Ice Sheffield was once again the venue for a Coldwell Boxing show full of thrills, spills and upsets. Dave Coldwell always puts on fantastic shows at the Sheffield venue and last night was no different.
Titled “Men of Steel” and with only eight fights, the card looked a bit bare to begin with, however the quality on display was superb and Coldwell has once again succeeded in putting on a high-class, domestic card.
The upset happened in the main event, where the highly-touted, Ingle gym trained Atif Shafiq entered the ring with a 13-0 record and the clear favourite over Cameroonian Abdon Cesar, who was 1-4.
Cesar is based up in County Durham, and was therefore eligible to contest the British Masters Bronze lightweight belt, and he surprised Shafiq early, buzzing him with a huge right hand.
The Sheffield fighter clung on and survived, but he never recovered or truly found his feet again, struggling with Cesar’s power. Referee Mark Lyson correctly ruled that Cesar had won a close fight, taking home a 77-75 decision after eight rounds, as well as a first title in the pro ranks.
The always exciting Ryan Fields was once again in a good contest, winning 59-56 on points over veteran journeyman Kevin McCauley. However, Fields was disappointed with his performance afterwards and doesn’t feel he is transferring his good form in the gym to the ring, despite the victory.
Rotherham’s Lee Appleyard continued his good start as a professional, moving to 3-0 after stopping Michael Stupart after 1:40 of the first round. It was the first stoppage of Appleyard’s career and, despite suffering a hand injury during the fight; he is looking to stay even more active in the New Year.
Newark lightweight Fergus Taylor prepared for his big upcoming test against Josh Leather, with a six round, 59-56 points win over the durable Ibrar Riyaz.
Riyaz always provides a stern test for any young prospect looking to rise up the rankings and it was no different for Taylor. Following the win, Taylor is now scheduled to meet
Middlesbrough’s Leather at the Hilton Hotel in Mayfair on November 24th on Frank Warren’s show.
There were debut wins for two local cruiserweight’s with Russell Henshaw looking impressive in stopping Moses Matovu in two rounds and Jos Paul, who is trained by former World
Champion Clinton Woods, gaining four vital rounds in a 40-37 points win over John Weeks.
Finally, Barnsley super-bantamweight stopped Aivaras Balsys in two rounds, as he starts preparation for his British title fight with Jazza Dickens in February and heavyweight Kash Ali stopped Lukas Skirca in the first round with a big right uppercut, to move to 8-0.
