British Scene Weekend Recap: Sykes Claims Vacant Crown

Dave Oakes recaps this past Friday's British super-featherweight title clash between Gary Sykes and Andy Morris.

Gary Sykes claimed the vacant British super-featherweight title on Friday after a close fought and entertaining fight with Andy Morris at the Huddersfield Leisure Centre.

The first round was a close affair; Morris was having success with the jab whilst Sykes landed a few straight rights towards the end of the round as both boxers began at a frenetic pace.

Morris, sensing that Sykes had the advantage in the strength department, used his skills more in the next few rounds. He boxed beautifully off the back foot, avoiding Sykes’ wild swings before landing his own blows.

Sykes upped his already high work rate in the fifth and sixth rounds, managing to claw his way back into a fight that was looking like a step too far for him. Morris was still looking to box off the back foot but Sykes was more successful in closing the range in these rounds and wasn’t overreaching with his punches as much.

The seventh was clearly Sykes’ round; his aggressive style was starting to pay dividends as he landed the better shots as well as tightening his own defences. Morris was finding it much harder to land but cleverly switched to the body a few times.

The eighth was another close round, Sykes was continuing to press the action but Morris was having success to the body. The best shot of the round belonged to Morris as he caught Sykes with a hard uppercut that stopped the Yorkshireman in his tracks. That, along with his increased work rate gave Morris the round on my card.

The ninth was a clear round for Morris, he was now matching Sykes for strength and determination and was more than willing to stand his ground with the bigger man. Morris was still landing some hefty looking blows to the body and it was looking likely that he’d finish the stronger of the two.

In Sykes’ career best victory before this fight, he’d finished like a train to take a points decision over Anthony Crolla. This seemed to be a much more gruelling fight than that, but yet again, Sykes dragged every ounce of energy out of his body and just about outworked Morris in the three thrilling final rounds.

Morris was also giving everything he’d got; he was now standing toe to toe and exchanging shots rather than using his skills. Both fighters deserve a lot of credit for the way they fought, the referee wasn’t needed throughout due to their styles meshing perfectly and their gentlemanly approach to thumping lumps out of each other. It was one of those fights that makes British boxing what it is – passionate, competitive, tough and thoroughly entertaining.

The judges were all in agreement that Sykes had won, one scoring it 116-113, whilst the other two were in agreement with my card of 115-114.

Sykes was clearly delighted at having his hand raised and there was a tear in the corner of his eye as he got his hands on the coveted Lonsdale belt. His first defence could come against fellow Yorkshireman and former champion Carl Johanneson in what would be another crowd pleasing fight. Rematches against Morris and Crolla look to be viable options also.

On the undercard...

Tyson Fury took his unbeaten record to 10-0 (8 KO’s) against the laughably bad Hans-Joerg Blasko. Fury had the German down twice in the first round, the second ending the bout.

Fury has all the attributes needed to become a good heavyweight but fights like these will do nothing to help him progress as a fighter. One positive for him is his recent move to the Collyhurst gym to train under the tutelage of the legendary Brian Hughes. I feel that Hughes is the perfect coach to help his development at this stage of his career.

Carl Frampton took his record to 5-0 (3 KO’s), he floored Istvan Szabo seconds into the fight and stopped himshortly afterward as a left hook robbed the Hungarian of his senses.

Belfast born Frampton looks to be a seriously good prospect and is one to keep an eye out for in the future.

Local lad Tyrone Nurse recovered from a heavy knockdown in the second round to beat Adam Kelly on points over six rounds. Nurse was in control for the majority of the fight and the knockdown was Kelly’s only success of the night. Nurse looks to have good skills but lacks punch power and may struggle as he moves further up in class.

Other results: Daniel Randall out-pointed the wily Carl Allen over four, Ryan Brawley edged out Sebastian Cornu over six close rounds, Jon Hussey secured a six round points win over Danny Parkinson, Josh Warrington out-pointed Danny McDermid to take his unbeaten record to 3-0 and Alastair Warren stopped Matt Scriven in the second round to keep his unbeaten record intact.

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