Tommy Ward has no date yet and has a pound or 13 to shed, but he’s looking ready for his re-match with Jazza Dickens.
The British champion clinched win number 23 and his third stoppage victory in his last five outings with a fifth-round TKO of Lesther Cantillano at Houghton.
Ward was excellence personified against the resilient Nicaraguan, who was handed a boxing lesson by the unbeaten 23-year-old.
Whatever the Spanish word is for non-plussed, that was the look on Cantillano’s face after referee Graeme Williams called a halt at two minutes, five seconds of the fifth round at Rainton Meadows Arena.
However, Cantillano had taken a lot of unanswered shots, prompting the Billingham official to say ’that’s enough’.
Ward is scheduled to meet Dickens before the end of May, in a show Frank Warren will promote.
It promises to be some match, given the way the Neil Fannan and Dave Garside boxer performed against Cantillano.
Fannan told punch-lines: “It was a good work-out.
“I was surprised by the difference in power.
“Looking at Tommy’s record, people have him down as a non-puncher but he showed his power and had him down in the third round.
“It was a really good performance, the fight was just what we wanted.
“Cantillano has been in with some half-decent boxers, he’s the only man to take Joe Cordina the distance.
“If Tommy can stop him then we might have t change his name from too-sharp to too-hard!
“Seriously, it was a perfect night, it ticked all the boxes.”
Ward’s left to the body was a feature of the first round and in the second he could not miss to head and body.
Four punches from Cantillano landed but Tommy ended the session with two left hooks, one to the body and one to the head.
The NE Securities-sponsored boxer put his opponent down with a third round combination, only fore Mr Williams to rule no knock-down.
Ward really picked up the pace, connecting at will in the fourth, an attack he carried into the fifth until Mr Williams ended matters.
Words: Roy Kelly
