There’s something about the York Hall which oozes boxing atmosphere. Whether it’s the fact that thousands of epic battles have taken place under its roof, with a host of champions to boot, or maybe it’s the old classic design of the building set in East London that generates its warmth. To be honest, it’s probably both of these factors plus many more. One thing was for sure on Saturday evening – as a first time promotion under the TRAD TKO events banner, Johnny Eames had set himself a tall task by putting on a show at the UK’s Mecca of boxing.
I caught up with Johnny briefly before the bouts and asked him why he wanted to enter the boxing promotions game. Johnny’s response: “I want to put on shows like the old days. Competitive fights which benefit the fighters careers and also provide great value and entertainment for those in attendance.” The evening was also promoted to highlight support for the Help For Heroes charity, in the light of the recent murder of Lee Rigby, close to the Woolwich Army Barracks.
I can honestly say that the evening certainly lived up to Johnny’s expectations, and the evening provided value for money and a great buzz for those in attendance to takeaway.
The first bout of the night was between hard hitting Festim Lama, who was after his second pro middleweight scalp against the very durable Dan Blackwell. From the moment the bell sounded in Round 1, Albanian born Festim had the crowd going crazy as he unloaded a barrage of shots to Blackwell, and was probably surprised Blackwell never crumbled under the pressure. I could overhear the people sitting behind me saying it was a mismatch as Blackwell was on the back foot or against the ropes, but after about two minutes, Blackwell showed that his tight defence and ability to counter with straight punches has got him through his last 22 matches. Although Blackwell’s record is representative of that of a journeyman, he certainly did not come to lie down. Although Festim was far stronger, I think this fight provided him with a good lesson early on. Don’t go looking for the knockout, and be aware of how vulnerable you can be when windmilling punches. I look forward to seeing Festim step up to his next challenge, and take my hat off to Blackwell for a gallant performance. 40-36 to Festim and a great opening, high octane starter to the evening.
Bout two unfortunately was not allowed to blossom as Adam ‘Dingsy’ Dingsdale took on Ideh Ochuko. Dingsy took the fight to Ochuko and was landing some lovely combinations behind a great jab. Unfortunately there was nothing coming back from Ochuko and it became evident why as his corner pulled him out before the start of round three due to a dislocated shoulder. Shame as this had all the makings for a great tear up.
Bout three was also not allowed to blossom, but for completely different reasons. Paulius Kasiulevicius, a hard hitting Lithuanian by way of Bognor Regis, in his debut fight, took on 
Frantisek Kynkal, a massive heavyweight, three and a half stone his senior. Johnny Eames certainly wasn’t looking to provide a walk over for Paulius in his debut, and sticking him in with a guy who won his last two fights by KO in under two rounds and ranked 8th in the Czech Republic was certainly a worthy opponent.
For those of you who are aware of Paulius, it would have come as no surprise that he knocked his opponent down three times before the end of the first round, with fast, hard hitting and concussively accurate punches. Ritchie Davies had no hesitation in stopping the fight as Kynkal was trying to make the count. Paulius walked into the ring with an outstanding amateur record. His fight against Kynkal showed he is certainly well placed to dhave success in the heavyweight division, but in a category where one punch can end fights, I look forward to seeing his full range of skills and ability in his next few outings. A very exciting prospect who I intend to keep a close eye on.
Lewis Pettitt took on Jose Antonio Elizabeth in the fourth bout. Elizabeth a game opponent for about the first 60 seconds had his heart taken away by a very hungry Pettitt, who kept his opponent on the back foot throughout the fight. Landing at will and looking for the knockout in later rounds, Lewis proved that he was too much for Elizabeth with his masterclass, and it was no surprise that the bout was called 54-60. Pettitt, who trains at the ibox Gym with Alan Smith, had a great deal of support on the evening from fellow boxers such as Bradley Skeete, but also receive a great deal of respect from those in attendance for his promotion of Help the Heroes, with a special focus and tribute to Lee Rigby who recently lost his life in the disgusting murder in Woolwich.
Bout five in my opinion was the fight of the night, which featured Kreshnik Qato against tough adversary Max Maxwell. Both fighters relentless with their attacks, and both eager to get a stoppage. The first round saw Qato blasting Maxwell with a strong attack to the head and body, then after about 90 seconds into the round, Maxwell let his punches loose to regain a balance of power. The round finished off with Qato suffering a slight swelling of the left eye, which by round two was starting to close rather rapidly. Qato went out on the aggressive for round two, and wanted to let Maxwell know he was in charge although carrying an injury. Maxwell aware of the eye as an opportunity, made it his mission to land as many left hooks and jabs as he could to pepper the swelling further. Round five the referee checked Qato’s eye and called the doctor over as it was approaching near closure, but the fight continued. Round six saw both fighters go toe to toe, with the crowd screaming for both fighters at this point, and as the bell sounded to end the bout, everybody in attendance was turning to each other in agreement that they had just witnessed a cracking fight. 
The fight was scored 60-55, which in my opinion was far too wide. I had Qato one round up at the end. Either way, both fighters did themselves proud. Would gladly watch either on their next outing.
Bout six was unfortunately an anticlimax after the previous fight. Matt McCarthy took on Liam Griffiths, and after the two southpaws touched gloves, Matt dominated every second of the bout. Although scoring a knockdown in the first round, he was unable to finish Griffiths off before time, as his opponent was constantly warned for holding on. The supremely conditioned McCarthy is ready for much stiffer opposition, and I hope he is able to jump into the ring again very soon to prove his worth at a higher level.
The headline bout of the evening was between British Boxing hero Colin Lynes and Beka Sutidze from Georgia. From the first bell Lynes ringcraft and technical boxing prowess shone through. Sutidze was game for about the first two rounds, but Team Tibbs ensured that Lynes strategy and combinations behind a beautiful jab were perfectly executed. By round three Sutidze had lost the hunger to fight and was holding on at every opportunity. After giving a number of warnings and point deductions for holding, Ritchie Davies had seen enough to convince him that this bout needed to be stopped by disqualification. A just result, but also an indication that Colin ‘Lyno’ Lynes was at a completely different level and still has fuel in the tank to expel at national level and beyond. Looking forward to seeing Lyno and Team Tibbs in hopefully a title fight soon.
Overall a cracking evening for boxing, especially as a debut for Johnny Eames under the TRAD TKO banner. The bar for entertainment was raised high on the 1st June. Looking forward to the next outing…
Photos were taken by Tracy Lee with full copyright credited to her name.