Nick Ball, Andrew Cain and Brad Strand all win their fights live on BT Sport
The talent-filled Everton Red Triangle gym in Liverpool saw three of its prospects all add another win to their perfect records on Queensberry Promotions’ five-fight card at the BT Sport Studios in Stratford on July 31 on the undercard of the Lyndon Arthur vs Dec Spelman Commonwealth light-heavyweight title clash.
The trio were not only making their BT Sport debut, but also having their first ever fight under the Queensberry Promotions banner after signing contracts with Frank Warren in February.
Andrew Cain (6-0, 6KOs) kicked off the show in style by scoring his sixth stoppage from six fights, while teammates Nick Ball (13-0, 6KOs) and Brad Strand (4-0, 1KO) prevailed on points.
Five-time national amateur champion Andrew Cain opened the show against Blackpool boxer Ed Harrison (1-4) in a six-round super-featherweight contest, although Cain usually operates at 126lbs. In an explosive start, Cain looked like he meant business right from the off, opening up confidently with his hands down and stalking his opponent around the ring.
The 23-year-old featherweight would follow that game plan throughout the first round, walking his man down and trying to land heavy left hooks when the openings were presented.
In the second round, of a potential six, Cain started with a brutal barrage of punches that immediately backed up Blackpool’s Harrison. As the claret began to emerge from Ed Harrison’s nose, Cain continued to walk down his foe.
Round three started with heavy hooks hammering the head of Thai-born Harrison, the left hook in particular proving to be a potent weapon for Cain. Harrison was game, throwing shots of his own, but the fight was starting to look like a one-sided beatdown.
Tough man Harrison saw out a torrid third round but his corner ultimately decided to call the fight off before the fourth round could begin.
It was a wise decision, as a ferocious Andrew Cain, with his brutal left hook, moved up 6-0, continuing the theme of not allowing his opponents to get past the third round. Cain has only been required to complete 13 out of a scheduled 26 rounds so far in his career, and 100% KO ratio will surely put the talented featherweight division on red alert.
In the second bout of the evening, Cain’s teammate and ABA Elites 2018 champion Brad Strand had a tricky task in the shape of experienced campaigner Brett Fidoe (13-63-5, 6KOs).
Super-bantamweight Strand has had a fairly easy start to his professional career, and Brett ‘The Threat’ would prove to be the fourth victim on Brad’s record but not before giving Strand the fight of his life.
The 29-year-old Midlander, who has defeated Central Area and English champions in the past, gave a good account of himself from the away corner in what proved to be a competitive opening round.
23-year-old Strand did seem to be establishing his jab as the first came to a close and by the second was using it to continually push back his opponent.
Fidoe has only been stopped once in over 80 contests – by Andrew Selby in 2016 – and he made sure to keep Strand on his toes throughout rounds three and four. Strand’s footwork and jab kept him elusive, though, and his class was on display for all to see.
Fidoe drew some blood on his young opponent but would ultimately fall to a 40-36 defeat. That didn’t tell the whole story, though, and the Steve Bunce-christened ‘best journeyman in Britain’ could leave the ring with his head held high.
Strand improved to 4-0 as a professional, with valuable lessons to take back to Liverpool with him.
In the penultimate fight of the night, it fell to Nick Ball to complete the hattrick for the Everton Red Triangle team.
Six of Ball’s 12 previous professional contests had not made it out of the second round and that was clearly on his mind as he opened the fight like a buzz saw. He swarmed his undefeated opponent Jerome Campbell (6-1, 1KO) relentlessly and, despite being the shorter man, Ball repeatedly threw wide, wild shots to his opponent’s head.
A brutal second round saw Londoner Campbell again pressed up against the ropes and eating wide, powerful shots but the elusive early finish never came.
‘Stay Ready’ Campbell spent even more time against the ropes in the third, but as the round progressed the pace slowed and Jerome was able to ping back some shots of his own. He took that momentum into the fourth, which was a better round again for Campbell, but every time he stepped back onto the ropes he’d allow Ball a gap to unleash one of his furious combinations.
The fifth and sixth followed a familiar pattern and although Campbell, a Haringey Box Cup champion, did start to work his body shots well, Ball’s persistence and relentlessness was the story of the fight.
In the seventh, Campbell held the centre ring a little better to begin with but before long Ball had his man down. With that, the Scouser smelt blood and the final minute of the seventh-round saw Ball headhunt a well-deserved finish.
It wasn’t to be though and London’s Jerome Campbell was to, against all odds, see the final round. The eighth-round came and went in typical fashion with Campbell being bashed up on the backfoot but surviving the onslaught to hear the final bell. It was just left to the referee Mark Lyson to confirm an emphatic 79-72 score in favour of Liverpool’s Nick Ball, who looks destined for title fights very soon.
Ruthless aggression was undoubtedly the defining trait of the Red Triangle trio, all trained by head coach Paul Stevenson, who has a total of seven unbeaten prospects under his watchful eye.
‘King’ Lyndon Arthur (17-0, 12KOs) retained his Commonwealth crown with a classy unanimous decision victory over Dec Spelman (16-4, 8KOs) in the main event, with scores of 116-112, 116-113 and 119-109; and 23-year-old Belfast middleweight Caoimhin ‘Black Thunder’ Agyarko (7-0, 4KOs) stopped Harrow Weald’s Jez Smith (11-2-1, 5KOs) in nine-rounds.
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