Lennox Clarke blew away Richard Horton inside a round at Walsall Town Hall on Friday evening.
The Halesowen super middleweight topped the joint Black Country Boxing and Hatton Promotions’ show as he stretched his unbeaten start to life a s a professional boxer to 10-0.
Clarke came out at a ferocious speed had the usually durable Horton on the canvas with a sharp right hand within 20 seconds. The 24 year-old had his opponent down again shortly after with a left hook after measuring Horton up with a few jabs.
Horton got back to his feet but only for a moment as Clarke pounced with a flurry of punches to send Horton down for the final time as the referee stopped the contest half way through the opening round. The crowd exploded with rapturous applause for the exciting unbeaten prospect’s comprehensive win. Clarke will be hoping this is the start ofa breakthrough 2016.
Sergey Rabchenko opened proceedings and he started on the front foot against Miguel Aguilar. The Belarusian knocked Aguilar down half way through the round with a crisp left body shot. The Barcelona-based fighter recovered well and shook Rabchenko after getting off the canvas with a straight right hand.
Rabchenko started the third round with a booming right uppercut that sent Aguilar on to the ropes. Aguilar went down to the canvas again within the opening minute after withstanding a shower of punches. The 28-year-old was now taking serious punishment and did well to stay on his feet as Rabchenko went for the stoppage. Aguilar went down to his knees for a third time as the contest looked finished. The fighter from Nicaragua fought back as the round ended to catch Rabchenko with a straight right hand which stunned the 29-year-old but he did not look hurt. The Aguilar corner stopped the bout in the break to save their fighter from further damage. It was a valiant effort by Aguilar but Rabchenko was too sharp and looked impressive.
There was raucous support for Kieron McLaren as he improved his record to 7-0 with victory over Fonz Alexander. ‘Gunner’ made a solid start landing some clean combinations and making Alexander miss badly. The 22-year-old connected with a bruising left hook to end the first round.
Alexander improved in the second as he joined in with the exchanges. Fonz threw a few good punches but it was McLaren who was doing the cleaner work. Alexander started the fourth with his guard down to entice the Stoke super lightweight but he changed his stance after getting hit with a few sharp shots. McLaren took the round again and the win looked secured. Alexander had his best round in the sixth and final round and landed some crisp shots but it wasn’t anywhere near enough to change the outcome as McLaren prevailed on points 60-55.
West Bromwich Heavyweight, Matt Gordon, took the first two rounds against Lukas Horak as he did more work and landed well. However in the second half of the bout Gordon subsequently tired and the Slovakian took advantage by applying pressure. A punishing body shot by Horak hurt Gordon who was thankful for the bell at the end of the third. After dominating the opening two stanza’s, Gordon had exerted way too much energy in the third.
Into the final round and the popular 31-year-old was in trouble again as a couple of shattering left hooks from Horak stunned him. Horak was desperate to get the finish but the big man wouldn’t fall. A brutal contest came to an end with both men somehow still standing. It was close to call referee, Kevin Parkewr, rightly scored the contest 38-38.
Market Harborough’s Reuben Arrowsmith won every round on his way to victory over Sam Wall. There was an explosive start with both fighters landing scrappy punches but Arrowsmith dodged well and countered effectively. Arrowsmith went for the finish in the final round and was getting through with silky combinations but his opponent remained strong and held on for the final bell. The 19-year-old recorded a comfortable 40-36 victory to take his unbeaten record to 4-0-0.
Another 19-year-old Hatton Boxing prospect, Nathan Gorman, also kept up his winning ways against Jadub Wojkic. Gorman looked farthe bigger fighter and opened up with some power shots to try and gain control. The Nantwich heavyweight was dominant as the southpaw was failing to throw punches. The Polish fighter was taking some heavy punishment as a few straight shots rained down on him but he coped with the pressure. Gorman cruised to victory by a 40-36 decision to earn his second win in as many fights as a professional.
Wednesbury’s Sam Evans took his record to three wins with the defeat of William Warburton. Evans trapped his opponent in the corner but struggled to find space throughout the fight. Evans focused on the body to the satisfaction of Ricky Hatton in his corner as Warburton failed to throw anything back. Evans looked in a different class to his opponent as he bossed the fight with some crunching hooks. The judge scored it 40-37 as Evans earned a solid victory.
Old Hill’s Manny Zaber threw all the early punches as the crowd roared him on against Liam Richards who looked comfortable on the defence. The lightweight searched for an opening with body shots but Richards showed neat footwork, if little else, as he danced around the ring. Richards kept Zaber at bay by using every inch of the canvas but offered nothing back in way of offence as he looked destined for defeat. It was a routine 40-36 victory for Zaber, who extends his record to 4-0-0.
Black Country Boxing are back at Walsall Town Hall on Saturday, 19th March. Cool Hand & The Gang, sponsored by Grosvenor Casino Walsall, features the likes of Luke Paddock, Martin Gethin and Jason Welborn. Tickets are priced at £30 (general admission) and £60 (VIP Ringside), and can be purchased by calling 0845 111 2900 or directly from any boxer on the bill.
