Wadi Camacho and Jose Lopes thrill the fans, reports Joseph Siza
Wadi Camacho retained his Southern Area cruiserweight title through a narrow 96-95 decision over Stratford’s Jose Lopes at Bethnal Green’s York Hall.
The Canning Town man made the first defence of his title since recapturing the Southern Area crown in another points win, against Ossie Jervier in September.
The opening round saw Camacho apply pressure and back Lopes up into the ropes, which became a recurring theme.
Lopes found himself in trouble against the strands during round three, as Camacho continued to force the pace and launch powerful shots.
The 32-year-old began to nurse a cut over his left eye in round four, but that did not stop him from marching forward.
Through rounds six to eight, Lopes used lateral movement effectively and threw significant lead right hands that seemed to trouble southpaw Camacho.
With Lopes sensing he may have been down on the scorecards, he started to sit down on his shots in round nine, landing hurtful rights and left hooks, finally pushing Camacho back.
It was last-chance saloon for Lopes in round 10 as he continued to be busy offensively, but his efforts were not enough to take the title away on the night.
Chief support on this great-value Goodwin Boxing show saw Hemel Hempstead’s Jordan Joseph defeat “Dazzlin” Darrell Church in a Southern Area light-heavyweight title eliminator, after the latter, from Witham in Essex, was withdrawn by the doctor at the end of the eighth round following an eye injury.
Joseph dropped Church in the fifth round and used a dominant jab throughout, as well as effective body shots that noticeably slowed down Church from early on.
Elsewhere on the card, Harrow welterweight Jez Smith snatched an impressive second-round stoppage against the usually durable Nathan Hardy.
The towel was thrown in by Hardy’s corner after their man had been knocked down heavily twice and was continuing to take punishment from Smith’s accurate right-hand shots.
Belgian heavyweight Jack Mulowayi extended his unbeaten record to 3-0 (1 KO) through a comprehensive 40-36 triumph over Ighor Mihaljevic.
“Big Jack” launched clever body shots but did not appear to have the Croatian in any serious trouble over the four-round distance.
Debutants Conroy Downer, Yaser Al Ghena and Brandon Ball all secured convincing points victories over four rounds, as they eased their way into the professional ranks.
Bedford cruiserweight Downer outclassed opponent Toni Bilic, whilst Rochester’s light heavyweight Ball made light work of substitute opponent Jules Phillips.
Exciting London-based Ghanaian welterweight Al Ghena showed glimpses of excellent ring generalship against awkward journeyman Kevin McCauley.
Ilford-based bantamweight Prince Brady’s professional career started in horrific fashion, as he was dropped by his opponent Eduard Bjorkland inside the opening ten seconds of the first round.
Brady beat the count and weathered the storm before clinching a tight 38-37 win over four, a victory that no doubt he will learn from.
Shoreham’s unbeaten super-lightweight Marcus Eaton recorded a fourth-round stoppage win over Radoslav Mitev, after a vicious left hook began the onslaught of punches that forced the referee to intervene.
Jumanne Camero, the switch-hitting lightweight hailing from Mitcham, was too good for Chris Adaway, claiming a 40-36 points win.
Newham’s Ryan Walker recorded his fifth straight win, winning a four-round featherweight points decision win over Jamie Speight, who did not pose much threat for Walker and was on the backfoot for the duration.
20-year-old super-welterweight Ricky Heavens narrowly defeated Sylwester Walczak 39-38, in what can only be described as a scrappy affair, with the Hayes man being tied up in clinches for the majority of the contest.
Tonbridge fan favourite Lewis Syrett secured his third straight win, beating Victor Edagha 39-37 points.
Although Edagha has not yet won a professional fight, he posed Syrett some problems, launching awkward swinging punches from low down.
Hammersmith light-heavyweight Dana Zaxo entered the professional ranks with a bang, securing a big first-round stoppage against Justin Johnson.