It was an eventful night at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England, where fans turned out in force to watch some of the heavyweight division’s brightest names. The main event featured two Olympic medalists, with intriguing undercard bouts revealing prospects, contenders, and comebacks at every turn.
In a clash of former Olympic medalists, Filip “El Animal” Hrgovic outworked Joe “Juggernaut” Joyce over ten rounds to claim a unanimous decision. Both fighters appeared tentative early on, but Hrgovic connected more frequently, puffing up Joyce’s left eye. Joyce battled back in the middle rounds and opened cuts over both of Hrgovic’s eyebrows, but a strong ninth round for Hrgovic nearly buckled Joyce’s knees. The final stanza was close, but Hrgovic’s steadier output convinced the judges by scores of 97-93, 96-95, and 98-92.
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Commonwealth champion Jack Rafferty overcame a tricky start to stop southpaw Cory O’Regan in round five. O’Regan boxed effectively through the early rounds, but a sudden knockdown by Rafferty in the third drew blood from O’Regan’s nose and shifted the momentum. Though O’Regan rebounded in the fourth, a body shot in the fifth spelled trouble, prompting O’Regan’s corner to throw in the towel at 2:26.
English heavyweight champion David “Big D” Adeleye secured the vacant British title by stopping Jeamie Tshikeva in round six. The early frames were marred by excessive clinching, and both men struggled to land meaningful shots. That changed in the sixth when Adeleye broke from a clinch and landed a looping left hook that floored Tshikeva. A second knockdown moments later prompted the referee to halt the fight at 0:55 of the round.
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In a back-and-forth ten-rounder, Khaleel Majid edged Alex Murphy by unanimous decision (97-94, 96-94, 96-95). Both fighters traded flurries, with Majid targeting Murphy’s body and Murphy landing uppercuts on the inside. A late cut over Murphy’s left eyebrow didn’t help his cause, but the action was competitive enough that many observers felt a draw wouldn’t have been out of place.
The undercard saw heavyweight Olympian Delicious Orie kick off his professional journey with a four-round points win over Milos Veletic (40-36), while Royston “Sugar Boy Roy” Barney-Smith earned an 80-72 verdict against Cesar Ignacio Paredes in an eight-rounder at super featherweight. Three-time national champ “Rambo” Ramtin Musah outscored Robbie “The Camden Caretaker” Chapman over four, and southpaw Mark Chamberlain took an 80-72 eight-round decision at welterweight over Miguel Angel Scaringi. Nelson “The Sexy One” Birchall delivered a first-round knockout of Rodrigo Matias Areco with a body-head combo, and Alfie Middlemiss went four rounds to outpoint Alexander Morales (40-37).
Finally, bantamweight newcomer Louie Szeto rebounded from a second-round knockdown to win a 38-37 decision over Nabil Ahmed, showcasing heart and composure in only his first professional outing.
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