Manchester, England: Super Bantam: Scott Quigg (31-0-2) W TKO 2 Kiko Martinez (32-6). Light: Darleys Perez (32-1-1) DREW 12 Anthony Crolla (29-4-3). Welter: Sam Eggington (16-2) W TEC DEC 8 Glenn Foot (15-1). Super Light: Chris Jenkins (16-0-1) DREW 12 Tyrone Nurse (31-2-1). Super Middle: Martin Murray (31-2-1) W TKO 5 Mirzet Bajrektarevic (14-4).
Quigg vs. Martinez
Quigg makes successful sixth defence of his WBA secondary title as he destroys former champion Martinez within two rounds. Martinez easily took the first round. He was coming forward throwing jabs and left hooks to the body. Quigg seemed content to retreat around the ring rarely throwing a punch and never taking a forward step. By the end of the round Quigg face was reddened from the Martinez jab. The second round started with Quigg on the retreat again but things changed in a flash . As Martinez walked in he was nailed by a right uppercut that made him dip at the knees. Quigg saw he was hurt and landed a right to the body and a left hook to the head and Martinez went down. The Spaniard got up quickly and was ready to continue at the end of the eight count but Quigg leapt in landing clubbing rights and lefts again and again until he battered down Martinez’s defence and one more right to the now unprotected chin sent the former IBF champion sliding down to the canvas. He made it to his feet but the referee waived the fight off and Martinez did not protest. The 26-year-old from Bury makes it 23 wins by KO/TKO. If Carl Frampton moves it will rob Britain of a great fight and Quigg of a defining fight and the only big names currently left in the division will be Donaire and Leo Santa Cruz.. Former IBF and European champion Martinez has no reason to like fighting in Britain as 5 of his 6 losses have been in Britain against British fighters. At 29 there is no thought of retirement and he will still be a force at European level if not at world level.
Perez vs. Crolla
Perez retains his WBA title with majority draw against Crolla. The Brit made the better start getting through with some crisp lefts in the first round with Perez responding with a good uppercut. In the second Crolla looked sharp and was slotting home good counters and a right hook from Crolla rocked Perez who did well to stay on his feet but the bell came before Crolla could capitalise on that success. Although Crolla was forcing the pace the champion got into the fight in the third and fourth rounds showing good evasive skills and sliding home his trademark counters. Crolla produced a left hook in the fifth that shook Perez but the Colombian has a good chin. Perez was warned for a low blow in the sixth and Crolla was warned for the same offence in the eighth a round which Crolla finished with a cut under his right eye. These middle rounds were close with Crolla the busier and more accurate but Perez landing the heavier shots making them difficult rounds to score. Crolla got through with some hard shots in the tenth and Perez was warned again for a low punch. When he repeated the offence in the eleventh he was deducted a point and he went low again in the last for another deduction. It seemed certain with Crolla’s better boxing and busier style and those deductions that the title was about to change hands but it was not to be. One of the judges scored it 116-111for Crolla but the other two both scored it 133-113 making it a majority draw so Perez retains his title. The decision was loudly protested on the night, and since, and the WBA have said they will review the fight and hopefully they will order a rematch. The 28-year-old “Million Dollar” Crolla was due to fight Richar Abril for this same title in January but in December suffered a fractured skull and broken ankle when pursuing burglars who had raided his neighbours home. It has been an amazing recovery and there was a great deal of pro-Crolla feeling but he has a genuine case for claiming he should have been crowned champion. Perez, 31, was the WBA interim champion but was promoted to full champion when Richar Abril was injured a made Champion in Recess. His best wins are over Argenis Lopez (19-0), Jaider Parra (23-1-1) and in his last fight in January over Jonathan Maicelo (21-1).
Eggington vs. Foot
Eggington beats Foot on a technical decision as he retains the CBC title and wins the vacant British title. Eggington had the edge in reach and was using his jab to keep Foot on the outside and countering with good rights but Foot did plenty of effective pressing to earn a share of the first round. From then on although Foot kept coming forward he was just soaking up jabs as Eggington broke him down with cool clinical boxing. Eggington was in total control and Foot was never really in the fight. A clash of heads opened a bad cut over the left eye of Foot and at the end of the eighth round the cut was too severe for the fight to continue and the result was decided by the scorecards with Eggington winning on scores of 80-71, 80-72 and 79-72. The 21-year-old Midlander who is also the WBC International champion lost a split decision to Johnny Coyle in the 2014 Prizefighter but has now won his last 7 fights including good domestic wins over Denton Vassell and Shane Singleton and is one of the most improved fighters in Britain. He is rated No 8 by the EBU. Sunderland’s Foot, 27, a winner of the 2013 Prizefighter and former ABA runner-up met a better fighter on the night.
Jenkins vs. Nurse
The British title remains vacant after this majority draw. The early part of the fight saw Welshman Jenkins outworking Nurse and scoring well with quick light jabs and good body work whenever he took Nurse to the ropes. Nurse, the taller man, was doing steady work with counters and by the end of the fourth round Jenkins was showing a cut by his left eye and Nurse had a swelling under his right eye by the end of the fifth. Jenkins looked to have established a small lead but over the closing rounds he seemed to tire and Nurse took over landing some hard shots and although Jenkins was still very much in the fight a clash of heads in the ninth seemed to stun him. It was Nurse who had now built a small lead. Jenkins finished strongly but it was questionable as to whether he had done enough to take or share the decision. Scores 115-115, 114-114 and 117-112 for Nurse. Not surprisingly both fighters felt they had done enough to win and a return is promised. The 25-year-old Nurse turned pro at 18 and lost only one of his first 30 fights and that was in a Prizefighter. His other loss was when he climbed off the floor twice to lose a majority decision to Dave Ryan for the vacant CBC title in October. He has won two fights since then. Rock’nRolla” Jenkins, 26, a former undefeated WBC International champion had been inactive for nearly nine months due to injuries and postponements and in fact had managed only one round of action in 14 months as he won his October fight inside a round. As an amateur he was Welsh champion and fought at the Commonwealth Games and World and European Championships.
Murray vs. Bajrektarevic
Murray continues his super middle campaign with a stoppage of Croat southpaw Bajrektarevic. The former middleweight title challenger from St Helens was just too strong for the Croatian southpaw and although Bajrektarevic was not too badly beaten up and had not been floored he was on his way to a painful loss when the referee stopped the fight in the fifth. It looked a premature stoppage but there was only going to be one winner and it was pointless to let the Croatian continue to soak up Murray’s punches. The 32-year-old, a former interim WBA champion, had drawn with Felix Sturm and lost a controversial decision to Sergio Martinez in world title shots at middle before a stoppage loss to Gennady Golovkin made him take the decision to move up to super middle. With his strength and experience he has a better than even chance of landing a title shot in the higher division. Bajrektarevic, 36, had won 6 of his last 7 fights including three wins on the road.
