In an absorbing 10 round contest at Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, Middleton’s Liam Taylor erased the only blemish on his pro record, as he took a split decision win over the former British Champion Tyrone Nurse.
Billed as an Eliminator for the British Welterweight Title, Taylor later revealed that the Eliminator status was the last thing on his mind pre-fight and that the only motivation he needed was to overturn the result of their clash 3 ½ years ago.
Asked if revenge was sweet, he promptly replied, ‘Oh it’s the sweetest thing ever, if I fight for the British Title next then I’ll be buzzing, but if it’s another Eliminator then I’ll take it as that’s my British Title chase, whereas this was just for revenge.”
Despite the judges being split, Taylor felt that he had dominated the contest and he although it was a competitive fight, for the majority of ringsiders Liam was up by a couple of rounds and could have expected a unanimous decision.
Nonetheless the verdict was correct and Liam Taylor deservedly moves on to a possible British Title shot.
An undercard stacked with VIP’s local prospects provided a quality evening’s entertainment. Pick of the rest was likely the fast progressing Kane Gardner, who scored a 5th round stoppage over Plymouth’s game Chris Adaway.
The stoppage was perhaps premature, as Gardner later took to twitter to confirm, however by the time of the intervention he had started to up the pace, putting together some slick combinations and letting his hands go at will.
Salford’s Luke Evans improved to 9 -0, with a punch perfect display in his 3rd 6 rounder and he will be excited by what 2019 holds in store. Stablemate at the Hatton Gym and also trained by Blain Younis – Stretford’s Bradley Rea bagged his 2nd pro win, with an accomplished performance against his Lithuanian opponent. With a fast start in front of his lively fanbase, it looked like a stoppage was on the cards in the 1st, however he had to be content with a shutout victory over 4 rounds.
The UK’s first diabetic boxer, Rochdale’s Muhammad Ali made his 2nd appearance in a pro ring, cruising to a comfortable points victory and setting up his 3rd outing before the end of the year. After a 3 year battle with the BBBOC to get his licence granted, he is keen to make up for lost time in the ring.
Completing the card in 4 rounders were Oldham’s Joe Eko and Liverpool’s former ABA Champion Adam Farrell.
Eko displayed his crowd pleasing style, as he improved to 5 – 0, his first under new trainer Kelvin Travis, as he warmed up for his step to 6 rounds in December when he faces Adam Ridge in a mouthwatering clash of unbeaten VIP prospects.
Farrell meanwhile, was happy to get 4 rounds under his belt after 4 years out of the ring and will no doubt improve the more ring time he gets. With that in mind he is keen to get out again before the end of 2018
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