One of the most famous phrases of famed Scottish poet Robert Burns, “the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry”, was shown to good effect at the Echo Arena in Liverpool tonight when the Frank Warren organisation’s plans for newly signed lightweight Derry Mathews came crashing down on their heads.
Mathews, 34-9-2 (19), recently signed a five-fight deal with the organisation which was meant to see him through to the end of his career and to encompass a world title fight at the end of it. Step one was set out for him to take the WBO European title tonight from defending champion Stephen Ormond, 16-1 (7), and thus usurp the Irishman’s top-15 world ranking with that organisation. However, Ormond has dreams and desires of his own and they proved far too strong for veteran Mathews to deal with, resulting in Ormond taking a unanimous decision over 10 rounds.
The first two rounds were tentative for both boxers, with the taller and longer Mathews looking to keep the smaller, more physical, Ormond on the outside. This worked for the first round but, as early as the second round, Ormond was lunging in with raiding attacks to even up the fight. Rounds three through six were very close, with Mathews countering well, particularly with his scything right hands to the body, which did seem to deter Ormond from going gung-ho in the first half of the fight.
Round seven saw a major turning point though, as suddenly Ormond’s pressure seemed to take effect on Derry and he visibly winced at some of the right hands that Ormond just could not miss him with. Ormond noticed this immediately and was all over Mathews for the rest of the fight. He looked full of energy whilst Mathews suddenly looked drained. It was plain to see that Mathews was done for the night and would not be able to win another round.
The bottom line is that Ormond looked like the fighter who was desperate to win. He charged forward like a rabid dog, throwing himself at Mathews and unleashing flurries of six to eight shots at a time, usually to the body. Perhaps only two of these would land, but the judges were being impressed and Mathews was being subdued. Mathews just could not live with the Irishman’s punch output and ferocity and ended up surrendering somewhat meekly. The judges’ scoring was creditably uniform with two scores of 98-93 and one of 98-92. I actually had it closer, giving it to Ormond by 96-94. I thought that Mathews had success in the first half of the fight in blocking a lot of Ormond’s shots. Regardless of the scoring, Ormond clearly won the fight.
Mathews claimed afterwards that he had injured his right hand in the second round and requested a rematch. However it looked suspiciously as though he had gone to the well once too often and had found it empty. He was just never able to keep the marauding Ormond away from him and paid the ultimate price. Ormond now deserves some tender loving care. He was effectively the away fighter tonight, despite being the champion. Perhaps next time he can dream of being the headline act in his own right.
In the only other competitive fight of the night, Enzo Maccarinelli, 38-6 (30), stopped veteran Courtney Fry, 18-4 (6), in the seventh round, but only after Fry had put up a very brave performance. This fight was meant to be for Maccarinelli’s Commonwealth light-heavyweight title, but Fry failed to make weight. The fight went ahead as a non-title 10-rounder.
Enzo boxed in a very disciplined manner tonight, keeping a nice high guard and showing commendable patience as he stalked Fry and looked for the openings. Courtney, after suffering a knockdown in the first round from a heavy right hand, recovered well and boxed competitively with Enzo for the first half of the fight. Indeed, it seemed to me that Fry had won rounds four and five as he got his lovely jab working well, often knocking the Welshman’s head back on his shoulders. He was gradually working his way back into the fight. The heavy shots of Enzo proved too much for him though, as he was badly hurt and floored again in the sixth round by a short left hook counter, a punch Enzo connected with throughout the fight. He barely survived the round and staggered back to his corner on wobbly legs. Halfway through the seventh round it was over as this time a booming right hand caused Fry to sag on the ropes and referee Richie Davies called a perfectly timed stoppage, just as Fry’s cornerman threw in the towel from behind him.
Trainer Gary Lockett and Enzo himself were both critical of his performance but I thought this was a bit harsh and would rather heap credit on Fry for giving it his all in what will surely prove to be his last shot at the big time.
Unarguably the best performance of the night was put forth by Liam “Beefy” Smith, 16-0-1 (6), as he successfully defended his British light-middleweight title for the first time, against Manchester fighter Mark Thompson, 25-4 (15). Smith showed immense improvement as he stopped the outgunned Thompson in the fourth round. It was never a contest. Within a minute of the opening bell, a look of shock and anxiety came across Thompson’s face as he realised to his horror just how good his opponent was. By contrast, Liam had a half smile on his face almost all the way through the fight. He always knew how much better he was than his opponent. Smith displayed punches and combinations that he has never shown in public before, putting the shots together like a seasoned veteran. A combination which worked particularly well was the left uppercut/left hook to the head, which he used to good effect. His patented left hook to the body, which he so neglected in his title winning performance against Erick Ochieng, was back with a vengeance tonight, smashing into Thompson’s right side like a battering ram.
Thompson was bludgeoned to the canvas twice in the third round and looked like a frightened rabbit as he sat on his stool at the end of that round. Trainer Anthony Farnell sent him out for the fourth round to “have a fight” but within 12 seconds of that round the referee came to Thompson’s rescue, putting him out of his misery.
The Smith family just goes from strength to strength, seemingly trying to outdo each other every time they enter the ring. Liam laid down his marker tonight and this performance will take some beating. He is in a hurry to win the Lonsdale Belt outright and requires two more successful defences to do so. There are slim pickings at light-middleweight in Britain at the moment, Smith and Brian Rose aside, and he should achieve his goal without any undue problems.
Hometown fighters Paul Butler, 14-0 (7), and Joe Selkirk, 12-0 (6), both won on the card, respectively retaining and winning minor belts in the process. Both were up against limited opposition to say the least. Super-flyweight Butler won 11 out of 12 rounds against Mexican Ruben Montoya and Joe Selkirk destroyed Zoltan Sera in three. It is irritating when every Mexican boxer who comes to Britain is described as “tough”. However, on this occasion that adjective was appropriate. Tough, however, is all that he was and he posed no problems for Butler who was able to demonstrate his arsenal and showboat through the 12 rounds. As for Sera, the less said about him the better and Selkirk should realise that he has just received his first Christmas present in being gifted the WBO European title and a world top-15 ranking by beating such an inept opponent.
@RachelAylett1
