Danny Dignum vs Grant Dennis round by round LIVE action
WBO European middleweight champion Danny Dignum will make the third defense of his belt in the 10-round main event against Grant Dennis tonight, February 11, at London’s York Hall.
Dignum-Dennis starts at 6:20pm live on IFL TV worldwide and from 2pm in America on ESPN+.BBN will be reporting all the action live from ringside:
Fight #1
Lightweight, 6 Rounds
JORDAN FLYNN vs. MARIAN MARIUS ISTRATE
Kevin Mitchell-trained Jordan Flynn had a real livewire opponent in front of him for his fourth fight. Romanian Marian Marius Istrate gave his all against the 25-year-old home fighter who fought back valiantly under the pressure, showing a maturity and composure beyond his years.
In the third round, a barrage of blows to the body of Istrate saw him visibly hurt and annoyed, gesturing that they were too low.
At the start of round four, the referee chose to have a word with Flynn before he let action commence.
It was the Romanian's first appearance in a UK ring and he wasn't your standard journeyman who makes likes to make fights awkward and messy with lots of tangling up. The 30-year-old, who resides in Spain, often had his hands low, guard opened up, firing in wild hooks from out of range, but not landing much. He made for an exciting contest to kick off the show with.
In the fifth, the Oxford lightweight was more economical, putting more weight and meaning behind each punch. He momentarily got caught with a couple of short hooks from an enthused Marius. Flynn was warned by the official for a low blow at the end of the penultimate round.
Flynn fought the last round with his hands down, scoring uppercuts and looking for the stoppage. He didn't give his fourth foe a moment's respite as he followed him around the ring. The Romanian backtracked and threw back under duress until the final bell. Hopefully we will get to see the plucky fighter on these shores again, he gave a good account of himself and made for an exciting contest to kickstart the event.
Referee Chas Coakley scored the bout 59-55 to Flynn.
Fight #2
Super-Welterweight, 4 Rounds
GEORGE MITCHELL vs. VASIF MAMEDOV
'Gorgeous' George Mitchell started sharply, with crisp jabs and one-twos. The tall and rangey super-welterweight from London was accurate with his shots and looked very sharp in the opener. It was a fast-paced first round.
The Londoner starterd the second landing three successive right hands, then he began to throw right uppercuts. He looked very comfortable already, choosing to wait a little longer to selct the right shots, even countering the Russian journeyman.
By the third, 'Gorgeous' George was closing the gap with his hands held low, scoring shots with ease. The 32-year-old from Perm was bleeding from the nose in his corner before the fourth and final round.
Mitchell started the last round with rangey jabs to body and head.
Mamedov's first eight fights took place in Russia, losing half of them; then his last five fights were here in Britain, which he lost but none of the British prospects could stop him. Incidentally, his last win came against Vladimir Fleischhauer who will fight later toight against debutant Bilal Fawaz.
Mitchell won the bout 40-36 to move up to 3-0.
Fight #3
Super-Welterweight, 6 Rounds
PAUL RYAN vs. CJ WOOD
Dublin's Paul Ryan stopped CJ Wood in the very first round. Within 30 seconds Middlesbrough's Wood was floored under the immense pressure of the Irish southpaw. Despite the early success, the 23-year-old stayed patient but hurt his man again with a body shot in the last minute and referee Chas Coakley stopped the bout. The stoppage was counted at 2:26 of the first round of a scheduled six.
That's two stoppages in a row for the Dubliner.
Fight #4
Super-Welterweight, 4 Rounds
BILAL FAWAZ vs. VLADIMIR FLEISCHHAUER
Super-Welterweight Bilal Fawaz makes his professional debut in a four-rounder against Vladimir Fleischhauer, who has only been stopped once as a pro.
In the opener, the 32-year-old Londoner was very patient, only looking to land meaningful blows and one got through – a right hand that glanced off the Russian's forehead and make him take notice.
Trained by Derry Mathews, Nigerian-born Fawaz was busier in the second after getting his first pro round comfortably under his belt. The second stanza ended with Fleischhauer trapped on the ropes.
Midway through the third, an unending assault to the head of Fleischhauer forced referee Keiran McCann to jump in and prevent further damage. The time of the stoppage was 1:34 of round three.
Fight #5
Super-Middleweight, 4 Rounds
JOE GILES vs. LEWIS VAN POETSCH
Super middleweight Joe Giles taks on 148-fight journeyman legend Lewis van Poetsch in a four-rounder.
23-year-old 'Gilesy' was on the backfoot from the off against the super-soldier from Gloucestershire. He managed to make room for himself to pick off his shots.
'Poochy' managed to land a strong left hook at the end of the second, but it was a tepid affair with not much danger or power being on display.
'Gilesy' used his lateral movement to prevent 'Poochy' from setting up his shots but he tucked up and tried to weave his way in, occasionally landing a looping hook or two but Giles's long reach was scoring enough shots to win every round pretty easily. Neither man looked like they could be trouble by the other.
The pair embrace respectfully at the end as Wickord's Giles wins 40-36 to move up to 2-0 comfortably.
Fight #6
Super-Bantamweight, 10 Rounds
LEE MCGREGOR vs. DIEGO RUIZ
Ben Davison's British, Commowealth and European super-bantamweight champion Lee McGregor started the bout patiently but spent the second half of the opening round in colse range unloading heavy shots on the former Argentinain bantamweight champion.
The 27-year-old South American was under duress but he was still whipping in body shots as he was backed up. The Scotsman was happy to absorb them and continue the pressure. Lots of punches being thrown in this chief support bout so far.
In round four, 'Lightning' was really piling on the pressure, landing lovely uppercuts, seemingly looking for the stoppage.
Only two of McGregor's 11 opponents have heard the final bell and that was equally-matched Kash Farooq and top journeyman Brett Fidoe, who upsets talented prospects all over the land. Ruiz's only stoppage defeat in 27 bouts was to Irish superstar Michael Conlan, which came midway in round nine of 10 in 2019.
DEspite McGregor looking like the likely winner, Ruiz has been competitive and probably notched up a few rounds here. You could almost argue it's only 60-40 in McGregor's favour, but Spencer Fearon at ringside has it 78-74 to the Edingburgh man.
While McGregor is working away on his man in round nine, Ruiz pops up with a clean jab to the face. Then he lands a few more shots in the last mnute and encourages the Scot on. McGregor sneaks in a lovely left hand on the bell. He looked like he took it up a gear in that penultimate round, maybe thinking of matching Conlan's feat.
It's been a busy fight, lots of action but zero drama. McGregor waited until the last 20 seconds of the contest to throw hs best shot – a right hand that caught Ruiz heavily and rocked his head sideways. Ruiz celebrated at the bell believing he'd won but McGregor is a clear winner here.
A hard 10-rounds for each fighter, and it shows with the scorecards of a 95-95 draw, to the shocked silence of the crowd. McGregor leaves the ring shaking his head in disbelief, who was the agressor with the cleaner shots and the greater work through the 30 minutes. Fearon's final scorecards were 98-92 to McGregor.
Fight #7
WBO European Middleweight Title, 10 Rounds
DANNY DIGNUM vs. GRANT DENNIS
Busy opener, looking like it could fittingly be the fight of the night. Dignum was coming on strong early but Dennis handled it well, moving and countering.
Dennis is being made to move but he leads with hs backhand well to score shots. Good round for Dennis.
Lots of lateral movement from the 'Go-Getter' making it hard for Dignum, but the champion comes on strong. Dennis looks like he's boxing to clear gameplan here. He ploughs in with a lead backhand often but not many landing, but at least one did nicely. There was a clash of heads at one point. The champion looks frustrated with his challenger already.
Dennis grows in confidence with each round against his aggressive foe. The Chatham man continues to land those long backhands. Spencer Fearon has it 39-37 after four rouds to the champion.
38-year-old Dennis lands a lovely long right hand in round five and spends a portion of the round on the front foot for the first time. Dignum is cut on the bridge of his nose.
Trained by Veron Quammie, Dennis gets caught on the ropes at the start of round six, then he gets cornered midway in the round and goes down. He gets up unsteadily but continues and goes down again. Another knockdown and referee Bob Williams calls it off at 2:36 of the sixth round. None of the punches looked like they landed clean but ste relentless pressure and strength caused the damage.
Dignum's size, strength and pressure prevails.
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