Ringside Report: Jez Smith vs Samuel Antwi

Ringside Report: Jez Smith vs Samuel Antwi

By Oliver McManus 

British Warriors kicked off their 2019 promotional adventures at York Hall this Saturday with a nine fight card packed with entertainment. Topped by Jez Smith vs Samuel Antwi for the vacant Southern Area Welterweight title, Mo Prior began the year with a bang.

Here’s our fight by fight review –

Jez Smith vs Samuel Antwi – vacant Southern Area Welterweight title

Eight months on from when Jez Smith was originally slated to fight for the Southern Area title, against (champion of the time) Louis Greene – the Harrow fighter finally got his shot and was up against, well-travelled, Samuel Antwi.

The away fighter entered the ring with a lions mask covering his face but it was Smith who had the crowd on their feet, roaring. The tempo at which the fight would be fought became abundantly obvious within the space of a minute with a few jabs by way of good manners before Antwi landed with a counter hook to spur Smith on. He returned fire with a right hook that wobbled his opponent. Applying the pressure Smith dug down and relentlessly rallied at the ropes, punishing Antwi with swinging shots. The referee calling break was a momentary mercy for Antwi, Smith pinned him on the ropes and continued his pursuit of an early finish upon.

With an emphatic first round in the bag, Jez emerged with confidence and stood firm at the centre of the ring. Beginning to throw with real menace, we started to see looping uppercuts from a crouched position whilst he looked to set up a huge right hand. Antwi clawed back with a popping left jab in the face of his tormentor but it was the Harrow fighter who remained honed on his target.

The third round was quieter but only just. Again they engaged in the centre of the ring but this time it was Antwi who took up the charge. In the wake of such relentless aggression it was impressive to see Antwi still plugging away with a jab – not permanent but certainly more frequent than that of his counterpart.

A mellow round – if you could call it such – was followed up with even more action. Antwi was caught in the opening seconds of the fourth with his hands down low, Smith landing flush with an overhand right to leave Antwi in an uncomfortable position. Trying to fight on the inside it was Antwi who found success later on with a slamming shot to the liver of Smith that visibly took it out of him – sucking for air. The pre-fight favourite began to scamper around the ring as roles reversed and Antwi began to stalk his man. Beating up the body in a manner not too dissimilar to Eubank Jr’s gym-bag antics. Smith was hurt and Antwi knew it.

Remaining on the front foot in the fifth round despite pockets of aggression from Smith, the pair traded position on the ropes with both men leaving themselves open. Punishing overhand shots rained in from the pair as an absolute slugfest unfolded. The true definition of a phonebox fight, this was one rough and tough contest. A pattern emerged as we entered the second half of the bout that saw Jez starting off the stronger man before Sam finished each round on the front foot. Truth be told it was the older fighter – Antwi – who looked more gathered into the sixth round but both men took a breather, Antwi landed more consistently with not much being returned his way. Mitchell Smith ran round to the corner of his brother with a white towel held aloft – an apt moment of foreshadowing – but, alas, it was just to wipe sweat from his own furrowed brow.

The seventh saw both men finding pockets of success but repeated body shots were sapping the energy from Smith. His body now hunched over by the ropes, swiftly dropped to the canvas by another sumptuous shot to the liver. He got back on his feet but was met by sheer hell, gruelling body punches sent him back to the canvas on a further two occasions.

In need of a big round to get back into the contest it was Smith who started to swing in the eighth, fighting on guts and living up to the ‘British Warriors’ promotional name. The pain was etched on his face as the roar of Antwi’s legion erupted again with yet more sickening blows to the kidney. Punching to a postage stamp. Down Smith went with the air simply taken away from him, the towel came in and sensibly so because these guys would have kept slugging away until all evening. Phenomenal heart from Jez to not only absorb the punishment coming his way but to fire back in equal volume and aggression – you’d be surprised if he emerged without a cracked rib or two.

Samuel Antwi emerged the victor in a contest that bore no disgrace in losing – an early contender for Fight of the Year. Scintillating action but Antwi it was who claimed the Southern Area strap.

Jeff Ofori vs Jordan Ellison – Lightweight

Southern Area Champion against former Northern Area challenger, Ofori was originally scheduled to defend his title against Lucas Ballingall but in came Ellison for a challenging stay-busy bout. Both men traded the centre of the ring in what began as a jabbing contest, Ofori looked more composed and doubled up on his shots. The Tottenham man kept his fight wide and dictated the distance at which the bout was fought, he landed clean with some hooks to the cheek of Ellison.

A six round contest that saw Ofori relax into the bout, he fired in a couple of hooks that saw Ellison touch down with his right hand but there was no count. This seemed a catalyst for Ofori to increased the output and he marched forward with heavy hooks booming towards Ellison, landing with fluidity. 60-54 to Ofori who looks to defend his Southern Area title by the end of March.

Davis Pagan vs Liam Griffiths – Super Welterweight

The first fight back for Pagan since his surprise loss to Jan Balog in September last year, Liam Griffiths was about as safe an opponent as they come. Opening the night, the Basildon man showed no signs of shellshock as he applied pressure from the off. A heavy jab in the first caught his opponent off guard and Pagan continued to work well from behind the jab – Griffiths began to look sore as the contest went on but never in trouble. A relatively easy day at the office for Pagan who won by 40-36.

Celal Ozturk vs Gerome Warburton – Super Welterweight

Both these guys were making their debut but it was Ozturk who came into the bout as the favourite and designated home fighter. The southpaw entered to a cacophonous reaction whilst Warburton garnered the cheers of a mere handful. Ozturk, the first professional from Pedro’s A.B.C, made the better start and looked to throw erratic overhand combinations whilst Warburton remained unassuming.

The second round saw the gas tank lower for Ozturk; caught off-balance with an uppercut, he dropped to the canvas before regaining composure at the count of eight. A further flurry saw him kiss the paint once more, up at eight again only to be greeted with further unanswered shots to the head. Lee Every called a halt to the contest at 2:41 of the second round. Gerome Warburton with the second round TKO.

Louis Isaacs vs Rhys Saunders – Super Lightweight

Isaacs got the better of a game Rhys Saunders to move to five without defeat but kept us on the edge of our seats throughout. An impressive first round saw Isaacs lead with a purposeful jab but from thereon in he seemed afraid to revert to the basics of boxing. Heavily targeting the body, Isaacs began to plant his feet and found himself getting caught from the swinging Saunders. His jab became almost alien throughout rounds two to five as he allowed himself to get tied up in a brawl. A comfortable enough margin of victory, 59-55, but he won’t want more of these fights.

Mason Smith vs Naheem Chaudhry – Super Lightweight

Chaudhry was a late replacement opponent and sought to tie Smith up from the early stages. Having raced through his opening two contests with a lightning work-rate, the 22-year-old was taking his third bout in far more patient fashion. Loading up on the occasional big right hand, there was an element of boxing within his capabilities against an opponent never to have been knocked out, in 36 losses.

The third and fourth rounds saw the Finchley amateur begin to pressure Chaudhry, pushing him towards the ropes and battering away at the body. Frighteningly it seemed as though there were more gears for Mason to offer, he won by a margin of 40-36.

Ollie Pattison vs Harry Matthews – Super Middleweight

‘Punch Perfect Pattison’ returned to the ring for the first time in 14 months as he faced, former English title challenger, Harry Matthews. The unbeaten 29 year old worked through the motions and looked fresh in doing so. Matthews looked comfortable in the opposite corner but was frequently coming off second best with Pattison remaining on the front foot across the four rounds. Nothing flashy but a performance to shake off the cobwebs. 39-37 for Pattison.

Obi Egbunike vs Genadij Krajevskij – Middleweight

Having left me underwhelmed when making his professional debut – a rather repetitive, one-dimensional, four rounds against William Warburton – Egbunike certainly made amends in his second bout. The Egbunike family has fighting running through their veins and whilst Krajevskij looking to land some fire of his own, he looked scrambly in doing so. Egbunike navigated the circumference of the ring and proved the classier operator, feinting frequently with shuffling footwork.

As rounds progressed Egbunike looked to switch-hit, opting for a lighter yet more effective workload than his debut. He kept on circling the ring, picking punches off and refusing to fall into the bait of Krajevskij’s bursts of aggression. Level headed from the 25-year-old, 40-36.

Alex Ananivi vs Geiboord Omier – Middleweight

This contest had the unfortunate task of continuing the excitement from the main event – a contest that everyone was still captivated by. Ananivi, making his debut, did what was required as he boxed behind a series of one-two’s and whilst he came to the ring well supported it was hard to see anything other than glimpses off his ability. Perhaps a bit harsh as nothing was ever going to be an adequate follow-on fight from the title bout but this was, for me, a case of Ananivi getting the debut nerves out of his system. An easy win but nothing revealing. 40-36.

What a night. Writing this 24 hours later and I still can’t shake just how pure the main event was. It was boxing at its very simplest form. Two men just giving their all without asking for any quarter, all in the name of sport and entertainment. And what entertainment it was. Astonishing stuff from start to end and a pleasure to witness it.