A busy crowd filled the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham as Ben Whittaker and Benjamin Gavazi headlined the card for the WBC Silver light heavyweight title. Fans came to see whether Whittaker could take another step forward in his career or if Gavazi would surprise the home fighter.
Ben Whittaker needed less than a round to claim the WBC Silver light heavyweight title with a first-round knockout of Benjamin Gavazi. Whittaker used sharp right hands from the opening seconds, dropping Gavazi twice. The first knockdown came as Whittaker backed him up and landed a right hand, and the second knockdown was a clean left–right combination that put Gavazi flat on his back. The referee stopped the bout at 2:15 of the opening round. The win was dominant, though the level of opposition made it hard to gauge Whittaker’s real progress.
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In the co-main event, Tom Cowling came from behind to defeat Aaron Bowen by split decision in their 10-round meeting for the vacant BBBofC Midlands Area middleweight title. Bowen scored a knockdown in round five with a heavy right hand, but Cowling recovered well and boxed more cleanly in the second half. He edged the contest with scores of 95–94, 95–94, and 93–96 against him.
Lightweight rivals Cameron Vuong and Gavin Gwynne fought to a majority draw after 10 rounds. The scoring read 97–93 for Vuong and two cards of 95–95. Vuong started well but faded badly in the later rounds, allowing the experienced Gwynne to take control with steady pressure. The late holding from Vuong likely cost him the win.
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Super bantamweight fighter Molly McCann improved to 2-0 with a 58–56 decision win over Ebanie Cotton. McCann controlled most of the early rounds, and Cotton suffered a cut in round three. Cotton’s pressure and higher output in the last two rounds made the fight closer, but McCann held on for the victory.
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Ibraheem “Spider” Sulaimaan captured the BBBofC Midlands Area super featherweight title with a sixth-round TKO of Nico Ogbeide. Sulaimaan pushed Ogbeide back with constant pressure and eventually trapped him on the ropes, where a series of unanswered punches forced the referee to stop the fight at 1:52 of round six.
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