Boxing News – July 04, 2019

Photos: SCOT T RAWSTHORNE/MTK GLOBAL

Simon

Euan-Smith

RINGSIDE

★★★★ MAIN EVENT

★★★★ UNDERCARD

★★★★ ATMOSPHERE

16 lBOXING NEWSlJULY 4, 2019 http://www.boxingnewsonline.net

UPPERCUT:

Walsh scores with his

right against Paulin

UNLUCKY PAULIN

BETHNAL GREEN

JUNE 28

YAN WALSH is still

British featherweight

champion – courtesy

of a split decision win

over game challenger

Lewis Paulin at York

Hall.

At the end of 12 rounds I was sure

Paulin had won. When judge Ian John-

Lewis’ 117-111 scoreline was read out,

my immediate thought was “That wide?”

• and when I heard “Walsh” I couldn’t
  believe it. Marcus McDonnell scored for
  Paulin, 115-113 – so it came down to
  Mark Lyson, who had a narrow 115-
  for the champion.
  There were parallels with the Ted
  Cheeseman-Kieron Conway super-
  welterweight bout a week earlier (which

ended in a split draw). There, too, Marcus

McDonnell was the one voting for the

challenger – and there, too, the champion

needed a late rally to cling onto his title.

Southpaw Paulin (Edinburgh) used the

right tactics, keeping on the move and

pumping out jabs – and landing useful left

crosses when Walsh got close. By the fifth

there was a graze under

Walsh’s left eye, and

Paulin was beating him to

the punch.

Walsh (Cromer) made

a big effort in the seventh,

really letting his hands go,

but Paulin hit back. Walsh

landed some solid body-

shots in the ninth, and

started to up the workrate

in the 10th.

With his corner yelling

at him to do more work (one cornerman

had to be spoken to by a Board of Control

inspector) Walsh stormed out for the

11th. Paulin countered but was caught by

body punches – and one right uppercut

definitely shook him. But Paulin moved,

and countered when he could – and held

his own in a hard-fought 12th, cutting

Walsh on the right eyebrow and hitting

back as Walsh tried to walk him down.

At the end one of Paulin’s cornermen

lifted him up – prompting a headshake

from one of Walsh’s. The latter proved

to be right – but I felt he shouldn’t have

been. Paulin, who lost for the first time

after 12 straight wins,

keeps his Scottish title –

and has shown he belongs

at British championship

level. He deserves another

chance. Robert Williams

refereed.

Hackney’s Ohara

Davies put an excellent

name on his CV, taking

a 10-round verdict over

Mexico’s former IBF

lightweight champion

Miguel Vazquez. Referee John-Lewis

scored it 97-94.

Each showed the other respect,

Vazquez applauding the verdict and

Davies raising his opponent’s hand. Some

took Davies’ gesture to mean he didn’t feel

he deserved the verdict, but I thought he

R

ACTION

Split vote

saves

Walsh’s title

VAZQUEZ

CAME

FORWARD

BUT DID

NOT THROW

ENOUGH