British Scene: Bellew Survives Scare From McKenzie, Cleverly & Macklin Win Close Contests, Brook Dominant in Two

Dave Oakes recaps the rest of Saturday's Echo Arena action.  Check out Dave's recap of the main-event: DeGale Stops Smith to Claim British Title

Having produced a tepid performance in his last fight, Tony Bellew was intent on making an impression on Saturday. His opponent, Ovill McKenzie, gave him a much sterner test than Bob Ajisafe did though.

The Commonwealth champion came out looking to land a big punch early, which wasn’t exactly unforeseen; McKenzie was also expecting such an attack and caught Bellew coming in with a hard right hand that floored the champion. Bellew quickly got to his feet, looking more annoyed with himself than hurt.

It wasn’t the best of starts for Bellew and things got even worse for him in the second round when McKenzie detonated an enormous straight right that sent him crashing heavily to the canvas once again.

Whilst the first knockdown wasn’t too damaging, the second knockdown looked to be a fight finisher. The punch caught Bellew around the temple area and the way he bounced of the canvas when he went down made me think he wouldn’t get up. Astonishingly he got to his feet almost instantaneously, and despite not being on the steadiest of legs, made it through the remainder of the round without taking further punishment.

The third was a close round; McKenzie was trying to find another blockbuster whilst Bellew was content to box more cautiously to get a foothold in the bout. Bellew slowly began turning the tide in the fourth, jabbing more authoritively and landing a decent left hook.

Bellew gained control over the next three rounds, McKenzie still looked dangerous but it was the defending champion who was landing the better shots, two juddering straight rights in the sixth being the most notable.

The end came in the eighth when a tiring McKenzie was caught clean on the chin by a left hook, he went down heavily but, like the second Bellew knockdown, he somehow got to his feet. Bellew charged at McKenzie as soon as the fight recommenced, he landed a straight right that didn’t have any effect on McKenzie but was enough to provoke the referee to stop the fight.

The stoppage was definitely premature; McKenzie had gone down heavily but looked to be sturdy enough when the referee intervened. When you consider the manner in which Bellew went down for a second time, the stoppage seems even more ludicrous, McKenzie was in far better shape than Bellew was.

There can be no doubting the exciting nature of Bellew’s fights, apart from the obvious blip against Ajisafe, but he can’t continue to take punches the way he does. His defence is appalling and it’s apparent that he hasn’t got the sturdiest chin in the world, although the way he got up from the two knockdowns in this fight was admirable.

I think Bellew has the potential to be a good fighter but if he’s to move on from his current level he needs to tighten his defence and be more patient, if he doesn’t, then the Commonwealth title may be as far as he goes. A fight with Nathan Cleverly isn’t a realistic opportunity for the foreseeable future. I’d like to see him in against Danny McIntosh next; it would be a competitive fight and a slight step-up from McKenzie.

Cleverly - Mohammedi

Nathan Cleverly claimed the interim WBO light-heavyweight title, out-pointing Nadjib Mohammedi over twelve hard rounds.

The contest was a scrappy affair throughout, Cleverly edging the early rounds, going through a bad patch in the middle rounds before regaining his composure down the stretch.

Mohammedi was incredibly awkward and Cleverly never got to grips with his style. The fact Mohammedi was a late replacement didn’t do the Welshman any favours either; he may have adopted a different game plan if he’d known more about Mohammedi.

Cleverly seemed to lose concentration during the seventh, he allowed frustration to get the better of him and looked disinterested at times. He was also deducted a point for excessive holding by referee Dave Parris – who was officiating his last bout before retiring. The abysmal nature of the round prompted Dean Powell, working in Cleverly’s corner, to give Cleverly a much needed rollicking at the end of the round.

The rest of the fight was fairly close but it was Cleverly who was doing enough to win the rounds, albeit rather unimpressively. The judges scored the bout unanimously in Cleverly’s favour (115-112, 116-111 and 115-113).

This is a fight Cleverly will be keen to forget about and move on from, he’s shown he’s a world class fighter this year and this performance shouldn’t take anything away from him. If Juergen Braehmer avoids jail in his pending court case, Cleverly should meet him in spring next year for the full WBO title. If Braehmer does receive a custodial sentence, then Cleverly will be upgraded to full champion status.

Macklin - Varon

Matthew Macklin successfully defended his European title but was made to look ordinary by Ruben Varon.

The bout was much closer than the scorecards suggest (117-111, 116-111 and 116-113). Macklin was being backed up by his Spanish challenger for the most part and looked increasingly uncomfortable as the fight progressed, his stamina not holding up particularly well.

Macklin is chasing a world title fight; he will need to improve greatly on this performance if he’s to be competitive at that level. He’s blown hot and cold all the way through his career, it’s time he began to find some consistency.

I’m not one for a European champion saying he can’t get up for certain fights, which Macklin alluded to after the bout, if you’re a champion you should be up for any challenge to your title, especially if you want to progress towards bigger things.

Brook - Kotey

Kell Brook destroyed Philip Kotey in two rounds. A left hook dropped the Ghanaian at the end of the opening round, the bell saving an unsteady Kotey.

Another big left in the second round sent Kotey, who’d not fully recovered from the first knockdown, staggering backwards, the referee jumping in as he did so.

The win did absolutely nothing for Brook, he did what was required of him but needs sterner challenges if he’s to gain valuable experience before going for a world title.

Rest of the Undercard

Liam Smith produced the best performance of his career to stop Matt Scriven in the second round of a scheduled six. A right uppercut did the damage, severely wobbling Scriven who was saved by the referee.

Larry Olubamiwo stopped Paul Butlin in the eighth and final round. It was a workman like effort by Olubamiwo but not one that would’ve sent shockwaves through the heavyweight division.

Unbeaten middleweight Billy Joe Saunders battered Tony Randell around before stopping him in the second round. It was the 21 year olds first fight in seven months due to injury and he looked hungry to re-establish his status as one of the countries hot prospects.

Ronnie Heffron continued to his bright start in the professional ranks, stopping Wayne Downing in less than a minute. Downing couldn’t cope with Heffron’s speed and accuracy and was taking apart with ease.

Joe McNally edged tough Frenchman Bertrand Aloa over four rounds. McNally extends his unbeaten record to eight fights after the narrowest of victories, the referee scoring the bout 39-38 in his favour.

Paul Butler made a successful debut, beating Anwar Alfadli on points over four rounds. The Scouse bantamweight, a former ABA champion, overcame a slow opener to win the following three rounds with comparative ease.

Another fighter to overcome a slow start was the undefeated light-middleweight Joe Selkirk, who taking a step-up in class against Steve O’Meara. He lost the first two rounds before producing much better boxing in the final four to secure a 59-57 points victory.

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