Lloyd Ellett beats bigger man on Box Nation debut
Unbeaten Brighton light-middleweight boxer, Lloyd Ellett moved up to 17-0 with a convincing points win over Latvian Raimonds Sniedze 11-26-2 in his first performance as a Frank Warren fighter in front off the Box Nation cameras at the York Hall.
Roared on by a huge fan base, Ellett had to work hard to get the tough points win over the durable Latvian.
"He was massive by the time he got in there," the iBox Gym boxer said. "The first jab that I took on my gloves was pretty strong, he was definitely over 12 stone. He came at me the first couple of rounds because I was smaller, he obviously thought he could use that as an advantage."
Ellett is well known for the extensive sparring sessions that he puts in before every fight and had to draw on experience to adapt to the threat in front of him, he explained, "I had to change the gameplan and use my feet a bit more, he took a lot of shots that someone at my weight would not have taken so well. On TV they gave me every round so I don't even know what rounds he managed to nick. I felt in control the whole fight, he was quite rough, using his head and elbows on the inside. "I'm not entirely pleased with my performance but it was a good learning curve and on a big stage. I think I was a bit eager to impress but it's out the way and now we can get moving," said Ellett.
The powerfully built Ellett will be knocking on the door for a British title shot shortly in the talent-packed domestic divison currently ruled by Liam Smith.
Speaking about his next fight, Ellett said, "We said May but that's not too far away now so it might be looking more like June instead."
Debutant, Nick Webb got off to an explosive start in his career with a quick-fire 56-second stoppage of Croatian Hrvoje Kisicek with short, sharp hooks and uppercuts.
Webb said afterwards, "It was my debut and I was looking to put on a good start for the people watching me. I just let me hands go and I could see him going so I finished the job. It was a great start, the first fight is out of the way and now I can settle down and continue learning."
Wimbledon's Louis Adolphe takes his unbeaten record to 3-0 with a flashy performance, mixing hard shots to the body and head, over Driffield's tough Danny Little. A hard right hand dropped Little in the fourth round, with Adolphe looking to finish him off but Little stuck to the end. Adolphe said, "He was a tough opponent, when I was landing the body shots I was noticing his defence dropping and I wanted to finish him off but he hung in there. Anyway, I'm happy with the performance, roll on to the next one."
Cardiff switch-hitter Romeo Romaeo made an impressive debut at light-welterweight with a fifth round stoppage of hard Michael Mooney. Romaeo exploded in the fifth with a dynamite right hook that stunned Mooney and he ploughed in throwing powerful, short, hooks and uppercuts that forced the referee to step and call a halt. "I was taking my time and waiting for the opening and I caught up with him the fifth round with a perfect right hook that landed flush and I just steamed into him. I feel so strong at light-welter and there is so much more to come from me," said Romaeo.
Belfast ace Ryan Burnett took his record to 8-0 with a punch-perfect performance over Frenchman Faycal Messaoudene. Burnett took out his last three opponents but was made to go the distance this time, but displayed his accurate jab and powerful shots mixed with some quick footwork and shifting angles. He said afterwards, "I've been knocking people out recently, but it was good to get six rounds under my belt and try out new moves."
Wembley's Gary Corcoran ground out a hard-fought points win over the resiliant Adam Jones on the score cards. Corcoran plied the pressure on, continually throwing punches and looking to force a stoppage but Jones stuck in there.
Harrow Weald ace Mitchell Smith stole the show as he delivered the KO of his career with a stunning sixth round knockout of Croatian Antonion Horvatic. Smith, who had been training in Monaco in the build up looked fit, strong, and in command as he took his time and sized up Horvatic for the first couple of rounds. Then in the third he landed flush with a devastating four punch combination leaving Horvatic flat on his back and the referee waving it off without a count. Mitchell said, "I just enjoyed myself in there and took my time and when the time was right I took him out. I've got KO power in both hands, I've got the skills, I'm going to the very top in this game."
Miles Shinkwin retained his Southern Area light-heavyweight title with one brutal left hand body shot in the sixth round that Horton could not get up from. "That was a beautiful body shot that I hit him with. After a fast start I did go to sleep for a bit and Jason Rowland told me to step it up and that's what I did and took him out. I know I'm on course for the British title and I'll be ready after a couple more fights," said Shinkwin.
Ovill McKenzie retained his British and Commonwealth belts in a gruelling battle with younger rival Matty Askin by majority decision. Both men had points deducted, Ovill in round five for hitting behind the head, and Askin in round seven and eight for holding. Despite a lot of holding in the fight, both men unloaded big shots on each other, but in a dramatic tenth round it looked like Ovill was about to stop Askin after hurting him with a big right hand, but couldn't land the finishing blow. Askin fought back and lasted the final two rounds to hear the bell. McKenzie said, "It was a very tough fight and Askin really pushed me to the end. I want the world title fight next to complete my career, WBO Champion Marco Huck is the man that I want."
Undefeated exciting Chingford talent Tom Baker was crowned the new Southern Area super-middleweight champion with a career best performance over rival Kevin Greenwood. In an exciting battle, Baker showed his supreme fitness with a high work rate to outpoint Greenwood over ten rounds on the judges scorecards. "This is the first of many titles, I want to defend this a few times and then go for my dream shot at the British title. I showed what I can do over ten rounds, I'll get fitter and stronger and twelve rounds will be a breeze. I aim to rule the domestic scene over the next couple of years," said Baker.
Top prospect Kirk Garvey maintained his undefeated record with a points win over Krzyzstof Golec.
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