Joe Welch get the decision after five rounds of action in the main event
Joe Welch get the decision after five rounds of action in the main event
Another memorable Victory Promotions event is in the books after an exciting night of Muay Thai and kickboxing fights in Newcastle.
In the main event of the evening, Joe Welch defeated Portugal’s Lucas Da Silva via unanimous decision to defend his WBC MuayThai European Middleweight Title for the first time.
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Da Silva stepped up to fight for the belt on just a few weeks’ notice, but he proved to be a worthy challenger for the Northern Kings representative.
Both men took their time to get the measure of their rival in the first round, but still landed some thudding kicks that left their mark.
Welch stepped up a gear in round two – looking more and more dangerous as he let his hands go and found a home for his elbows in close range.
Welch had to absorb more heavy right kicks from the Dinamite Team athlete, but whatever damage that was done to his midsection, he matched with inside low kicks to Da Silva’s front leg.
As the fight progressed to the championship rounds, Da Silva never stopped giving Welch problems to solve, but the local hero started to find an answer to those dangerous right kicks, and continued to score with vicious boxing combinations.
the co-main event saw an attritional, competitive contest between Paul Morris and Hassan Imran go down to the wire.
Fighting out of Masda Gym in Liverpool, Imran set out to make the most of his height advantage and impose his clinching game from the first bell .
However, Morris didn’t allow himself to be overwhelmed by that offense, and was never badly hurt before separating and getting onto the front foot.
After three rounds, Imran’s persistent, front-foot strategy paid off as he earned the decision from two officials. One ruled the fight a draw, giving Imran a majority decision.
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Johnny Craig is the new WBC MuayThai British Welterweight Champion after the comeback of the night in a crazy fight against Flynn Shanks.
It was Shanks who drew first blood after flying out of the traps in round one and scoring his first knockdown with a right hand at the end of a big flurry.
After a couple of near-misses, he got his second eight-count with a knee, which also opened a bad cut above Craig’s left eye.
That cut was checked continuously between rounds – and throughout the second round – but Craig was given the green light to continue, and he stayed in the fight despite a lot of pressure from Shanks.
The tide turned at the end of round three when Craig scored his first knockdown off elbows after knees to the body in the clinch.
He soon scored a second via knee to the body, then came close to a finish with some elbows just before the bell, but somehow Shanks stayed standing.
Craig had the momentum going into round four, and he made it count with a barrage of knees and elbows for yet another knockdown. Moments later, an elbow floored Shanks for the fourth time, which forced the referee to finally stop the fight.
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The crowd was on its feet for arguably the fight of the night as Joe Johnson and Jack Bullock went to war for five rounds of relentless kickboxing action.
Both men landed heavy punches and low kicks in the first couple of rounds, but the contest really caught fire in round three.
Both men focused on offence and landed clean power strikes, but any time they had success, their opponent struck back with a vengeance to keep every round very close.
Both men started to slow down by the end of round four, which was no surprise because of their high activity, but they continued to stand toe-to-toe and trade heavy blows until the final bell.
The judges were split when the action was over. One scored in favour of Bullock, but two gave the decision to Johnson. However, the 76kg KGB British Title remains vacant after Johnson missed weight.
In an anticipated rematch, Tyler McKenzie earned redemption with a close split decision win over old rival Tyler Weeks.
Soul of Sukhothai representative McKenzie got off to a fast start as he aimed to avenge a decision loss, but he faced stiff resistance from his rival.
Weeks continued to get onto the front foot, but McKenzie made sure his success was limited by upsetting his rhythm, sneaking shots through gaps in the guard, and scoring well with his left kick.
After three rounds, one of the judges gave Weeks the nod, but the other two favoured McKenzie, who welcomed a rubber match under A-class rules to settle the score in the near future.
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Harry Purvis is just 10 fights into his Muay Thai career, but he’s already ranked as the UK’s #3 super middleweight and looks set to continue his climb after an emphatic TKO of Amadeusz Sakowicz.
Purvis established his jab in the opening exchanges and hurt Sakowicz as he came forward with some stiff punches throughout the first round.
Sakowicz came forward in round two, but he was quickly put on his heels again and dropped with a body shot. He hit the canvas again off a big right hand a few moments later.
It seemed like it would only be a matter of time before Purvis claimed another win for Northern Kings, and he got the job done when a barrage of punches in the corner put the Pole down for the third time.
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Louis Fairhurst showed why he’s already ranked as one of the best fighters in the country with a commanding performance against MASDA Gym’s Josh Duncan.
The Peel Thai product had the edge after a competitive, technical first two rounds, and caused some damage with some big punches to the body just before the end of the second stanza.
Duncan’s corner urged him to press forward for the KO in the final round, but Fairhurst had an answer for everything that was thrown at him, and he took a deserved decision after winning on all the judges’ cards.
The knockout of the night may have belonged to Callum Patterson, who returned from two years away from the ring with an explosive first-round finish.
The man from Northern Kings put a serious knee injury behind him by flooring Imperial Gym’s Jason O’Hara with a thunderous right hand.
That victory should be enough to send Patterson back into the UK rankings.
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Finn Welch versus Brooks Sowerby was an all-out war between two of the brightest rising stars in British Muay Thai.
These young men went toe-to-toe from the first bell with an intensity that didn’t let up for an instant.
Welch was caught with some big shots in round one, but never stopped coming forward and kept looking to land his elbows. They led to a cut on Sowerby’s forehead, which needed attention between rounds.
The action continued at a furious pace in round two. The exchanges were back-and-forth, but the referee had to step in to check Sowerby’s cut multiple times, and eventually stopped the fight out of concern for the fighter’s safety.
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It was a clash of styles when Danielle Ellis faced off against Abbie Moore.
Fighting out of K-Star Muay Thai Academy, Moore had a fast start and looked dangerous with her kicking game, but Ellis worked her way into the fight with some strong clinch work.
Sabai Warriors’ Ellis continued to navigate Moore’s kicks and impose her draining muay khao style in the second stanza. She then continued to smother her rival in round three to earn the decision from all three judges.
In the opening fight of the night, Will Baxter pulled off a sensational victory via unanimous decision against Will Bolger from the acclaimed Majestic Gym in Wigan.
Baxter overcame a big height and reach disadvantage by punching the body and scored a knockdown off a big cross to the midsection at the end of round two.
The Northern Kings representative scored another knockdown off a hook to the body just seconds before the bell in round two, which gave him a big lead going into the final round.
Baxter didn’t let up in the third – snapping Bolger’s head back with heavy punches from start to finish to put a bow on an impressive win.
