Manchester came out in their droves to support one of the favourites in British boxing. The bill was named ‘The Last Dance’, referencing this as Derek Chisora’s last fight on UK soil. We’re not sure we believe them, but if it was – what a way to go out.
Performance of the night: Derek Chisora.
Fight of the night: Derek Chisora Vs Otto Wallin.
Derek Chisora def. Otto Wallin (UD12).
Derek Chisora defeated Otto Wallin by unanimous decision, in an IBF title eliminator. He started the fight in true Chisora fashion, he was straight onto Wallin’s chest in the first round, ripping hooks to the body. Wallin was unable to get any clean shots off, due to the unforgiving inside work from Chisora.
It was much the same up to, and including the fourth round. Chisora was picking up rounds due to his activity and Wallin was struggling to solve the puzzle that Chisora was posing. We were told before the fight that Wallin is all wrong for Chisora, but it turned out that Chisora was all wrong for Wallin.
In the fifth round a nasty cut opened up over Chisora’s right eye, there was a tense few seconds in the sixth as the ring side doctor checked the cut. It was a nervous wait, before he confirmed that Chisora was okay to continue.
After a bruising few rounds for Wallin, Chisora threw an overhand right from his hip in the ninth round. It grazed Wallin on the temple and after an initial delayed reaction, he stumbled backwards across the entire distance of the ring, and fell to the canvas.
After securing a 10-8 round in the ninth, Chisora took the next couple of rounds off. He looked visibly tired, but Wallin still couldn’t trouble Chisora whatsoever.
Chisora finished the fight in true ‘Del Boy’ fashion. He left it all out there and in the last 10 seconds of the fight, he sent Wallin to the canvas once more. It was a great performance from Chisora, who rarely let Wallin rest and ultimately proved too much for the man 7 years his junior.
One judge (Bence Kovacs) scored the fight 114-112, Chisora. Which frankly, is a disgraceful scorecard. Without the two knockdowns, that would mean Chisora either lost or drew to Wallin, which was just not the case. Chisora is looking for a monster fight to end his career, and called for fights with Oleksandr Usyk, Daniel Dubois or Anthony Joshua. In truth, I wouldn’t like to see him face any of them.
Sofiane Khati def. Nathan Heaney (TKO7).
Nathan Heaney was on a comeback trail last night, after losing his British title to Brad Pauls last July. He brought his outstanding Stoke fanbase to Manchester, who were in great voice, as usual.
In the first three rounds Khati regularly stayed in Heaney’s range for a second too long. As a result Heaney was able to pick him off with straight shots, and keep the fight at a distance that suited him.
However, Khati warmed into the fight and caught Heaney regularly in the fourth round, Heaney made his way back to his corner with a bloodied nose. A very cautious Heaney came out for the fifth, and was rocked by Khati after being on the receiving end of a clean left hook. Heaney was forced to hold on, but managed to see out the round.
Heaney momentarily settled in the sixth round, but after losing his gum shield early in the seventh, both men were momentarily distracted. Once Sofiane Khati realised Heaney was hurt, he pounced and immediately knocked him down. Heaney was on extremely unsteady legs and was given a mandatory eight count. At that point the referee (Bob Williams) realised Heaney’s gum shield was laying on the canvas, and called a time-out to get it cleaned and refit. Heaney’s corner took their sweet time, but it was ultimately not enough once the action restarted. Khati unleashed a barrage of punches, all of which went unanswered by Heaney. Bob Williams jumped in to stop the fight, and protected Heaney from a brutal knockout.
At 35 years of age, it’s difficult to see how the popular Stokie comes back from this.
Jack Rafferty def. Reece MacMillan (TKO7).
Jack Rafferty secured a TKO victory against Reece MacMillan in the seventh round, to defend his super-lightweight British & Commonwealth titles.
Jack Rafferty was clearly a hometown favourite, and holds the longest current winning streak in British boxing. He had a steady first three rounds against MacMillan, and established a comfortable lead. In the fourth round MacMillan caught Rafferty with a couple of good shots, but ultimately couldn’t throw him off his rhythm.
Rafferty continued to wear MacMillan down, and in between the sixth and seventh round, MacMillan cut a very dejected figure in his corner. The end was nigh, and in the seventh round MacMillan’s corner threw in the towel to save him from any further punishment.
It was a routine win for Rafferty, admittedly against a fighter that was far below his level.
Zach Parker def. Mickael Diallo (UD10).
Zach Parker defeated Mickael Diallo, by unanimous decision. There’s not much else to say unfortunately. In a fight where Zach Parker received a bad cut over his right eye, he was still successful against his late replacement opponent.
Zach Parker did just about enough to win most of the rounds, but was regularly falling into his punches and smothering his work against Diallo. It made for a very ugly fight, and Zach Parker would not have won himself any fans last night.
The most notable action came in the eighth round when Zach Parker landed a big right hand that stunned his opponent. He tried to get the finish, with Diallo against the ropes but smothered his work once again, and looked exhausted.
The scores are read and they confirm that Zach Parker has won. Anthony Yarde was watching at ringside, and you’d have to say that based on that performance, it would be a routine win for the career light-heavyweight, Yarde.
Zak Miller def. Masood Abdulah (MD12).
Zak Miller defeated Masood Abdulah, by majority decision to win the featherweight British & Commonwealth titles in his hometown. In a fight where both were cut early, Miller boxed well at range throughout the first three rounds. As we got to rounds four, five and six, Miller was still maintaining his composure but there were promising signs for Abdulah, who increased the tempo, and managed to get in range and land shots. At the half way point it was clear that Miller was ahead, but not out of sight just yet. Carl Frampton scored the fight 4-2 to Miller, as we reached halfway.
Miller’s cut had gotten progressively worse by the time we reached round number eight. However, he bounced in and out of range masterfully in the eighth and was consistently catching Abdulah as he rushed in. Throughout the next three rounds it was a back and forth affair, with neither fighter dominating any of the action. Before sending him out for the twelfth round, Abdulah’s corner tells him “we need a knockout”. Whilst Abdulah didn’t get the knockout, he did win the twelfth, and the general feeling was that this would be a close decision. At this stage Carl Frampton had Abdulah winning by a single round.
The scores were read 114-114, 115-114 & 115-13, Zak Miller. He fell to his knees in celebration, and his huge support in Manchester erupted. Zak Miller becomes the new featherweight British & Commonwealth champion.
Lewis Williams def. Cristian Uwaka (PTS4).
Walter Fury def. Joe Hardy (PTS4).
Joe Cooper def. Artjom Spatar (PTS4).
Jermaine Dhilwayo def. Mark Butler (PTS4).
Summary.
It was a decent enough night of action on this Frank Warren promotion. Unfortunately Jack Rafferty’s opponent was not of the desired quality, nor was the performance of Zach Parker. However, a closely contested British & Commonwealth title fight between Abdulah & Miller contributed positively to the show. As did the vintage performance from Chisora, in the main event.
