Terence Wilkinson restored normal service when he made it eight wins from eight on Saturday night’s Bad Blood show in Newcastle.
The Walker light-welterweight got dragged into a scrap down the road at the Newcastle Eagles Arena three Saturdays ago, but this time there were no such issues, outpointing Daryl Pearce.
Lewis Ritson’s old Forest Hall comrade (pictured left) boxed superbly, much cleaner and sharper than his last outing on the MTK.
The Davy Ritson-trained let both hands go against his opponent, from Birmingham, who was left battered and bruised.
Referee Ron Kearney awarded him all four rounds from his ringside stool, with Kevin Weaver handling the bout inside the ropes.
Like ‘Wilka’, April Hunter was also in action early doors, when she made a perfect start to her professional career.
The 24-year-old made her debut at the Utilita Arena where she defeated Borislava Goranova over four rounds.
Newcastle’s first female professional for almost two decades, she was presented with an appearance on the city’s biggest night of 2019 and did not disappoint.
Managed by Phil Jeffries and coached by Nik Gittus, the former Howdon ABC star started well against the boxer from Sofia, who is a former Savannah Marshall opponent.
A long right to the head and a left hook to the body hurt Goranova in the third and the visitor was forced to hang on, literally, in the last. Mr Kearney scored it 40-36.
April’s Wallsend Boxing Academy team-mate, Joe Laws, registered his eighth victory as a pro in his toughest bout to date.
Matched with Justice Addy, he was up against the Ghana welterweight champion who came into the contest with all but two of his 16 wins coming inside the distance and possessing a significant reach advantage.
The Benwell Bomber decided attack was the best form of defence but the African scored nicely on the back foot in the opener.
Laws found the mark in the second with a hammer right to Justice’s head though his opponent looked untroubled but it was a different story at the end when he was wobbled.
More ‘bombs’ followed in the last two from Laws whose explosive approach had the fans going wild and had Addy holding on Mr Kearney scored it 39-37.
For the second October in a row Darren Reay had the misfortune of closing the show at the Utilita Arena.
Twelve months ago, the Bedlington boxer blitzed Samuil Dimitrov in the first round but this time his overseas visitor, Eduardo Valverde, not only took him all the way, but nicked a draw to boot.
Given the participants of this ‘floater’ had to wait until after the main event and entered the ring just before midnight, it says much about their professionalism, dedication and desire that they produced one of the most competitive contests of the evening.
It was lively stuff from first to last, with both boxers going at it hammer and tong and it was hard to argue with judge Mr Kearney’s verdict, neither man deserved to lose. It ended 38-38 with Reay’s unbeaten record extending to eight fights.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: Jennifer Charlton
