Saturday, March 5th, Iain Wilson of Saltire promotions put on an amazing night of Boxing at the Paisley lagoon centre.
The first bout of the night was a Super Lightweight contest between Steven Rae of Barrhead, competing in his second fight in the paid ranks, up against tough and determined Matt Seawright of Bathgate, this was his 140th pro outing the fight took place over 6×2 minute rounds.
After a cagey opening round, Rae upped the ante in round two and scored a knockdown on route to a comfortable points victory. Referee Kenny Pringle scored the fight 60-53 in favour of the Barrhead man who moves to 2-0.
Up next we had Light Heavyweight action, over 4×3 minute rounds, between John McCallum of Edinburgh and Lincoln’s vastly experienced Mitch Mitchell.
Round by round it began to catch fire with some good exchanges between both men. With approximately one minute left, in the final round, the fire was lit as Mitchell roughed McCallum up on the ropes using his head which cost Mitchell to be deducted one point. A few words were exchanged, they then stood toe-to-toe for the remainder of the round. Referee Darren Maxwell scored the bout 40-35 in favour of the man from Edinburgh who now moves to 8-1.
The third fight of the night saw exciting young Middleweight prospect Kieran “Chopper” Smith of Greenrigg taking part in his third contest up against tough Devon man Christian Hoskin Gomez.
Smith started brightly showing flashes of brilliance with great head and body work but Gomez was game and determined to hear the final bell, which he did, and referee Darren Maxwell scored it 40-36 in favour of young Smith – who looks to have an exciting career in front of him. Smith now moves to 3-0, 2kos.
Fight number four saw the homecoming of Zane “The Train” Marks, in his 27th outing, as he fought in front of his family and friends who were out in full force, against Lithuanian Egidijus Kakstys over 6×3 minute rounds.
Marks started the opening round on the front foot, with good movement and precise shots.
Round two, Marks dropped Kakstys with a short right hook then again with a straight left down the middle, he managed to survive the round.
The ending came in round three when a thumping right hook to the body sent the Lithuanian down and he failed to beat referee Victor Loughlin’s count. Marks moves his record to 20-7 and looks eager to make his mark on the Scottish and British super-middleweight scene.
Main event time British Welterweight eliminator between Robert “Birtley Bullet” Dixon of Gateshead and Iron Mike Towell of Dundee.
Round one started at a frantic pace with both unloading shots. A right hand from Dixon sent Towell to the canvas, causing a cut above the right eye in the process.
Round two, Towell seemed to have recovered as he came out like a man possessed with relentless pressure and cutting off the ring to stop his opponents movement. It eventually paid off as Towell unleashed a barrage of brutal unanswered shots which forced referee Bob Williams to step in and save Dixon from further punishment.
Towell’s fans were raising the roof as they saw their man line-up his British title fight against Londoner Bradley Skeete.
We had an exhibition earlier on in the evening, as Paisley’s number one Kris Carslaw, who was scheduled to box an opponent from Nicaragua but unfortunately had trouble with his visa, so Kris had a six-round exhibition with MGM Scotland boxer Gary “The Mint” Murray of Coatbridge.
Both looked in excellent condition and put a good show on for the fans Murray with his good work rate and Carslaw with his precise punch selection, Hope to see both these guys in competitive action soon.
All in all a great night of Boxing with a couple of good stoppages and a couple of young stars ready to go to the next level.