Review - York Hall 16th July

It was bombs away from the opening bell at a sweltering York Hall on Saturday night as Canning Town's Wadi Camaco clashed with Portsmouth's Danny Couzens for the Southern Area Cruiserweight title. Fighting from a Southpaw stance, Camacho looked to land big left hooks and was successful in both of the opening two rounds. It looked as though Couzens would be overwhelmed but he rallied and landed some telling shots of his own in the 3rd. Wadi landed an eye catching three punch combination in the 4th but Danny wore it well and fired back bravely. Camacho began to walk his man down in the 5th and started really loading up in the 6th, trapping Couzens in a corner and pouring it on towards the end of the round. Couzens was in trouble and the referee had a long look but he made it to the end of the round. His corner felt he'd taken enough though and sensibly pulled him out. A useful stoppage win for the crowd pleasing Camacho who moves to 16-5 (10). I asked him after the fight what was next, and without a moment's pause he boomed “Stephen Simmons! I want the Cookie Monster!”

Earlier on in the evening Hackney Zambian Matthew Chanda was made to work hard for a 60-55 decision victory over York's Luke Fash at Super bantamweight in a six rounder. Both fighters relished the shoe-shining tear up but it was Chanda's superior footwork and industry that shone brightest. The pair went toe to toe throughout but Chanda scored with the more meaningful punches and then spun away before shipping too much himself. Hooks upstairs and down were Chanda's most successful shots but he also scored with plenty of jabs against the taller man. Both landed plenty but Chanda's wide decision win was well earned. Afterwards, Southern Area champ Chanda said “I wasn't happy really. I felt sluggish at times and couldn't execute the way I wanted to.” I asked his trainer Steve Kipps about future opposition and he responded “We're not sure. There's some talk of Josh Kennedy or Lucien Reid but it's awaiting game at this point.”

Potential Chanda opponent Josh Kennedy won a bizarre fight against Krzysztof Rogowski with a 3rd round DQ. The rangy Kennedy had the bulk of the success landing some big right hands but it was an ugly fight with Kennedy wrestling the awkward Rogowski to the deck twice in the first two rounds. However, Rogowski retaliated by pulling Kennedy onto the floor with a headlock which was undoubtedly dangerous and resulted in a disqualification. That move is a sin bin offence in rugby, never mind under the Marquis of Queensberry rules at the home of boxing.

Margate's Jack Morris scored a last round stoppage win over Kelvin Young at light heavy in a scheduled 10 rounder. Morris always landed the more bigger shots but Young was always in the fight and scored regularly as well. Morris; heavier hands were the difference in the end, halting Young in the 10th.

These are the highlights of a monster 18 fight card put on by Goodwin promotions. The show started at 3pm and went on well into the night. Competitive fights, a good atmosphere and plenty of crowd pleasing action at York Hall. Those who missed out on Brook v GGG tickets would do well to consider these grass roots shows that always deliver.