Jay Harris W10 Marcel Braithwaite... It was a superb flyweight battle between Jay Harris and Marcel Braithwaite, with Harris earning the unanimous decision victory after an entertaining ten rounds. Harris (18-1, 9 KOs) dictated the early proceedings, but things took a dramatic turn in round four when Braithwaite (9-3) rocked the Welshman with a massive left hook. Harris managed to weather the storm, with the back and forth action continuing throughout the remainder of the fight. It went the distance, with the three judges scoring it 98-92, 97-93 and 98-93 to Harris, after a tremendous showing from both men. Harris said: “It’s good to have a fight like that. I don’t think I boxed 100%. I was a bit sluggish and got caught with a lot. I got punished at times, and credit to Marcel. He was as game as they come and gave me a good fight. In round four it was was a good shot he caught me with and I felt it. It buzzed me but I managed to recover and see the round out. It was my first fight back after eight months and it was a whole new experience for me. Credit to Marcel. He did a very good job, but I know that I have to perform better than that if I want to mix it at world level.”
Paul Butler W8 Ryan Walker ... Former IBF bantamweight champion Paul Butler remained in contention for another world title shot as he defeated Ryan Walker on points after eight rounds. Butler (32-2, 15 KOs) was in control throughout the majority of the fight, landing a number of good shots against Walker (11-3, 2 KOs). Walker tried his best to make it competitive, but in the end Butler proved to be too good, with the referee scoring it 79-73 in favour of the Ellesmere Port man to hand him the win. Butler said: “It was nice to be out there against a tough opponent in Ryan. I caught him a few times to the body. We were working a lot on the right hand side as he seemed to tuck up that way, then we tried going round to his left hand side and it worked and opened up a few gaps for me. I’ve had eight good rounds there and we’ll see what happens now. I want the big fights. I might be 31 now but I still feel 24 or 25. I’m setting records in the gym and I’m looking forward to the future.”
Paul McCullagh TKO3 Ben Thomas... Paul McCullagh made a perfect start to life in the professional ranks as he earned a third-round stoppage victory over Ben Thomas. The 20 year-old light heavyweight unleashed a constant onslaught on his opponent that Thomas (2-4-3, 1 KO) struggled to cope with. It led to a knockdown in round three, and while Thomas managed to get back to his feet, McCullagh continued the barrage and earned another knockdown, with Thomas unable to recover, handing Irish star McCullagh the stoppage win. source for all results: mtk
