A noisy Manchester Arena crowd got all the blood, drama, and momentum swings they bargained for on Saturday night as a pair of former world-title challengers topped a card that mixed technical skill, late stoppages, and lightning-quick knockouts. Cuts, head clashes, and body-shot KOs kept the atmosphere electric from the first four-rounder to the abruptly halted main event.
Jack Catterall edged Harlem Eubank after seven rounds cut short by an ugly clash of heads that split Catterall’s right brow. The Chorley southpaw started faster, sweeping the early frames with jabs and counters until Eubank rallied in the fourth, then rough physicality and mutual spills marred the sixth. When the doctor inspected the wound a second into round 7, referee Bob Williams waved it off and Catterall prevailed 69-65, 69-66, 69-66 on the cards.
Watch the official fight card highlights: Watch
Joe Cordina shrugged off 14 months of inactivity, cleanly out-boxing rugged Jaret Gonzalez for the vacant WBO Global lightweight bauble. Crisp rights and well-timed uppercuts hurt Gonzalez in the second and again in the seventh; scores of 100-90, 99-91, 98-92 reflected Cordina’s control.
Watch the official fight card highlights: Watch
Aqib Fiaz and Alex Murphy traded body work and uppercuts for ten frantic rounds. Fiaz bled from a cut under the left eye from round 3 yet kept digging downstairs and nicked it 97-93, 96-94, 96-95 to hand Murphy only his second defeat.
Heavyweight prospect Pat Brown needed barely two minutes to overwhelm Lewis Oakford with clubbing hooks, forcing John Latham’s stoppage at 2:06 of round 1.
Fraser Wilkinson scored a breakthrough win at 154 lbs, dropping southpaw William Crolla in the fifth and finishing him with a left cross at 1:07 of round 6.
Former featherweight champ Skye Nicolson took a stay-busy bout at super-bantam, hurting Carla Campos Gonzales with a flurry and prompting another Latham intervention at 1:21 of round 2.
Watch the full card highlights: Watch
Unbeaten Niall Brown floored Victor Ionascu in the first and fourth before the corner retired their man between rounds, while hulking debutant Leo Atang flattened Milen Paunov with a right hand at 2:29 of the opener.
Alfie Middlemiss overcame a first-round clash of heads and boxed to a 40-36 shut-out over four against Mohammed Wako, closing a bruising but crowd-pleasing Manchester bill.
Image Credit: Mark Robinson