Northern Area title fights do not come along very often so enjoy every second of Friday the 13th’s fright night at Rainton Meadows Arena.
Two of the North-East’s brightest young talents will contest a famous old belt at welterweight at the Houghton venue – Darlington’s Ellis Corrie and Tom Hill, the Peterlee-trained Redcar boxer.
It is the first Northern Area championship bout in almost exactly two years since Chrissy Wood and Jamie Humble fought out a 95-95 draw at the Dolphin Centre.
Absolutely nothing separated those two super-bantamweights on referee Kenny Pringle’s card that December night in Darlo, and you get the sense Friday’s match up at 147lbs has a similar feel.
That is not fence-sitting – it’s just a common sense look at a fascinating showdown.
Hill, part of the David Binns stable at East Durham College, you might say, on paper at least, is ahead of his rival after eight wins out of eight, two inside the distance.
‘One Bomb’ is looking the part too, impressing greatly in the win over Jordan Grannum in Newcastle in September.
The 23-year-old is up in terms of numbers but dismissing Corrie because his log stands at 3-1-1 would be utter folly.
Ellis has made a seamless transition from the Muay Thai arena to Marquess of Queensberry rules, where he has won three times in impressive fashion.
However, it is the two bouts he has not won which are probably of greater relevance.
The 22-year-old has taken on two ‘live’ engagements against undefeated boxers, a defeat at Welsh prospect Maredudd Thomas in Ebbw Vale, plus a journey to Bracknell, where he drew with George Lamport, ending his 100 per cent record.
Corrie could, on another day and location, taken wins from both away days so he has proved he is not shy on taking on a challenge.
Managed by Steve Wraith and trained by Pete Shepperson, he has proven he can perform in a pressure situation, so don’t be fooled in judging Corrie by numbers.
It looks too close to call, so punch-lines will sit on the fence.
Corrie-Hill is one of nine contests, with Alex Farrell, April Hunter, Rob Ismay, Joe Maphosa, Jeff Nesham, Anth Ornsby, Mark Taylor and Michael Webster all in action.
Tickets are available on the door at Rainton Meadows Arena.
Words: Roy Kelly
