Tony Jeffries vs Artem Solomko
TONY Jeffries won his fourth pro fight on a packed night of boxing in Sunderland.
Before the Mighty Mackem took to the ring, class told as Jason Booth spoiled Michael Hunter's comeback dream at the Seaburn Centre on Friday night.
The Hartlepool super-bantamweight was competing in his first title fight in a three-year period which saw him retire from boxing, then change his mind.
But Hunter found the skills of British champion Jason Booth too good for him and did not leave his stool for the sixth round.
The 31-year-old made a promising start, twice pinning Booth against the ropes in the first round. But it would be the last he won as the champion began to take control.
In the early stages at least, Booth threw less punches but landed more, peppering the taller man's head. And as the contest wore on its was clear Hunter had neither the fitness nor the ability to live with his opponent.
Trainer Neil Fannon asked his man at the end of his fourth whether he wanted to continue and although Hunter did, he would only last another three minutes.
Tony Jeffries made it four wins out of four as a professional but, watched by Sunderland Football Club chairman Niall Quinn, he was made to work hard for it.
The "Mighty Mackem" defeated Artem Solonko 60-54 and while there was little doubt Jeffries deserved the victory, he showed there are still plenty of rough edges to be smoothed in what is still the early days of life in the paid ranks for him.
The Beolrussian champion was comfortably the most durable opponent Jeffries had faced in a professional career which had until last night stretched to just 537 seconds spread over three fights. And Solomko was not just there to be a punchbag as he showed with a feisty start in which he landed a couple of body shots.
But as in the previous fight, the underdog was unable to build any momentum. He was saved by the bell as Jeffries moved in for the kill and the Journallive blogger ended each of the first three rounds impressively despite the odd ragged moments earlier on.
Solomko was wobbling in the fifth when Jeffries caught him with a chopping left which was by no means his biggest punch of the night, but the effect of the punishment he had been taking left his opponent leaning on the Sunderland man's corner for a second or two.
Despite throwing half the number of punches, and being badly cut around his right eye Solomko showed stickability to see the fight out and make Jeffries claim his first points victory as a proffesional.
Hunter was the first local fighter to lose on tonight's card. Birtley's Travis Dickinson recorded the fastest win of the night, taking just 40 seconds to dispose of Steffen Hughes. His brother Jon-Lewis beat Martyn Grainger 40-37 on points.
Sunderland's Paul Holborn had to be content with a 76-76 draw with Ben Murphy, while there were wins for John Watson and debutant Kirk Goodings.
Olympic bronze medalist David Price from Liverpool won his second professional heavyweight contest when his opponent, German Liridon Memenshi failed to leave his stool after the second round.
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