Ringside Report: Francesca Hennessy Edges Ellie Bouttell in London

Ringside Report: Francesca Hennessy Edges Ellie Bouttell in London

Francesca Hennessy survived the toughest test of her young career on Saturday night when she beat Ellie Bouttell by a majority decision at the Copper Box Arena live on BBC Two.

It was a desperately close call for Hennessy, and the previously unbeaten Bouttell pushed her hard, and can consider herself more than a touch unlucky not come away with at least a draw. There was much doubt in the media section, and there must have been some nervousness in the Boxxer inner circle.

But Hennessy got the benefit of the doubt on the cards. One judge couldn’t split them at 95-95, but was overruled by scores of 97-93 and 96-94. I had it 6-4 in rounds to Hennessy, but I had little confidence in my tally. A lot of the rounds were incredibly hard to score. But for me, Hennessy just edged the majority of them. Just being the keyword.

Hennessy took the opening round clearly, but Bouttell looked confident and threatening. The 29-year-old looked physically the stronger fighter, and Hennessy had trouble keeping her off. From the 2nd round onwards, it became a back-and-forth battle. Hennessy had to dig deep. And she did.

Bouttell (7-1-1) had a really strong 5th, and you sensed the fight might be swinging her way. The 6th was close, Hennessy took the 7th, but she was being made to work extremely hard for any success. Bouttell never wavered and gave Hennessy all she could handle.

Hennessy praised her opponent after the decision had gone her way. Ever-growing maturity inside and outside of the ring. It was ten hard, competitive rounds that will serve her extremely well in the years to come. A good fight between two good fighters.

Ellie Bouttell deserves another big night on UK soil, and in truth, loses very little in defeat. She will come again.

Francesca Hennessy (8-0), in winning the final eliminator for the WBC world bantamweight title, can look forward to a world title opportunity later this year. Cherneka Johnson holds all the world bantamweight baubles. Hennessy might be wise to get another fight or two worth of experience before challenging Johnson, but she showed and proved plenty on Saturday night. Despite a tough night at the office, the 21-year-old is a genuine world title contender. If Hennessy does win a world title at some point in the next year or so, she might look back on this night as a little turning point in her career. A valuable twenty minutes in her boxing education.

Photo Credit: Chris Dean/Boxxer