The UK’s first ever fight dedicated fight channel BoxNation (Sky Platform Ch. 456) had a fantastic launch weekend with some cracking fights that are a sign of things to come.
BoxNation‘s debut presentation started live at London’s famous York Hall, and it couldn’t have started any better when Commonwealth Super-Featherweight Champion Liam Walsh and Paul Appleby served up a classic.
In a brutal ten round war that saw both men hit the canvas, Walsh finally prevailed when Appleby’s corner pulled their man out before the start of the eleventh round.
It has already been described as the British Fight of the Year and it will be pretty hard to beat – and we’ve only just started the boxing season!
Also on the card, Steve O’Meara stunned Ryan Toms with a first round KO to take the Southern Area Light-Middleweight Championship.
Then on Saturday night, live from Germany as part of BoxNation‘s exclusive deal with Sauerland Events, a terrific fight between Karo Murat and Gabriel Campillo for the IBF Intercontinental Light-Heavyweight title with plenty of action ended in a draw.
In the main event, Yoan Pablo Hernandez won the IBF World Cruiserweight title in controversial circumstances from Steve Cunningham after six via a technical decision.
It looked like it was going to be a sensational ending when Cunningham was heavily floored in the opening round and just made the referees count. In the third, a clash of heads opened a cut above Hernandez’s temple, then in the fifth another clash of heads caused a cut above Hernandez’s right eye.
The fight was stopped in the sixth when the doctor inspected the cuts and advised the referee to stop the fight because Hernandez could not see clearly. It went to the judges’ scorecards and Hernandez was ahead and declared champion.
Another cracking fight saw Polish prospect Grzegorz Proksa beat German favourite Sebastian Sylvester to claim the European Middleweight Championship.
The action comes in thick and fast on BoxNation, this week you can see the Quarter Finals (Wed 5 Oct), Semi-Finals (Fri 7 Oct) and Final (Sat 8 Oct) of the World Amateur Championships, exclusively LIVE from Baku in Azerbaijan. The tournament is seen as selector as to who will represent their country at next year’s Olympic Games in London.
On Friday 7th October, LIVE from the iconic Royal Albert Hall – the first time boxing has been held in the London landmark in over ten years – the UK’s Combined Services take on the US Armed Forces in a transatlantic competition for the Royal Albert Hall Cup.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS LIVE ON BOXNATION:
Wednesday 5-8th October
World Amateur Championships from Baku, Azerbaijan
Friday 7th October
Amateur Boxing – The Royal Albert Hall Cup: UK Combined Services v US Armed Forces
Saturday 15th October
From the Liverpool Echo Arena:
WBO World Light-Heavyweight Championship: Nathan Cleverly v Tony Bellew
European & WBO Intercontinental Super-Middleweight Championship: Piotr Wilczewski v James DeGale
From the Staples Centre, LA, USA:
The WBC World Light-Heavyweight Championship: Bernard Hopkins v Chad Dawson
Friday 21st October
British Cruiserweight Championship: Robert Norton v Leon Williams
Saturday 22nd October
WBO & WBC World Cruiserweight Championship: Marco Huck v Rogelio Omar Rossi
Friday 28th October
WBO Intercontinental Welterweight Championship
Frankie Gavin v Frank Haroche Horta
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