Ringside Report: Bakole vs Hunter

Ringside Report: Bakole vs Hunter

By Henry Walter 

Talented heavyweight contender Michael “The Bounty” Hunter moved to 15-1 (10 KOs) yesterday evening with the biggest win of his career over the previously undefeated Martin Bakole, now 11-1 (8 KOs).

Hunter triumphed in a brilliant and captivating contest that saw both fighters put everything they had into the fight.

As the fight began the size difference between the two was very apparent and Bakole seemed to tower over the smaller Hunter.

Hunter began the fight confidently in front of the U.K. crowd and Channel Five’s TV cameras. The Los Angeles native did enough to take a close first round with his fast right hand.

Bakole came back strongly in the second and his shots seemed to carry more power than Hunter’s. The fight quickly developed into a battle of Hunter’s fast right hand vs Bakole’s hurtful jab.

By the mid way point of the fight Hunter seemed to be taking over. His speed and skill were bothering Bakole who was missing with many of his own punches. However whenever Bakole did land his punches, they clearly effected the smaller Hunter, who was giving away some three stone in weight. There was always the feeling that one Bakole right hand could change the course of the fight. One hard right hand he landed in the fourth certainly got Hunter’s attention but his chin held up well.

A hard-fought seventh round saw Hunter come out throwing hard combos that backed Bakole up but Bakole came on stronger in the second half of the round, though the round still belonged to Hunter.

In the eighth a Bakole left hook cut Hunter above the eye and he seemed bothered by the cut, continuously pawing at it as the round progressed. Bakole’s power was clearly beginning to trouble him and a look of concern came over the American’s face.

Between the eight and the ninth rounds Bakole seemed to be informing his corner that he’d injured his right shoulder. As the ninth started it was apparent that he did indeed have an injury and he dangled the arm awkwardly. Hunter dominated the round, bringing his own jab into play and outboxing the bigger man.

In the tenth Bakole’s shoulder looked less stiff and he started the round better. Hunter soon took over though and a brilliant sustained barrage of hard and hurtful punches saw the fight stopped with Bakole virtually out on his feet.

I had the fight scored six rounds to three in Hunter’s favour at the time of the stoppage.

It was a brilliant display and the win sees Hunter advance to the outskirts of the upper tier of the division. It will be very interesting to see what he does next.

In the fight before the main event southpaw welterweight Aaron Collins stuck to the basics to move to 4-0 (0 KOs) with a win over journeyman Dylan Draper.

The last of the main undercard fights saw “The Gentleman” Chris Billam-Smith defeat Robin Dupre when the latter retired after five rounds. Dupre has a sloppy but effective style and Billam-Smith took a few rounds to figure him out but his superior strength and power were too much for Dupre in this cruiserweight Commonwealth title eliminator.

Lee McGregor won the Commonwealth bantamweight championship by wearing down a very game Thomas Essomba. Essomba came to fight and even managed a flash knockdown of McGregor in the fourth. However McGregor’s superior boxing skill and fast hands allowed him to force the stoppage in the twelfth, though he was very lucky to get away with two late hooks when Essomba was already grounded.

The result sees McGregor take the title in just his fifth fight (all five wins by KO) and the twenty-one year old Scotsman with be one to watch for the future.

The IBO Lightweight and WBC Silver Lightweight Championship belts were contested on the card when reigning champion Chantelle Cameron defeated Mexico’s Jessica Gonzalez over ten rounds.

The fight was quite scrappy and both allowed their work to get untidy with both also guilty of hitting and holding. Gonzalez took a lot of punishment throughout and was cut in the second. Her corner did a decent job of stemming the bleeding but she lost round after round due to Cameron’s better technique.

Cameron’s ring generalship and fierce attacks allowed her to control the fight and she won every round on route to a unanimous decision victory.

Kent Middleweight Grant Dennis earned his second career KO to move to 12-1 with a vicious right hand that put the usually durable Harry Matthews down hard in the first, causing the fight to waved off.

Louis Adolphe continued his comeback from a shock disqualification loss last year with a decent points win over William Warburton.

Jack Hillier maintained the impressive start he has made to his pro career by stopping Kamil Jaworek