Lee Cutler TKO3 Aaron Sutton... Bournemouth’s own Lee Cutler marked his Zuffa Boxing debut with a third-round TKO victory over Aaron Sutton in their middleweight matchup, but it didn’t come in the manner he would have expected after a heavy right hand left his opponent with a dislocated shoulder. Cutler stepped through the ropes as the broader, stronger-looking fighter, and he started the opening round looking to land some solid shots early. Meanwhile, Sutton slipped some of Cutler’s shots well and sneaked in some smartly-placed punches of his own from in close. Sutton’s slightly awkward counter-punching style made him a tricky target, but Cutler landed well in round two, particularly to the body as he dug in some nasty shots from close range. Then, in the third, Cutler claimed his unusual TKO victory. A right hand from Cutler landed on the back of Sutton’s shoulder and appeared to dislocate the former Southern Area Champion’s left shoulder as a result. It left Sutton unable to continue and, despite his protests, the fight was waved off 31 seconds into the round. Cutler performed the “worm” dance across the canvas as his hometown fans in Bournemouth celebrated the victory, while Sutton was left disappointed, and in considerable pain, as he quickly departed the ring to receive medical treatment. Cutler might not have claimed the knockout win he was hoping for, but he did add another inside-the-distance victory to his name to get him off and running under the Zuffa Boxing banner to take his career record to 16-2.
ADDITIONAL RESULTS
Ireland's Stevie McKenna returned to action with a whirlwind performance as he demolished Casey James Streeter in just 64 seconds in their middleweight contest. When the opening bell sounded, McKenna and Streeter met in the center of the ring and immediately got involved in a tear-up as they both unloaded vicious combinations. But while Streeter was swinging punches, McKenna was landing them, and a huge left hook badly rocked the American, who looked very close to touching down, but didn’t. Realizing his opponent was still upright, McKenna resumed his onslaught and dropped Streeter with more heavy shots, then forced the finish with another vicious salvo of punches that forced the referee to step in and wave off the fight and spare Streeter any further punishment. It gave McKenna the comeback win he was so desperate for as he returned from an 18-month layoff in spectacular style to take his record to 16-1 with the 15th knockout victory of his career.
The main card kicked off with a second-round knockout from undefeated Scot Sam Hickey as he defeated Tom Tompkins in their middleweight matchup. Hickey established his jab early, then landed a well-timed counter right hand as Tompkins looked to punch his way into range. The Scot quickly established himself as the aggressor and had the English southpaw against the ropes, taking shots, as he dominated the first three minutes.After a strong opening round, Hickey turned on the style and turned up the power as he landed big shots on Tompkins to score the knockout in the second. Hickey let his hands go with real venom as he connected with a series of power punches, including two successive counter-rights, that eventually sent Tompkins down to the canvas for a clean, clinical victory, which was officially announced as a TKO. Hickey’s second career stoppage win took his pro record to 5-0 as the 26-year-old from Dundee made his mark in eye-catching fashion on his Zuffa Boxing debut.
Kazakhstan’s six-foot-nine, two-time Olympic medallist Ivan Dychko moved to 16-1 after edging English southpaw Harvey Dykes via split decision in their ten-round heavyweight matchup. The socres were 97-92 (twice) and 94-95. The Pittsburgh-based Dychko calmly stalked Dykes around the ring, looking to connect with his jab, then step in with right hands to the body. And, in the final minute of the round, Dychko caught Dykes with a short right hook that didn’t land cleanly, but knocked the off-balance Englishman to the canvas. Dykes presented a tricky, unorthodox opponent with his southpaw style, and after faring a little better in the second round, he started to warm to his task in the third and fourth as he stepped in and landed multiple shots in close. He even had a few words to say to the big Kazakh after one or two successful exchanges. Dychko, meanwhile, seemed happy to continue his steady pace. That plodding pace continued through the rest of the contest as Dychko walked forward looking to land his jab, while Dykes tried to step inside the taller man’s reach and score from the inside. The Englishman enjoyed success in round six as he connected with his best shots of the fight to force Dychko onto the back foot for the first time in the fight. As the fight entered the ninth round, Dykes left his corner with his ears still stinging from trainer Don Charles, who implored him to do more to turn the fight in his favor. But despite a spirited effort in the final two rounds, Dykes was unable to make a serious impression on Dychko, who did enough to earn a split-decision victory after going the distance for only the third time in his professional career.
Unbeaten English light heavyweight Leon Hughes sang his way to the ring to Conroy Smith’s reggae classic, “Dangerous” and lived up to that song choice with an impressive performance to stop Bulgaria’s Mario Vergiev in the third round. Hughes wasted no time in getting to work as he came striding out of his corner, throwing punches from the very start. Vergiev seemed a little shocked by the early pace, and struggled to get any punches off as Hughes peppered him with jabs, while effectively mixing up his targets with his right hand. Vergiev attempted to establish his jab, but a little showboating from Hughes, including a double punch, throwing both hands simultaneously, drew the Preston-based fighter a rebuke from the referee. Once the action resumed, the confident Englishman planted his feet and threw with power as he loaded up with heavy shots in the closing moments of the round. The second round saw Hughes continue to land power punches as he picked his shots and connected cleanly and repeatedly on the durable, but not mobile, Vergiev. Hughes’ left hooks seemingly couldn’t miss, and appeared to briefly freeze the Bulgarian on several occasions. By the start of round three, it was clear that Hughes was far too good for his opponent, and it seemed only a matter of time before either the referee or the corner would intervene. And, just 52 seconds into the round, the referee mercifully stepped in to spare Vergiev any more unnecessary damage. Now sitting at 5-0 as a professional, Hughes already looks primed for a step up in opposition as he looks to embark on his journey in Zuffa Boxing.
The night kicked off with a welterweight matchup as undefeated Englishman Alex MacMillan claimed a second-round TKO victory over Leo Fanthome. A big right hand from MacMillan dropped Fanthome midway through the opening round as the Morecambe-based fighter made an early breakthrough, and another clubbing shot sent his opponent down again moments later. Fanthome continued to gamely stand and trade, but MacMillan simply couldn’t miss with his shots, and that combination of power and accuracy eventually led to the finish. Round two saw MacMillan pick up where he left off, and another big right hand sent Fanthome to the canvas for a third time. And after the action resumed, another vicious flurry of punches from MacMillan eventually led to Fanthome’s corner throwing in the towel as the referee stepped in to wave off the bout at the 1:44 mark. The win moves MacMillan to 4-0, as the 22-year-old continues his flying start in his first year as a professional.
