MANCHESTER, England – Skye Nicolson made light work of Carla Camila Campos Gonzales, now 9-4 (8 KOs), in her debut in the junior featherweight division at Manchester’s AO Arena.
Nicolson, coming off defeat to Tiara Brown in a WBC featherweight title fight, pressed the action from the first bell and it was clear that the pair were levels apart in terms of ability. Nicolson, now 13-1 (2 KOs), is not a renowned puncher, but once Gonzales started to feel the shots she quickly retreated to the ropes. It was there where Nicolson landed a flurry of shots that caused Gonzales’ legs to buckle, and the referee John Latham quickly jumped in to save her from further harm. The time of the stoppage was 1:21 of Round 2.
The hard-hitting cruiserweight Pat Brown, now 3-0 (3 KOs), blitzed through Lewis Oakford in a relative step up from the type of opposition he has been facing of late. Oakford, now 6-3, was light on his toes, flicking his jab into Brown’s face, and it looked as though it could take a while for Brown to tie Oakford down. Well, it didn’t end up that way, as midway into the round Brown landed a hard right and it was curtains for Oakford. He covered up in the corner and became a punch bag for Brown, who took full advantage, forcing the referee John Latham to jump in and save Oakford after two minutes and six seconds of Round 1.
Aqib Fiaz earned a hard fought victory over Alex Murphy to move to 14-1 (2 KOs) in his lightweight debut. Murphy differed completely from Fiaz’s originally slated opponent Michael Gomez Jnr but Fiaz was able to claim a narrow win by scores of 97-93, 96-4 and 96-95. Murphy fell to 13-2 with the defeat.
Leo Atang made light work of Milen Paunov on his professional debut. Matchroom have high hopes for the 18-year-old heavyweight with their roster short on big men with rivals Queensberry owning most of the division, and Atang lived up to their billing. He was miles ahead in terms of ability and towered over the small, fleshy Paunov, and wasted no time sinking in a hard right early on in the first. As the round went on it was clear that it was only a matter of time before Atang ended proceedings, and he forced Paunov to take a knee with a hard left hand to the midsection. Paunov returned to his feet, but after several more hard shots Steve Gray had seen enough and called off the contest at 2:29 of Round 1. Paunov fell to 7-16 (5 KOs) with the defeat.
Fraser Wilkinson picked up a win on the big stage and handed William Crolla the first defeat of his professional career. The junior middleweight from Scotland, now 12-2 (KOs), had not come to make the numbers and took the fight to the relatively untested Crolla. The younger brother of former lightweight champion Anthony Crolla seemed to panic when Wilkinson landed, and he couldn’t match the southpaw for pace. The punches eventually caught up with Crolla and in the fifth he was dropped by a sharp left hand. Midway through the sixth Crolla was hurt again, and after a number of unanswered punches the referee John Latham stopped the contest – much to Crolla’s displeasure. The time of the stoppage was 1:07 of Round 6 and Crolla fell to 8-1 (6 KOs) with the loss.
Alfie Middlemiss picked up the fourth win of his professional career with a victory over Mohammed Wako, now 1-6. The young featherweight, now 4-0, is part of the booming stable at Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis’ Manchester gym. Middlemiss stamped his authority from the opening bell and was a level above Wako who lacked the ability to match Middlemiss. Despite the gap in class, Wako was able to last the full four rounds. The referee Steve Gray scored the contest 40-36 in favor of Middlemiss.
The super middleweight Niall Brown opened the night with an impressive display against the now 14-7 (10 KOs) Victor Ionascu. Brown, now 16-0 (6 KOs), dropped Ionascu heavily towards the end of the first with a right hand, and it looked as though the traveling Romanian was moments from being flattened by another, but he was saved by the bell. Ionascu fought on bravely through the next few rounds, but after a tough fourth in which he tasted the canvas again, his corner pulled him out before the fifth could commence.
