British Scene Weekend Recap: Lindsay Retains Title

Dave Oakes recaps this past Friday night's British featherweight title clash between champion Martin Lindsay and challenger Jamie Arthur.

Martin Lindsay retained his British featherweight title with a near punch perfect performance against Jamie Arthur on Friday night.

Boxing behind a high held guard, Lindsay controlled the fight throughout and hardly took a clean punch on his way to a wide unanimous points victory. Arthur started at a fast pace but was hitting Lindsay’s arms and gloves rather than finding the target. Lindsay wasn’t as busy but was more accurate, landing a nice left hook a minute in and numerous solid jabs during the round.

Arthur got his own jab going in the second round and was doing okay until he was dropped just after the halfway point of the round. Lindsay caught the Welshman with a stinging right hand to the temple that sent him to the canvas, Arthur was up quickly but elected to stand and trade rather than buy himself some time, this backfired and he was dropped again seconds later after a straight right followed by a clipping right sent him down.

The knockdowns prompted Lindsay to go looking for the finish in the next few rounds, he was a bit gung-ho in the third and didn’t look as comfortable forcing the pace as he was boxing his way in behind the jab. Despite the fact he wasn’t looking as smooth as he had in the first couple of rounds, Lindsay was still winning the rounds clearly due to his impregnable defence. He was either blocking Arthur’s punches or just moving his head slightly to get out of the way of them.

The seventh round was a big one for Lindsay; he was caught by a left hook to the body but responded with a fantastic straight right – double left hook combination that sent Arthur back towards the ropes. Lindsay dominated the remainder of the round, so much so that the referee was starting to take a close look at Arthur.

Arthur was trying to come forward and apply pressure in the eighth but he was landing very little and was being picked off by the champion, who was now reverting back to his boxing skills. Arthur also seemed to be tiring and it looked as though he might not make it to the final bell, he did though, through a mixture of bravery and his tremendous fitness and stamina.

Arthur was cut in the eleventh after a head clash, blood spurted from above his right eye but it wasn’t affecting his vision and wasn’t considered fight threatening so late in the fight.

Arthur was still throwing punches and giving it everything he’d got in the twelfth and final round but it was in vain as Lindsay matched him for work-rate and landed the crisper punches.

The judges’ scorecards read: 119-108, 118-108 and 117-110. I had it a complete shut out at 120-106.

Arthur said he’d retire if he lost but I hope he reconsiders that as I feel he’s still got a lot to offer. I think a match-up between him and John Simpson would be a good one.

The impressive Lindsay takes his unbeaten record to sixteen fights and looks to be a level or two above the domestic scene. His next fight will probably be against Akaash Bhatia, after that he should target the European belt before working his way towards a world title shot.

On The Undercard...

In a battle of former British title holders, Gary Davies annihilated Andy Bell in the first round. Bell was floored two minutes in by a clubbing right hook; he got to his feet but was taken out seconds later as Davies landed a thunderous right hand that was aimed downwards onto the side of the stooping Bell’s jaw.

Davies is a danger to everyone at British level and will be looking to get back into title contention as soon as possible. Davies is being lined up to fight Stuart Hall for the English title next.

Shinny Bayaar battled his way to a close points victory over the surprisingly decent Najah Ali. Bayaar looked one paced at times but managed to do enough late in the fight to get the decision.

David Price knocked out Martyn Grainger inside a minute in what was a pointless exercise. Grainger was down inside forty seconds and was counted out twenty seconds later after a left hook to the body had him sinking to the canvas.

Price’s weakness around the chin is hardly a secret but whilst he’s being protected like he is at the minute, he’s not going to gain or learn anything from fighter the likes of Grainger.

John Watson kept his unbeaten record but had to recover from a slow start to outpoint Ben Murphy. Watson looked as though he thought it’d be an easy night and had to claw his way back into the contest after a dreadful first two rounds.

Murphy wasn’t doing anything extraordinary, he just charged at Watson and landed the odd blow before smothering Watson’s work. Watson should’ve been able to control him with the jab or taken a step back and counterpunched, instead he allowed Murphy to lure him into a battle of attrition.

Karl Place also remains unbeaten after knocking out Steve Saville in the second round. Place was wobbled in the first round by a left hook and had to contend with a heavily bleeding nose before coming back to level Saville with two left hooks under the ribs.

Place was walking onto shots at times and lacked composure, but he undoubtedly showed he’s got the heart for a war. I thought the fight was perfect for Place’s development. These are the kind of fights that prospects learn from, not like the aforementioned Price debacle.

Other Results: Rick Godding out-pointed William Warburton over six rounds, Kirk Goodings beat Pavels Senkovs on points and Dave Ferguson beat Paul Morris over four.

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