OUTSTANDING
GOOD
FAIR
DISAPPOINTING
RUBBISH
Reporters’ star ratings for main events and undercards are based on in-ring entertainment, competitiveness and whether overall expectation was met
BETHNAL GREEN
SEPTEMBER 30
WHOLE SHOW
ATMOSPHERE
SMALL hall boxing can still deliver quality entertainment, judging by this Lee Eaton/Mo Prior promotion at York Hall, topped by three even-money title bouts.
If the main event was too one-sided to be exciting, the other two belt battles provided the sort of action fans crave, with the outcomes in doubt all the way.
The vacant English super-lightweight title is now the property of Lucas Ballingall after the elusive Portsmouth boxer had too much skill for Boy Jones Jnr (Chingford) in a 10-rounder that looked good on paper but never caught fire.
Jones Jnr advanced throughout, but never with enough speed or ingenuity to catch Ballingall more than occasionally. Lucas used his faster hands and greater accuracy to land jabs and left hooks, plus one crunching left uppercut in the ninth.
Ballingall won unanimously for judges Mark Bates (99-91), Lee Every (99-93) and Sean McAvoy (98-92). Kieran McCann refereed.
Much more exciting was the 10 that saw Sheerness southpaw Martin McDonagh, seemingly well behind on points, rally to stop Connor Marsden in the last and take the Chelsea man’s Southern Area lightweight title.
It was even for four rounds as the 6ft 2ins Marsden scored with rights, while McDonagh enjoyed success with his back hand (the left). But then Marsden took control to have his tiring opponent backing off, and things got worse for McDonagh in round eight when referee Every docked him a point for holding.
Everything turned around late in the ninth when a left made Marsden grab hold. He survived until the bell, but in the last he just couldn’t keep the challenger off before a left sent him crashing down face-first on to the bottom rope.
Mr Every immediately waved it off, with just 49 seconds left to run in the bout, to let Marsden receive medical attention, and fortunately Connor seemed to recover quickly.
Marsden has decent skills and some power, but all three of his pro defeats have come inside the distance. For McDonagh, this big win (also an English title eliminator) vindicated his move down from 140lbs.
The other Southern Area title contest, to fill the vacancy at bantamweight, produced a tense, intriguing encounter won on points by Jordan Purkiss
over Ryan Walker. Referee Every scored 98-94, but it seemed a closer than that.
Purkiss, from Stanford-le-Hope, started brightly to win three of the opening four rounds as he landed solid rights. But the middle sessions saw the more experienced Walker (Newham) come in to things as Purkiss’ workrate dropped.
Yet Jordan, in only his fifth pro fight, reasserted himself in the closing stages, lasting the pace better and ultimately
