Mauricio Lara Gets the Stoppage in round 7
Click on the fight you wish to view more details on:
Yafai vs Ruiz: Details
Gamal Yafai faced of against Diego Alberto Ruiz, to start of the night on the main card of Wood vs Lara. Yafai got off to a good start in the 1st round, and carried it through into the 2nd, but Ruiz landed a left hand to the top of Yafai’s head which dropped him in the second half of the round and he did not look fully recovered for the rest of the round.
Ruiz was switching back and forth between stances but was ultimately having more success when in the southpaw position. As a result, he put Yafai down again at the end of the 3rd round. Coming out for the 4th round, Yafai had a more improved round but didn’t seem to bother Ruiz much with any of the shots he landed. He saw more success in the 5th and 6th rounds as it seemed that Ruiz had stepped off the gas a little for a possible breather. The 7th & 8th rounds belonged to Ruiz as he was landing the more effective punches and constaty coming forward more, finishing of the 7th round with a brilliant 3 punch combination, and finising the 8th with a big right hand. Going back to his corner at the end of the 8th, Yafai’s corner man, Jamie Moore, threatens Yafai with throwing in the towel if he continues to stand in front of Ruiz. Yafai failed to adjust any further in the 9th and then coming out in the final round of the fight and getting caught with a left hand, to go down for the 3rd time of the night. Jamie Moore climbs the steps in the corner, ready to throw in the towel as his fighter holds on just barely while Ruiz finished the fight very strongly. See the results of the fight here.Clarke vs Duffus: Details
Cheavon Clarke vs Israel Duffus was the second fight of the evening. Clarke was previously scheduled to face Dec Spelman, unfortunately Spelman was forced into an early retirement due to failing a brain scan – we wish him all the best.
Duffus stepped in at late notice, replacing Dec Spelman. He was ready for the fight saying he is always in the gym because you never know when the call is going to come. Duffus was coming into this fight was 28 fights under his belt, more experienced than Clarke, with 17KOs in his 28 bouts, but the fight did not go as he may have expected. Duffus got of to a confident start, being first to the punch and throwing some impressive counters. In round 2, Clarke started with a good combination but, Duffus fired back with a number of heavy over hand rights, landing some on the head, gloves, body & arms.
In the 3rd round, Clarke caught Duffus with a big uppercut, and for some reason Duffus was looking to complain to the referee, but there was nothing to complain about.Clarke then finished the round with a good right hand, securing the round. Duffus came out aggressive in round 4, as he needed to with a bad ending for him at the end of the 3rd. It was a pretty even round with Duffus showing some good movement but Clarke may have stole the round by landing a heavy right just before the bell.
Again, Clarke ended the 5th round with a big right hand. Duffus was lucky it was near the bell because he was badly rocked this time. It didn’t finish there as the start of the 6th round Clarke had Duffus on the canvas for the first time. The knockdown may have been somewhat controversial as it seemed like a slip and Duffus wasn’t fazed by the shot beforehand. Although the 2nd knockdown came in the next round with no doubt it came from a right hand from Clarke. Both fighters landed big shots on each other but it seemed that all of the hurt was being inflicted by Clarke.
He started the 8th round hard with solid shots, picking up from were he left of in round 7. Hitting Duffus with another big uppercut that buckled his legs. The start of the 9th round, Clarke landed some good shots but this time they didn’t seem to trouble Duffus. Seemed like both fighters had dropped a gear or 2 in order to go into the final round with more energy. The likely benefited Clarke more as he threw to more eye catching shots in the final round and with literally the last punch of the fight, he puts Duffus on the canvas for the 4th time of the night. See the results of the fight here.
Cully vs Flores: Details
We followed the cruiserweight clash with Gary Cully vs Wilfredo Flores at lightweight. Both fighters were unbeaten coming into the bout, meaning someone’s 0 had to go. With the WBA Intercontinental Lightweight title on the line, Cully go to work early in the first round. Landing with ease with that long reach, it was safe to say Cully had taken the first round confidently. There was also an accidental clash of heads causing a cut to the right eye of Flores.
Cully continued his dominance into the 2nd round and landed a straight left hand to the head of Flores, dropping him to the canvas near the ropes. The referee started the 8 count and Flores was able to convince the referee he could continue. Immediately after the referee let the fight continue, Cully unleashed an onslaught of punches forcing the ref to intervene and call a halt to the contest.
Smith vs Allington: Details
The Co-Main event had Dalton Smith defending his British Super Lightweight title against Billy Allington. The 1st round was very quiet with very little punches thrown as they were feeling each other out. Maybe 1 or 2 shots landing for each fighter.
Round 2 also got of to a slow start, with a lot of sizing each other up and waiting for the other to make the first move. Any engagement was with pace but it quickly settled. The 3rd round showed a little more action from both fighters, with Dalton having the upper hand landing more shots. Smith grew in confidence as the fight continued and in round 4, he lands solidly on Allington’s chin and rocked him badly.
Rounds 5-7 were strong for Dalton Smith as he was more engaging and accurate with his shots. Allington was constantly being backed up and had no answers for Smith’s power. All the heavier shots were landing for Smith and anything coming back from Allington, did not seem to trouble Smith at all. In round 8, Allington was able to land a good shot on Smith but Dalton cam back with a left hook that put Allington on the canvas. Billy was just able to hang in there to hear the bell at the end of the 8th.
Dalton was very relaxed in the 9th round, taking his time and still very accurate with his shots. Landing plenty of shots and not taking much in return. Another left hook rocked Billy at the end of the round. In round 10, Dalton got a little over aggressive as he literally lifts Allington of the ground and throws him to the canvas. The referee has some stern words with Smith and threatens a point deduction if it happens again.
As we entered the championship rounds, Smith is comfortably ahead on the cards but he still walks down Allington and continues to land at ease. Coming into the final round, Allington should have been raring to go as he should have known he was way behind on the cards, but he lacked the energy and had nothing to give, hanging on to hear the final bell. To see the results check the card results here.
Wood vs Lara: Details
Nottingham Arena moved up a decibel when the main event got underway with Leigh Wood vs Mauricio Lara. As the bell rung for round 1, both fighters met in the centre of the ring sizing each other up. Not many punches were thrown in the first half of the round and there was a clash of heads that caused a cut above the left eye of Wood. Wood then finished the round strong to bank it.
Wood came out to round 2 with a small sense of urgency, which possibly came from the cut above the eye. He was landing the heavier shots but the fight opened up and Lara started to show up, ending the round with a big right and stealing the round.
As we moved into the 3rd, Leigh Wood started to land the better shots with Lara not throwing too many punches and waiting to try and counter Wood, unsuccessfully. Lara anded two big shots in the 4th but they only stunned Wood momentarily. A big right lands by Wood which drew the crowd in and raised the sound level in the arena. Wood continued his pressure in round 5 with the better in the exchanges and hurting Lara to the body with a right hand and finishing the round strong.
Again, Wood was controlling the fight, this time from distance and picking of Lara as he tried to get close. Lara started coming alive in the round near the end to potentially steal the round, but wasn’t doing enough to do so, in our opinion. Wood started on the 7th in control of the fight and they both went for a left hook at the same time, both connecting but Lara landed the more significant hook as he dropped Wood to the floor, bouncing his head off the canvas. Wood rose to beat the count on shaky legs, you could tell he wasn’t all there just yet. The referee was ready to continue the fight but Ben Davison had seen enough and threw in the towel to save his fighter from serious damage.
There was much controversy with the towel being thrown in, but ultimately it looked like the right decision. Wood later told Carl Froch that, “He was gone”, after the knockdown and the towel coming in was the right thing to do. At the end of the fight, Lara had his share of emotions as he was engaged in an argument with Josh Warrington, spitting at him ringside, and then offered his sombrero to Leigh Wood as a sign of respect. Wood said at the end of his interview in the ring that he would likely exercise his re-match clause to face Lara again. Wood and Lara later met in the medical room and embraced respectfully.