Ringside Report: JD NXTGEN at the York Hall

Ringside Report: JD NXTGEN at the York Hall

By Jonny Duggan

York Hall is one of the great historical places to watch boxing, steeped in memories, ‘The Home of British Boxing’ did not disappoint.

A card which many had ridiculed turned out to be a good one with some close fights and some stoppages to please the crowd even further.

Bellotti v Bendana

First up at just before six o’clock was Reece Bellotti against Josue Bendana in the featherweight division. Bellotti’s last outing was against Ryan Walsh in which he lost in a British title fight. Bellotti looked sharp early on, landing a nice left hook in the first round. He continued to build on his early success, landing the better shots before finally stopping his opponent with a body shot that sent Bendana to the canvas. The featherweight training out of Barcelona did little to beat the count.

Frankham v Krauklis

The lightweight contest between Charles Frankham and Ilgvars Krauklis lasted less time than the actual ring walks, with not much to review here. Frankham put the Latvian under pressure instantly, landing a glancing straight right to the top of Krauklis’ head. The Latvian went down, taking a knee and never really trying to beat the count.

Whilst Frankham looks impressive, we won’t know just how good this prospect is until we can see how he responds to more skilful fighters.

Courtenay v Sepetovska

The cameras were now rolling live on Sky Sports and the atmosphere was starting to build in East London as Shannon Courtenay and Valerija Sepetovska made their way to the ring. The challenger from Latvia walked first, having only taken the fight on twenty-four hours’ notice, looking nervous as she stepped through the ropes.

Following Sepetovska’s ring walk was Shannon Courtenay, who looked calm and relaxed as she smiled her way to the ring. A juxtaposition to say the least! Sepetovska looked like a rabbit caught in headlights from the first bell, as Courtenay landed shots at will, dropping her opponent in the first round. Courtenay came out with spite in her punches in the second round, forcing the ref to step in to save the Latvian from a pummelling.

A horrible mismatch that highlights the gulf in class between the elite female fighters and everybody else.

Richards v Sterling

The hotly anticipated grudge match between Craig Richards and Andre Sterling was up next. The fight had been building on social media this week and both fighters sets of fans were very vocal as they made their way to the ring. York Hall was now a cauldron of electricity as the crowd waited for the referee to give his final instructions to both men. The opening round was cagey, as the wide eyed, more compact Sterling seemed hesitant to throw any combinations as he seemed concerned about being caught on the way in by Richards powerful backhand. Sterling seemed to use up a lot of mental energy in the early rounds, concentrating on not putting a foot wrong and winning the opening rounds.

Richards seemed out of sorts early on as the fight got messier and messier. Then the fight sprung into life in the middle rounds, with both fighters landing clean shots – the pick of which were three overhand rights in succession from Richards who dropped his opponent heavily in the sixth. That was the turning point, Richards now looking comfortable as we headed into the championship rounds. Sterling hadn’t boxed past ten rounds previously and it showed, as he endured a punishing last two rounds to see Richards win on points.

Cheeseman v Conway

Probably the biggest talking point of the night was the super welterweight British title clash between Ted Cheeseman and Kieron Conway. Cheeseman showed his experience of these nights early on as he put Conway under pressure from the first bell, walking the Northampton man down at any opportunity.

Conway seemed to quickly adapt to the style of Cheeseman, quite the opposite of his own style as the more technical, longer boxer. Conway seemed to get better as the fight went into the middle rounds, with Cheeseman looking very one dimensional as a fighter throughout. Both men showed great heart and some great inside work, Cheeseman definitely the aggressor throughout.

Conway seemingly did the cleaner work of the two fighters as the fight progressed. Cheeseman’s constant pressure showed what a fantastic engine he has for the twelve rounders. That being said, Conway has not been into the later rounds and with only three weeks’ notice, gave a fantastic account of himself. The fight drew to a close with both men having their moments in a tough, gruelling match up.

At ringside, some journalists had Cheeseman a round up, others Conway a round up. The judges scored the fight a draw, much to the annoyance of Ted Cheeseman.

Otha Jones III v Michael Horabin

The young American, Otha Jones III then faced Michael Horabin in a super-featherweight clash as the crowd waited patiently for the main event. Jones III certainly announced himself to the UK fans with a brutal assault on Horabin, who looked like he did not belong in the same ring as Jones III.

The twenty-one times national champion landed a body shot which left Horabin on his knees, looking over to his corner as if to ask, “what was that?!”. The fight could’ve been stopped then, but the referee allowed the fight to continue into the second, then waving the fight off as Horabin took more punishment from the American. Another mismatch but Otha Jones III looks a special talent and performed an audacious backflip to celebrate.

Main Event: Conor Benn v Jussi Koivula

The familiar chimes of father Nigel’s ring walk rang out around York Hall as ‘The Destroyer’ made his way to the ring. The fight started at a blistering pace, with Koivula landing a clean shot with the first punch of the contest thrown.

A year ago, Benn may well have lost this contest, as the fight resembled the famous Benn v Peynaud fight, another great night at The Hall. Koivula tried to ‘old man’ his opponent as the far more experienced man threw Benn around the ring briefly.

Benn stayed composed and chose when to trade leather, hurting the Finnish fighter and dropping him twice before the referee stepped in to call a holt to the contest in the second round.

An enjoyable night of boxing overall, one or two cases of poor matchmaking but the other fights more than made up for that. Otha Jones III and Kieron Conway are two who impressed me on the night and definitely two to watch out for in the rest of 2019 and beyond.