash. In the final seconds of the fourth round, Cash, who was still in the lead, caught Denny's left jaw, knocking him unconscious.
In the fifth round, referee Liasson called for the ring doctor to stop the bout due to an injury to Cash's right eye after a clash of heads.
The scores were 49-46 and 49-47 twice.
In the quarterfinals, WBO Intercontinental champion Louis “The Clock” Crocker (20-0, 11 KOs) defeated WBA International champion Conor “The Wolf” Walker (13-3-1, 5 KOs) with the help of a questionable points deduction over 10 rounds.
The first five rounds were closely fought and close, with Crocker using his peekaboo defense to take the glove punches and only occasionally fighting back, giving Walker a slight advantage.
Crocker finally got on the offensive in the sixth and seventh rounds, but Walker came back and overpowered Crocker in the eighth round.
In the ninth round, without warning, referee Steve Gray took away a point from Walker for a low blow, and the fight was hard fought from that point on. Halfway through the bout, Crocker's nose was bleeding and Walker's right eye was nearly closed.
The scores were 96-93 and 95-94 in the second round.
Super lightweight fighter Cameron Vuong (5-0 (3), ranked 139.3) from Blyth, England, defeated Jeff Ofori (13-8-2 (4)) in 10 rounds.
In the first two rounds, Ofori slowly went after Vuong, who was racking up points with his jab, and barely got a hit. In the final seconds of the third round, Ofori finally landed a few right punches, but it wasn't enough to win the round. Midway through the fourth round, Vuong landed a right punch to Ofori's jaw, rocking him.
In the fifth round, after a minute, Ofori finally won the round after landing six punches with no return fire, and in the sixth round, Ofori went back to his slow pace again after Vuong had enough power to win the round with a left hand that got away.
From the seventh through the ninth rounds, Ofori did enough to win the rounds, but Vuong used more feints than landing. In the tenth and final round, Vuong continued to dance around the ring as Ofori slowed down, catching up and beating him with landings.
The referee was Lee Every. The judges scored the fight 99-91, 98-92 and 95-95 KH.
WBA International super-flyweight champion Shannon Ryan (7-1 (0)) lost a controversial split decision to Commonwealth super-flyweight champion Emma Dolan (7-0 (1)) for the vacant BBBofC British and Commonwealth Boxing Council super-flyweight title after being thrown off the canvas in the second round of a 10×2 bout.
In the first two rounds, the much taller Dolan won every round with ease, using his jab. In the final seconds of the third round, Dolan landed three punches, the last of which was aimed at the back of the head. Referee Victor Loughlin called the count of eight at the end of the round.
From the fourth through eighth rounds, Ryan became more mobile and overpowered Dolan, who was barely able to land his jab.
In the ninth round, Dolan continued to hold and strike without any warning from the referee, but Ryan landed a good left hook to Dolan's jaw to win another round.
Ryan's punches left Dolan's face red in the 10th and final round, but he maintained his dominance from the third round until the end.
The scores were Ryan 95-94, Dolan 96-93, Dolan 96-94. Ryan KH 97-92.
Super flyweight Hamza Uddin, 2-0 (1), out-fought Italian-born Giulio Comerso, 4-2 (1) in an unequal six-round bout.
In the final seconds of the first round, Uddin landed four punches on Comerso's jaw, but Comerso did not respond. In the second round, Uddin “played” with Comerso, who had his hands at his sides and was free to throw punches. As the final bell sounded, Uddin landed a final left punch that rocked Comerso's jaw.
The third through fifth sets were a one-sided affair with Uddin dominating and Comerzo barely able to fight back.
In the sixth and final round, Uddin was playing flashy but landing every punch, while Commerson missed more than he hit in this lopsided bout. Referee Kevin Parker had an easy night, but so did Uddin.
Referee Parker scored the bout 60-53.
Lightweight Ibrahim “The Spider” Sulaiman (4-0 (3)) stopped Jesus Gonzalez (3-3 (0)) in the second of a scheduled six-round bout.
In the first round, Sulaiman landed a left as Gonzalez dropped his head back, and referee Kevin Parker counted to 8 to have Gonzalez down. In the second round, Sulaiman landed several punches, the last of which landed a left to the body. Gonzalez backed up and suddenly fell to the canvas, beating referee Parker's count but in no condition to continue the bout.
Super bantamweight southpaw Muhammad Mustafa Ali (4-0-1 (1)) fought to a draw in the sixth round against Kelvin Majid (2-1-1 (0)).
In the first two rounds, the southpaw Ali fought back well, but from the third to the sixth round, Majid seemed to have the upper hand, pressuring Ali and catching him with uppercuts to the jaw.
Referee Chris Dean scored the match 57-57.
Heavyweight Emmanuel Odiase, 4-0 (3), knocked out southpaw Kevin Massirika, 2-2 (1), at 0:45 of the fourth round.
In the fourth round, the much taller Odiase landed a left punch to Macirika's head, sending Macirika down as referee Chris Dean counted.
The ring announcer was David Diamante.
