MIXED EMOTIONS FOR FIGHTING CHANCE DUO

Jamie Humble impressed the crowd with a flawless performance whilst Jone Volau TK narrowly missed out on the win after a hard fought contest at Newcastle Racecourse on Saturday night.

Fighting alongside the highly-touted Manchurians Zelfa Barrett and Lyndon Arthur, both Fighting Chance boxers finished 2016 with crowd-pleasing bouts worthy of such company.

Boxing for only the second time this year due to injury, Jamie Humble emphatically dismissed any talk of ‘ring-rust’ with a four-round demolition of the much more experienced Simas Volosinas.

Humble put on a near punch perfect show in front of the Boxnation cameras, and began the fight in ferocious fashion with a number of long body shots in the opening round. Feinting the jab and connecting with the backhand, the successful amateur utilised fantastic footwork and head movement to keep out of range from his opponents wild, wayward attacks.

Humbles footwork wasn’t reserved solely for defence however, and the Tynesider switched stance throughout the fight to upset his opponents rhythm and open up angles for short, sharp uppercuts. The lead screw shot found a home on his opponents chin throughout the bout, and it was clear Humbles training had focused on combinations as oppose to looking just for the ‘fight-finishing’ shot.

Volosinas came out with intent in the 3rd, marching forward and attempting to force the fight into more of a messy brawl. Humble nullified this tactic easily with his superior head movement, and through his sheer intensity and work rate forced his opponent into throwing sporadic hooks and very little else for the majority of the bout.

Coming out with a unanimous 40/36 victory, Jamie Humble looked bizarrely comfortable fighting a bigger, more experienced man in only his 2nd professional fight, and showed no issues at all with cardio despite his injury driven lay-off. With a lot of interest shown in Humble after the Saturday night his stocks have certainly risen, and 2017 looks to be a massive year for the Fighting Chance prospect.

FC stablemate Jone Volau TK also fought on Pat Barrett’s ‘Christmas Box’ show, missing out narrowly on a points decision against Josh Sandland in a fight that at points looked unlikely to go the distance.

TK started in promising fashion; taking the centre of the ring immediately and landing a solid right hand in the opening stanza. The first round was a patient, and at times a tense three minutes, and one almost impossible to score.

Both boxers were looking to trade big shots on the inside, which led to a more clumsy exchange. The two fighters were warned for holding, with TK attempting to establish his jab in the middle rounds.

The heavyweight pair focused much of their attacks on big right hands, TK looking for looping overhands whilst Sandland opted for a more straight variant. The 4th round saw both fighters hurt one another, and TK landed a backhand that noticeably wobbled his opponent. Although backing up and looking unstable on his feet, the Fijian born TK failed to capitalise on this opportunity, albeit partly down to clinching on his opponents part.

With fatigue apparent in the final round, the pair exchanged a final barrage of heavy shots before touching gloves on the final bell. Although a massively crowd-pleasing fight, both boxers struggled to really establish their gameplan, with TK relying on long overhands rather than working his way in with straights like he has in his previous bouts.

Although a lot of people ringside scored the bout as a draw, you can’t take anything away from the travelling Josh Sandland on his professional debut.

Granted, not the end to 2016 Jone Volau TK wanted, or in some ways deserved, dealing with adversity is not something that fears the two-time military boxing champion. Embracing the motto that you ‘never lose, only learn’, Volau will no doubt bounce back in the new year and look to get back on track towards area titles and domestic success.

‘Chrsitmas Box’ saw a number of talents from the North West travel to Tyneside, with Liverpool's Marcel Braithwaite being tested by the very game Craig Derbyshire. Braithwaite battled against a slow start to pick his opponent apart in the remaining rounds, and continued his unbeaten start to the professional ranks. 

The highly touted Lyndon Arthur and Zelfa Barrett both stopped their opponents. Arthur targeted long uppercuts to put his opponent down twice, and unable to beat the count the fight finished in the 2nd. Barrett went 14-0 with a tough fight against Rafael Castillo, eventually forcing his opponent to retire at the end of the 4th.

AUTHOR: Declan Bell

UNDEFEATED TRIO TO BOX ON THE 17th

 Jone Volau, Jamie Humble and Kyle Redfearn will all be looking to extend their perfect professional records in front of the Boxnation cameras at Newcastle Race Course on Saturday the 17^th.

In another example of Fighting Chance building relationships with other promotions, the three prospects will box on the final show of the year for the North East promoted by the Lancashire based Pat Barrat.

4-0 as a professional, and holding a 2nd round KO on his record, Jone Volau will box for the 4^th time this year and strongly believes that this constancy is exactly what he needs at this point in his career.

‘Four or five fights a year is good for me’ said Volau. 

‘Keeping busy will get me up the ranks quicker.

‘A Northern area title would be perfect for my second fight next year or third fight and then move on.

‘(I’m) aiming for English and British titles, we’ll see where it takes me’.

The Fijian born boxer has placed particular focus on his strength and conditioning ahead of his 5th professional bout, losing a stone after his unanimous decision victory against 2012 Olympian Christian Adjoufack.

‘I was more than 17 stone in the last fight’ said Volau.

‘I was struggling a bit and I had too much weight on me.

‘But now I’ve lost a stone, it’s going to be a totally different TK in the ring’.

Fighting Chance stablemate Jamie Humble is also looking for an impressive finish to the year. 

After making a grand entrance on his professional debut back in June - stopping the more experienced Ben Mulligan inside 2 rounds, injury has delayed the Tynesider’s progression.

‘I fractured my rib so I've had a bit of time off” explained Humble.

‘It’s about two month I've had off in total so in that time I was resting.

‘But since I've been back to training its been pretty much straight on.’

Humble is aiming for a more mature display on the 17th, and with his coach Gary Barr has worked on patience in the ring and precision with his shots for his 2nd bout.

‘I’ll probably try to look for cleaner shots rather than a burst of shots.

‘I thought I was just looking for power shots (in his last fight)’.

Despite the setback, the Birtley standout has high hopes for 2017, and although appreciates the need to get rounds under his belt, is aiming for title contention by the end of next year.

‘I want to fast track my career as quick as I can’

‘Pushing onto the end of next year I should hopefully be looking for area titles’.

Following an almost identical path to Humble so far is the County Durham native Kyle Redfearn.

Also impressing on his debut - a three round demolition of Scott Aitken in June, Kyle Redfearn hasn’t fought since and will be looking to build some much deserved momentum in time for 2017.

Although not competing since June, Redfearn certainly hasn’t been slacking when it comes to training. As well as working with Gary Barr and Ronnie Rowe at the Fighting Chance gym, the Ferryhill man has focused on enhancing his cardio and conditioning at Spartan Performance in Consett ahead of his 2nd bout.

This holistic approach to training, which most boxers neglect at this level, is accompanied by an extensive Mixed Martial Arts background. Redfearn had 16 professional MMA fights, and fought on the biggest promotions in Europe including BAMMA and Cage Warriors. 

The experience gained in MMA will inevitably pay dividends when fighting more experienced opponents, and places Kyle Redfearn firmly on the ‘Ones to Watch’ list for 2017.

Kyle Redfearn, Jone Volau and Jamie Humble will box on Saturday the 17th December at Newcastle Race Course, with the card being shown on the Boxnation television channel.

AUTHOR: Declan Bell

RITSON AND SURTEES IMPRESS ON END OF YEAR SHOW

Christmas came early for those in attendance on Saturday night as the two title bouts took the limelight on a lively evening at Rainton Meadows Arena.

Lewis Ritson and Jordan Ellison engaged in a seven round war for the Northern Area lightweight belt, whilst Darren Surtees put on a boxing clinic against Luke Keheler in a International Classic Challenge title bout.

Surtees was fighting for a title in only his 5th professional bout and came into the fight full of confidence following an impressive unanimous decision victory against Marek Laskowski in October, as well as holding a 50% knockout rate in the pro-ranks.

Keheler was the man with the experience however, having had twice as many fights as the Thornily prospect, and although had battled against a number of tough opponents, the Yorkshireman had never been stopped as a professional.

The fight began in frantic fashion with both fighters exchanging from the off; Surtees concentrated on the more precise straight shots, whilst Keheler chose to come out swinging with his chin down.

It was the County Durham man who connected cleanly first, a sharp one-two catching his opponent sweetly and sending him to the canvas. Noticeably wobbled, Keheler made it up on the count of four but with his legs still looking unsteady Surtees immediately pounced.

With a flurry of shots Surtees connected again, this time with a devastating left hook, sending Keheler to the canvas for the second time. The proud Yorkshireman again rose to his feet, and after having a think the referee let the fight continue.

However the contest was all but decided, and after a final wave of powerful punches from Surtees the referee stopped the bout at the 1 minute 29 mark of the first round, with Surtees capping off an impressive 2016 by capturing his first title.

Looking to add to his existing WBC Youth Silver lightweight honour, undefeated Lewis Ritson was aiming to make it 12 wins from 12 bouts against former foe and fellow North East boxer Jordan Ellison in the evenings main event.

In their last encounter Ritson walked away with a points victory, and since then both mens career’s have taken slightly different routes - Tyneside’s Ritson winning every fight since whilst Seahams Ellison has struggled to find consistency as a pro.

It was the Wearside boxer who was coming off the more impressive victory however, with a sterling win against the undefeated Scot Thomas Dickson at the end of October.

The first round saw both fighters exchange straight shots, however it was Ritson who was first to assert his dominance; doubling up his jabs and maintaining a tight guard to take the centre of the ring.

In the opening rounds the undefeated Tynesider continuously marched Ellison to the corner, working up top and unloading to the body with spiteful hooks. Ritsons short uppercut on the inside did noticeable damage to the left eye of Ellison, mixing work in the clinch with long straights at range.

Although struggling with the constant pressure from his opponent, Ellison showed flashes of potential in the opening stanzas. Catching Ritson with a beautifully timed left hook in the 2nd, and dragging his opponent into a brawl in the 3rd, Ellison made sure Ritson wasn't having it all his own way and had the better of the exchanges in the 4th round.

Ellison started the 5th round the aggressor, landing a sharp three-punch combination which Ritson appeared to take in his stride. Although still on the back-foot, the Wearside boxer was the busier of the two and with the momentum being carried into the start of the 6th Ellison looked to be plotting a comeback. 

However Ritson had other ideas, and after marching his Ellison into a corner unleashed a lethal body shot which immediately dropped his rival. Although still visibly hurt, Ellison regained his stature ready for the inevitable onslaught from Ritson.

Targeting solely the body on the restart, Ritson appeared to cripple his adversary again however the referee decided not to issue the count. With his corner urging him to initiate the clinch, Ellison survived until the bell.

But Ellison's bravery could only last so long, and with Ritson continuing the constant pressure he had illustrated throughout the fight he again worked the body, this time forcing his opponent to go down and stay down. 

After receiving medical attention, Ellison was able to join Ritson in the centre of the ring as the crowd showed their appreciation for a tremendously entertaining fight. Ritson closed the evenings show by raising the Northern Area title, with the expectations firmly on the Forest Hall man to make a statement in 2017.

Other fighters on the card who are hoping for a big year next year included Jay Hughes and Issac Macleod. 

Hughes continued a perfect start to his career with a decision win against a tough Youssef Al Hamidi. Utilising his obvious reach advantage Hughes kept his opponent at a distance with straight shots and good footwork, however was unable to break down the tight guard of Al Hamidi who posed little danger to Hughes with sporadic, wayward hooks.

Macleod came up against an entirely different type of foe in Ryan Hardy. Hardy goaded and danced his way around the ring for 6 rounds, and although entertaining for the fans, was picked apart well by a patient Macleod. Making it 7 wins and 0 defeats, the Sunderland boxer will be looking to step up next year and make his move on the domestic scene. 

Completing the card at Rainton Meadow Arena were local fighters Gary Fox and Peter Cope.

Fighting for the second time this year was Peter Cope. Up against the much experienced Fonz Alexander fighting in his 50th bout, Cope fought at range and utilised a strong jab throughout. 

Being weary not to engage unnecessarily, Cope boxed smart with left right combinations, and appeared to stumble Alexander in the 2nd with a precisely placed hook. After four rounds Cope came away with the points victory and will concentrate on keeping busy next year, with the aim of working his way back up to English title contention.

All in all a good show with two title fights. Something Fighting chance will seek to continue in 2017, more 50/50 fights and more title oppprtunities for North East boxers.   

AUTHOR: Declan Bell