http://www.boxingnewsonline.net JULY 25, 2019 lBOXING NEWSl 15Dillian Whyte
(254lbs), 26-1 (18),
w pts 12 Oscar Rivas
(239lbs 3oz), 26-
(18); David Price
(257lbs), 25-6 (20),
w rtd 10 Dave Allen
(241lbs 5oz), 17-5-
(14); Dereck Chisora
(257lbs), 31-9 (22),
w ko 2 Artur Szpilka
(243lbs), 22-4 (15);
Lawrence Okolie (
1/4lbs), 13-0 (10),
w rsf 7 Mariano Angel
Gudino (199lbs 9oz),
13-3 (8); Richard
Riakporhe (199lbs
5oz), 10-0 (8), w pts
10 Chris Billam-Smith
(198lbs 7oz), 9-1 (8);
Dan Azeez (174lbs
9oz), 9-0 (6), w pts
10 Charlie Duffield
(174lbs 5oz), 7-2 (6);
Fabio Wardley (238lbs
6oz), 8-0 (7), w rsf 6
Mariano Diaz Strunz
(232 1/4lbs), 13-15-
(6); Dalton Smith
(142lbs), 2-0 (1), w rrd
2 Ibrar Riyaz (144lbs
3oz), 6-166-4 (3);
Alen Babic (211lbs
6oz), 2-0 (2), w ko
1 Morgan Dessaux
(220lbs), 5-7 (5).FULL
RESULTSBy the ninth, Bournemouth’s Billam-
Smith looked tired and in survival mode,
although he produced an excellent last
effort to win the last round.
Dan Azeez claimed the vacant
Southern Area light-heavyweight title in
only his ninth professional bout as he
forced Charlie Duffield’s corner to pull
their man out after six largely one-sided
rounds. Duffield was badly hampered by
a large swelling below his left eye, which
started becoming a problem in the
opening minute and reduced
his ability to see Azeez’s
right hand coming.
Duffield never
stopped coming, but
Azeez, a 29-year-
old from Lewisham,
took full advantage,
potshotting and
regularly pinging
Duffield with big rights.
The accumulation
of blows took its toll, as
a clubbing right had Duffield
sagging in the sixth round. Another
big right rocked him, prompting Mark
Tibbs, Duffield’s trainer, to throw in the
towel, although before referee Marcus
McDonnell could act, Azeez landed three
more shots to send the Canning Town
man tumbling to the floor at two minutes
49 seconds of the round.
Alen Babic, from Zagreb, took just
eight seconds to knock down Morgan
Dessaux with a sharp left hook in a
swiftly-settled show opener. The Croatian
heavyweight, who won his professionaldebut in two rounds in Rome nine days
previously, decked the Frenchman soon
after, which led to Dessaux taking Bob
Williams’ full count on one knee at 56
seconds of the first round.
In another heavyweight encounter,
scheduled for eight rounds, Ipswich’s
Fabio Wardley recorded his eighth
successive win as he stopped Mariano
Diaz Strunz, of Argentina, 66 seconds
into the sixth round.
Wardley, 24, seemed satisfied slowly
breaking Diaz Strunz down, until the
visitor found some ambition in the fourth
round and landed two meaty hooks.
That show of defiance seemed to
inspire Wardley, who landed a series of
big rights in the fifth, which Diaz Strunz
did well to withstand, although a flurry of
punches did send him to the floor late in
the round.
Early in the sixth, Wardley trapped
the Argentinian in his own corner and
unloaded until Bob Williams intervened.
Dalton Smith, the former highly-
ranked amateur, record the second win
of his professional career as he forced
Ibrar Riyaz’s retirement at the end of
the second round of a scheduled super-
lightweight four-rounder. It was one-
way traffic while it lasted, Smith, from
Sheffield, opening up with some flashy
combinations, which Reading’s Riyaz was
forced to absorb. Marcus McDonnell
refereed. bnTHE VERDICTWhyte is in danger of
wearing himself out before he gets
to that deserved world title crack.CLOSE CALL:
Riakporhe pips
Billam-SmithChisora landed a crushing right that
saw Szpilka slump back into the ropes.
He went on to land five more punches,
including three crushing blows to the
head, before he slumped motionless to
the floor.
Only after the final punch landed did
Lyson attempt to stop the fight, by which
time his action was irrelevant. Medical
personnel flooded into the ring and,
fortunately, Szpilka was soon back on his
feet. The official time was 1-01.
Lawrence Okolie, the
British and Commonwealth
cruiserweight champion,
could be in line
for a shot at the
European title after
taking time to break
down Mariano
Angel Gudino
before stopping the
Argentinian with one
second remaining in the
seventh round of a scheduled
10.
Gudino was very negative, backing
away from the opening bell and
Hackney’s Okolie, in his first fight since
Shane McGuigan took over as his trainer,
took time to gain the upper hand. The
Argentinian was down several times,
which were ruled slips, before Okolie
finally caught up with him in the seventh,
knocking him down three times before
Bob Williams waved it off.
McGuigan has plenty to work on with
Okolie. While the 26-year-old boxed
at the Rio Olympics, he did not have
many amateur bouts and was recording
his 13th straight win as a professional.
Against Gudino, he struggled to cut down
the ring and was too right-hand happy,
often telegraphing his shots, which gave
the Argentine opponent an easy escape
route.
A seventh-round knockdown proved
the deciding factor that meant Richard
Riakporhe kept his unbeaten record at
the expense of Chris Billam-Smith’s in
their cruiserweight 10-rounder.
It gave Riakporhe the extra point that
gave him a 95-94 on Leszek Jankowiak’s
decisive card. Terry O’Connor made
Billam-Smith a 96-93 winner, while
Salvador Salva sided with Riakporhe by a
generous 97-92. Bob Williams refereed.
It was a case of Billam-Smith’s workrate
against Riakporhe’s power. Billam-Smith
was the busier and started better. By
the fifth round, there were signs that
Riakporhe was starting to come apart,
after he was caught by a heavy right
hand.
Riakporhe, from Walworth, stuck with
it, though, and by the seventh it was
Billam-Smith in trouble. A clubbing right
had him backing off, then a left hook and
flurry of punches sent him sprawling over
the top rope.
TALKING
POINT
AFTER experiencing more than
his share of bad luck, heavyweight
David Price deserves all the plaudits
for beating Dave Allen – but can
the Liverpool nice-guy parlay this
impressive win into another big
(and well-paying) fight of
some kind?