Tommy Owens Promotions (4/5/19)
Tommy Owens Promotions held there latest show (May the 4th be with you) at the Holte suite Villa park (4/5/19). There were six bouts of boxing on the show with four of them being over 4 three minute rounds. Starting the show in the home corner we had Tion Gibbs who is unbeaten in 5 fights, next up there was Jack O'Keeffe, Ellis Blake and Sean Daly who were all unbeaten heading into this show. Doing his first six rounder was Shabaz Masoud who is unbeaten in 4 fights and headlining the show was Raza Hamza having his first 8 rounder who was also unbeaten in 13 contests. With David Nikolich comparing, Shaun Messer refereeing and the stunning Genna Bell from C.P. Agency doing the ring cards the night was set for a great night of boxing.
Fight 1 Tion Gibbs v Lee Hallett 10.6 4x3 10.4 Welterweight
Good steady first round with Gibbs warming into the fight winning the first round with the better work rate. In the second Gibbs worked well behind his jab and was looking to time Hallett with a right hand when he dipped in his southpaw stance. Hallett moved well to avoid this but did get caught a few times with this shot. Gibbs upped his work rate in the third and continued to control the ring, Hallett was moving well to avoid a lot of the shots but it was Gibbs round. Gibbs had got his timing right in the final round catching his opponent with some nice right hands, Hallett made him work for the whole of the round with Gibbs winning with ease.
Results Dexter - 40-36 Ref – 40-36 Gibbs wins on points
Fight 2 Jack O’Keeffe v Ibrar Riyaz 10.1 4x3 10.3 Welterweight
The first round was totally controlled by O’Keeffe, Riyaz could only cover up as “no beef" went to work with combinations to the body and head. In the second O'Keeffe kept the pressure on with some nice combinations going head and body, Riyaz made a fight of it but O’Keefe was in control. O’Keeffe kept his high work rate up in the third and really started getting though with his shots. Riyaz could only cover up and hold on to see the round out. A good final round by O’Keeffe who stayed in control and got some nice combinations off to make this “no beef" for O’Keeffe.
Results Dexter – 40-36 Ref - 40-36 O’Keeffe wins on points
Fight 3 Ellis Blake v Michael William’s 10.2 4x3 10.6 Welterweight
Blake started fast and fired in some cracking combinations working the head and body with great shot selection. In the second Blake picked his shots well in the second as Williams started banging in some good shots. Blake moved well and got good shots of his own off to get a share of the round. Williams started the third round strong and caught Blake with some heavy shots, Blake took them well and returned fire with his own accidentally hitting Williams low. Blake came back strong in the second part of the round but Williams nicked the round. Blake got on his toes in the final all round and started popping shots out and moving well, Williams continued to try and drag Blake into a brawl but Blake boxed clever to win the round and the fight.
Results Dexter - 39-38 Ref – 40-37 Blake wins on points
Fight 4 Sean Daly v Richard Samuel 10.10 4x3 10.10 Super Welterweight
Daly used his jab well as he moved around the ring in the first using his range well shooting out some nice combinations, Daly did get caught a few times when he stayed in close for to long. Daly continued to use his jab well in the second keeping it long with good combinations, near the end of the round he did stay on the inside which lead to a tare up.
It wouldn’t be a Sean Daly fight without a third round tare up, Daly went to war with Samuels as he went toe to toe. Daly came out on top winning the round but took some unessacery shots. Great final round with Daly going toe to toe with Samuels again, Daly won the round but credit to Samuels who banged in some good shots.
Results Dexter - 40-36 Ref - 40-37 Daly wins on points.
Fight 5 Shabaz Masoud v Brayan Mairena 9.1 6x3 813 Super Featherweight
Masoud picked his shots well as he switched hit and moved a round the ring well. Masoud got some eye catching shots off while Mairena chased him around the ring. Masoud again picked his shots well in the second getting some cracking combinations off as he moved a round the ring well. Masoud controlled the third round with great shot selection, fast hands and great movement. The forth was another round controlled by Mosond, Mairena had no answer for his movement and switch hitting. Mosoud really started banging in some heavy shots in the fifth with Mairena showing great heart to keep pushing forward and pressing Mosoud. In the final round Masoud again banged in some eye catching heavy shots as he tried to get Mairena out of there. Mairena showed loads of bottle taking everything Masoud had to offer and saw the final bell.
Result Dexter - 60-54 Ref - 60-54 Masoud wins on points
Fight 6 Raza Hamza v Elvis Guillen 9 8x3 8.13 Featherweight
Hamza controlled the first round from the start to finish banging in some cracking combinations putting Guillen down near the end of the round with a good combination, Guillen got up and the bell rang to end the round. Hamza started the second round well and looked like he may make it an early night banging in some heavy shots. But Elvis had not left the building yet as Guillen came back with some heavy overhand rights which made Hamza a bit more cautious, but he still finished the round strong. In the third is was all Hamza as he got behind his jab and banged in some nice combinations. The fourth was another good round controlled by Hamza with
nice combinations and great shot picking, he did get a wake up call when Guillen caught him with a another overhand right but he took it well and won the round with ease. Hamza was controlling the fifth round and the fight but you had to give Guillen credit as he had taken some good shots and was still looking for that big over hand right. The sixth again was controlled by Hamza, but ref Shaun Messer took a point off him for continuously hitting low. As the pace slowed in the seventh Hamza started getting some nice one, twos off as he moved around the ring well and controlled the round. Hamza finished the final round strong banging in some cracking combinations in but could not get Guillen out who saw the final bell.
Result Dexter 79 – 71 Ref – 79 – 71 Hamza wins on points
Dexter’s Thoughts Great night of boxing with six unbeaten fighters keeping there unbeaten records. It was great seeing Tion Gibbs back in the ring, he had a steady start to his fight but when he got his timing right he looked the quality boxer we all know he is. I’m looking forward to seeing him in the ring more often this year. There was “no beef" for the vegan Jack O’Keeffe who cruised to victory against a tricky opponent in Riyaz. O'Keeffe got some quality shots off tonight and really showed that he should get a crack at a Midlands title. Ellis Blake continued his unbeaten start to his career and had to dig deep a few times in this fight as Williams really put the pressure on. Blake dealt with it well and showed great movement and shot selection to come out on top. The Sean Daly fight was a very entertaining one, Daly controlled the first two rounds with some nice tidy boxing keeping his opponent on the end of his jab. But it wouldn’t be a Sean Daly fight with out a tare up and round 3 and 4 were just that. Daly is a talented boxer and does not mind a tare up, but as he moves up the ranks he should try and rely more on his boxing skills as anyone can get caught out in a tare up. Shabaz Masoud looked good in his first six rounder, he has got a very Naseem Hamed like style which he used well against Mairena. He could well have an exciting future ahead of him, but will this style work when he starts moving up the ranks? It will be exciting to see if Masoud can do this at the higher levels. Raza Hamza looked really good in his first eight rounder, you had to give Guillen credit for getting to the end of the fight with some of the shot he was caught with. Hamza has had 14 fights winning 13 with one draw, he must be in line for a crack at the Midlands title. From what I saw tonight he would be in with a shout of claiming his first title. On a personal note I would like to thank all the people who brought a copy of the bbcolumn magazine at the show, many thanks for you support. I would also like to thank all at Tommy Owens Promotions for letting me sell the magazine there and for sponsoring the website for another year.