Whyte Knocks Browne For Six

By Steven Bateson

Dillian Whyte produced a clinical and destructive performance as he knocked out Lucas Browne in the sixth round of their WBC Silver Heavyweight clash at the O2 London on Saturday night.

It was a chilling and barbaric left hand from Whyte that came at the beginning of what had been six extremely one sided rounds. Browne was down and out for some time, receiving oxygen and medical treatment, but thankfully he responded well and was helped from the ring by EMT’s.

Whyte (now 23-1 with 17 KO’s) was dominant from the outset and used excellent movement and jabbing to pepper the face of the Australian before opening up a cut over Browne’s left eye with two very solid right hands on the inside.

Browne looked heavy, slow and cumbersome and he just did not have any plan or idea on how to attack Whyte or implement any kind of gameplan. He was a walking punchbag, hoping to win the lottery with one lucky shot, and just seemed to be walking into punch after punch from the Brixton man.

Whyte scored a huge right hand in round three and was attacking the body of Browne at will but at that point in seemed like the former world champion would not be budged by anything within the Whyte arsenal. Blood was continuously streaming down the face of Browne and then in round number five his nose was bust by another succession of jabs and straight right hands.

Whyte displayed excellent fundamentals, boxing well off the backfoot at times whilst evading Browne’s attacks before pouring forward with quick, meaningful and hurtful combination punching.

Round six began and it was evident Lucas Browne was extremely tired. Whyte knew his man was on the brink of collapse and he upped the pace with a body and head attack that knocked Browne against the ropes. Browne stumbled forward and tried to engage but Whyte shrugged him off and sent his man face-first on the canvass with a wrecking bell of a left hand. Browne was out before he hit the deck and the referee’s count was not necessary.

It was by far and away Whyte’s best performance to date and although Browne offered very little he was still a dangerous fight and a dangerous puncher. Whyte negated and stifled any threat or challenge presented by the Australian and easily dispatched of a former world champion, he displayed the kind of talent that in the current crop of Heavyweights means he is more than deserving of a shot at the big time.

Dillian Whyte finds himself in pole position now for a shot at WBC Champion, Deontay Wilder and could very well find himself challenging the American for the green strap if a title unification between Wilder and the winner of Anthony Joshua-Joseph Parker does not present itself in the coming months.

Johnson knocks Buglioni out in 1

Callum Johnson made a huge statement on Saturday night as he stormed through Frank Buglioni in a one round shootout to win the British Light Heavyweight Title and successfully defend the Commonwealth title at the same time.

Both men chose to march forward and trade shots from the outset and it was Johnson who landed first with a right hand to the side of the head, knocking Buglioni’s balance out of kilter. Buglioni was trying to fight fire with fire but was a static target for Johnson, absorbing too many shots, and soon he was forced to hold on before another shot had his legs wobbling again. Johnson pushed his opponent back into the corner and then he landed the shot that had the former British champ down for an eight count.

There was still plenty of time left in the round and Johnson (now 17-0 with 12 KO’s) smelt the blood in the water, he detonated a left hook and then another right hand to Buglioni’s jaw that sent the Enfield man scrambling toward the ropes again. This time the referee had seen enough and stopped proceedings, perhaps a little prematurely but every time Johnson was landing he had Buglioni all at sea.

Before the fight it was believed Johnson’s ring rust and inactivity may be his downfall but he proved the doubters wrong, his punch selection was tremendous and now he is looking onward and upward to bigger things. The Commonwealth gold medallist has faced plenty of adversity outside of the ring but tonight he has catapulted himself right to the top of the British 175lbs rankings.

Ritson destroys Cardle

Lewis Ritson continued his destructive streak as he stopped Scott Cardle in the second round of his British Lightweight defense.

Cardle came out all guns blazing, nothing like his usual tactics, and was bombarding Ritson with hooks aplenty and uppercuts. Cardle was making the champion miss and punishing him with counters as the ringside crowd watched on in shock at the fast paced start. Ritson’s face was reddened and there was a cut over his eye but he never once looked troubled by anything Cardle was throwing his way, which must have disheartened the former champion.

Ritson came out rejuvenated in round two and got behind his jab, walking Cardle down, and then a right hook to the temple seemed to momentarily disorientate the challenger. Cardle took some damage on the ropes and then a brutal left hook sent the Lytham man scrambling into the ropes, prompting the referee to administer a standing eight count. Cardle’s eyes looked unfocused and he walked back into another relentless barrage from the break out star from the North East, forcing Joe Gallagher to throw in the towel and the referee to wave the contest off.

Lewis Ritson really has put himself on the map over the last few months and there are very few more exciting domestic fighters right now. He is one defense away from winning the Lonsdale belt outright and will meet Paul Hyland Jnr in June.

Undercard round up

Anthony Fowler maintained his undefeated professional record with fifth round stoppage victory over Kalilou Dembele. Dembele entered the fight also undefeated and showed early signs of success with a good jab, taking advantage of Fowler’s lack of head movement, but soon the Liverpudlian was in control with vicious combination punching to the body. Both men opened up in round two and looked to unleash hooks but it was Fowler’s that landed and the Frenchmen was forced to take a knee in order to preserve himself.

Fowler (now 5-0 with 4 KO’s) was back about the body from round three and was starting to mix in heavy artillery to the head. Dembele was sticking in there but having little success, although he was very tough, and then came to somewhat bizarre finish. Fowler scored with a glancing uppercut and then a left hook to the chest that knocked Dembele down, it looked as though he slipped at the same time. Dembele rose and indicated he was ok to continue, he did not look greatly hurt, but the referee declared the bout over, much to the chagrin of the Frenchmen.

Fowler isn’t the most elusive fighter and there are definitely improvements to be made but he’s an exciting prospect, always entertaining, and definitely one to watch in 2018.

Dereck Chisora wiped out Zakaria Azzouzi in the second round of a scheduled eight at Heavyweight. Chisora seemed about his business from the outset and set a quick pace, pushing Azzouzi back onto the ropes and working the body before driving uppercuts through the guard. Azzouzi was game, although very out of shape, and was happy to stand and trade with Chisora but that proved his undoing as the Brit jabbed to the chest and then detonated a sledgehammer overhand right. The Frenchmen tried to rise but his eyes were glazed and legs extremely unbalanced, prompting the referee to call a halt to proceedings.

Chisora (now 28-8) has been linked with many opponents on May 5th, Joe Joyce and Carlos Takam the stand out names, and when asked about it at ringside he said "If there’s no titles, I want the money...if the money is right I want the fight"

Chisora then called David Haye and Joe Joyce to ringside and tried to goad them into a fight, demanding Haye’s purse for the Bellew fight if he can beat Joyce whilst declaring he would accept £1 if he lost, but Haye was unwilling to play ball, prompting Chisora to announce that fight would not be happening. The post-fight antics may have entertained the onlooking crowd but Haye and Chisora are no strangers to that kind of publicity. Don’t be surprised if Joyce and Chisora still square off in a couple of months and if Chisora is on his game then it will be a very interesting fight.

Chris Kongo scored a six round decision over Serge Ambomo in a Welterweight contest. Kongo (now 8-0 with 5 KO’s) controlled the bout throughout with his size and reach advantage despite the awkward opposition presented by the much smaller, compact Ambomo.

Jamie Cox demolished Harry Matthews in the second round of their Super Middleweight clash with a monster right hand. Cox, who was stopped by George Groves in the World Boxing Super Series last October, was happy to box and get some round under his belts but as soon as the opening appear he demonstrated his power punching best and sent a message out to John Ryder, who he will meet on May 5th during the Bellew-Haye II undercard.

Craig Richards got back to winning ways as he stopped Ivan Stupalo in the third round. Richards, who lost a British title fight to Frank Buglioni last year, was on point and looking sharp as he took out the Croatian in style, a blistering flurry of punches putting his opponent down and unwilling to sustain any more damage. The "Spider" (now 11-1 with 5 KO’s) will be looking to push back into domestic contention by the middle/latter part of the year.

London’s Richard Riakporhe had to climb off the deck twice in round one before stopping Adam Williams in the third round of their Cruiserweight clash. Riakporhe (now 6-0 with 5 KOs) was in big danger of losing his undefeated record but his heavy hands got him out of jail in an all action firefight.

Louie Lynn and Michael Horabin opened the show and were both making their professional debut in a rare occurrence. It was Lynn who kicked off his career in the paid ranks with a victory, stopping Horabin in the second round of a scheduled four. The bout was fought at Featherweight.