Eggington vs Skeete - Review
- britishboxingblog
- Mar 6, 2016
- 3 min read
Our first Matchroom (press) experience took place this weekend. And we couldn’t have picked a better card. We were both present at the organisations PPV offering last weekend and while we enjoyed it, the main event came in for a lot of criticism for those who’d paid money expecting an all out war (It’s almost as though you pay for a boxing PPV card without actually knowing how it will turn out, funny concept).
This week’s event must have pleased even the most critical of viewers. The televised action was exactly that. Action. Those live in the Genting Arena, Birmingham got to witness some cracking contests and some very impressive prospect performances. Several Midlands Area titles were contested, which adds to the occasion for those involved and the Yafai brothers arguably stole the show with their spectacular stoppage victories. However performance of the night for me went to the new British and Commonwealth Welterweight champion, Penge’s Bradley Skeete.
The Frank Warren promoted fighter took a calculated risk fighting as the away man on a rival show. Especially as he is not renowned for one punch knockout power. However he needn’t have worried. And it would appear he didn’t worry one bit! From his entrance, to the opening bell and beyond, the Londoner looked very relaxed and fluid. Eggington on the other hand, while not as tentative as Scott Quigg last weekend, struggled to land with any great regularity. He worked tremendously hard to cut off the ring but Skeete continued to prove elusive.
This was a pattern that we would see throughout the majority of the twelve rounds. I unofficially scored the bout 9 rounds to 3 in favour of Skeete, reflected in the 117-112 scorecard. The others of 116-113 and 115-113 were a lot closer than they should have been but the right man won via unanimous decision. Bradley Skeete now has a lot of options in the domestic 147 division, with previous conqueror Frankie Gavin in attendance, it will be fascinating to see if a rematch is on the cards. Eggington however is young enough, and good enough, to come again. Skeete is an accomplished boxer and there is no shame in his performance. He gave it his all and should hold his head high.
It is easy to group the Yafai brothers, Kal and Gamal together, as I did earlier on. However they deserve massive individual credit. Kal absolutely destroyed Nicaraguan Dixon Flores. He said after the first round blowout that he had watched tapes of his opponent and expected a tougher night. It took about fifteen seconds before Yafai scored a heavy knockdown. Flores gamely got back to his feet but appeared to have the will to win knocked out of him. A stunning left hook to the body left Flores writhing and rolling in agony on the canvas. Yafai moves to 19-0 with 13 inside the distance, and also gets within touching distance of a WBA World title shot.
New WBA International Champion Kal Yafai - Image courtesy of Phil Sharkey
Gamal looked dominant in a seventh round stoppage of now former Commonwealth champion Bobby “Dazzler” Jenkinson. He looked very heavy handed through the contest and delivered a beautiful left right combination which left Jenkinson on his back at the very end of the sixth. He managed to make it back to his corner but that was about it. Gamal came out like a man possessed and pounded away at the champion until the ref waved it off. Many at ringside felt he could have done this a lot earlier or Jenkinson’s corner could’ve saved their man from unnecessary punishment. What made this performance even more impressive was the fact it was only Yafai’s ninth pro bout.
Gamal Yafai during his Commonwealth Super-Bantamweight win - Image courtesy of Phil Sharkey
Marcus Ffrench scored a stunning first round KO of Michael Rooney to take the vacant Midlands Area Lightweight title. A short right hook floored Rooney who made it back to his feet but wobbled wildy, meaning the stoppage was inevitable.
Ryan Kelly also looked sharp, comfortably winning on points against Lewis van Poetsch. Former Prizefighter finalist Cello Renda, Luke Keeler and Charlie Williams also went the distance in getting the nod in their respective bouts.
Jordan Cooke, Zach Parker and Jake Ball didn’t quite take as long and stopped their opponents. The latter once again looked particularly impressive moving to 3-0.
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