Shabaz Masoud wins split decision over Jose Sanmartin
Unbeaten Shabaz ‘Maverick’ Masoud (12-0, 4KO) won the vacant WBA Inter-Continental Super Bantamweight title for a second time via split decision over Jose ‘El General’ Sanmartin (34-8-1, 21KO) on Saturday night, November 11, at the Newcastle Arena, live on DAZN.
‘Maverick’ Masoud defeated experienced ‘El General’ Sanmartin over 10 rounds to claim the WBA Inter-Continental belt, which he won against Jack Bateson exactly a year earlier on November 11 2022.
In the opening two rounds, Colombian Sanmartin followed Stoke-on-Trent's Shabaz around the ring, playing the aggressor but absorbing multiple jabs for his efforts. In the third round, Sanmartin managed to get inside at times as they both mixed it up and traded back and forth. In the fourth round, the Brit boxer countered the visitor in the first real action round up at to that point.
In the fifth, the infighting ensued, with home fighter Masoud having the edge with his superior work. In the sixth stanza, Masoud landed a three-punch combination while backed up. He was warned by referee Howard Foster for use of his elbow. In the seventh, Masoud came out in his orthodox stance until the final minute, switching back to southpaw.
He landed several solid uppercuts that Sanmartin was walking into from both southpaw and orthodox postiions. In the 10th and final round, fans were treated to the best round of the night. The scores were read as 98-92 Masoud, 96-94 Sanmartin, and 96-94 Masoud.
Dickinson vs Dennis
In the co-feature, middleweight Mark ‘Boo Boo’ Dickinson, (6-0, 2KO), stopped 40-year-old Grant ‘Go-Getter’ Dennis, (18-6, 3KO) at 1:10 of the fifth round of an English title middleweight eliminator.
In the first round, County Durham's Dickinson went mostly to the body of the older Dennis from Chatham in Kent. The 26-year-old from West Rainton started showboating, putting his hands behind his back. From the second through to the fourth, undefeated Dickinson continued going to the body and causing a mark in the corner of his left eye.
In the fifth round, a double left to the body from Dickinson landed on Dennis and the former Southern Area titlist went down, showing little effort to get back up until the count reached eight. At that point, referee Darren Sarginson saw enough and waved it off.
Undercard
Super Welterweight southpaw Ewan ‘El Pedro’ Mackenzie, 8-1 (3), was stopped by Ishmael ‘Black Panther’ Davis, 12-0 (6), at 2:44 of the eighth round of a scheduled ten rounds in an English title eliminator. In the first round, Davis came out southpaw and drew blood from the nose of Mackenzie within a minute of the round, then switched back to orthodox halfway through and again back to southpaw. In the third round, Mackenzie matches Davis punch for punch but without the power of Davis. In the fourth round’s final minute, Davis picked up the pace as the blood continued flowing from the nose of Mackenzie. In the fifth round, Davis almost had Mackenzie against the ropes when referee Ron Kearney stepped in twice, warning Davis for kidney punches. This enabled Mackenzie to get off the ropes and back into the fight. In the sixth round, the left eye of Mackenzie was closing fast while he held his own if not winning the round. In the seventh round, Mackenzie came back well enough to take the round. In the eighth round, both were mixing it up, with Mackenzie landing the last punch when referee Kearney stepped in and called a halt in favor of Davis at the same time the corner called for a stoppage.
Super Lightweight southpaw Calum French, 4-1 (1), was stopped by Jeff Ofori, 13-5-2 (4), at 0:32 of the eighth and final round. In the first three rounds, French outworked Ofori. In the fourth round, Ofori started opening up with wild punches, taking the round. In the fifth round, Ofori drew blood from the nose and mouth of French, busting him up. In the sixth and seventh rounds, both had their moments banging heads. In the eighth and final round, French was bleeding under the left eye from a cut when his corner threw in the towel, forcing referee Neil Close to wave it off. Lightweight Cameron ‘The One’ Vuong, 2-0 (1), defeated John ‘Happy’ Henry Mosqueura, 5-5 (1) over four rounds. In the first two rounds, Mosqueura did more showboating than fighting. In the last twenty seconds of round two, Vuong landed the first solid punch, a right to the chin of Mosqueura. In the third round, after a minute, Mosqueura landed his first solid punch, a lead overhand right on the chin of Vuong, who dominated with his jab.
In the fifth round, Vuong went to the body with a jab and a right on the chin of the showboating Mosqueura throughout. In the sixth and final round, Vuong completed a shutout over showboating Mosqueura. The scores all score 60-54 and KH. The referee was Dean Milson.
Middleweight Jimmy Sains, 2-0 (2), stopped Jesus Lobeto, 1-3-1 (0) in the second round of a scheduled four rounds. The referee was Ron Kearney.
Light Heavyweight southpaw Ben Rees, 2-0-1 (2), stopped Sadam Moamed De Silva Caetano in the fifth round of a scheduled six rounds. In the second round, Caetano scored a knockdown for an 8-count from referee Neil Close.
Super Lightweight Owen Rees, 2-0 (2) stopped Konrad Czajkowski, 2-2-1 (1), in the fifth round of a scheduled six rounds.
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