Liverpool, England: Kevin Mitchell captures WBO Intercontinental title after TKO victory over John Murray, and Nicky Cook suffers the same fate after 93 seconds against Super Featherweight champion Ricky Burns, in slightly more controversial circumstances

In an astonishing and controversial night here at Liverpool’s Echo Arena, Kevin Mitchell, fighting out of Dagenham, East London finished the proceedings of a stacked card (12 fights) with a TKO victory of the European lightweight Champion John Murray after only 8 rounds. The fight was a British classic, showcasing two of the countries premier fighters, but only did we get to view this bout after witnessing one of the worst fights to grace these shores this year, soundly rounded off with one of the most shocking endings to a world title fight you will ever witness.

The supporting fight, was suprisingly Ricky Burns making the 3rd defence of his WBO Super Featherweight strap he won, back in 2010 against the highly rated Roman Martinez. His opponent Nicky Cook, fighting out of Stepney, East London, was a previously unbeaten EBU Featherweight champion had won the above title back in 2008, defeating Alex Arthur in Manchester, as the supporting act to Amir Khans infamous bout with Breidis Prescott. Cook possessed good credentials on paper coming into this fight, but his best days were behind him. A sound beating at the hands of Roman Martinez, followed by a dismal 6 round point victory over Youssef Al Hamidi who had acquired 33 losses at the time of them fighting, followed his controversial points win over Arthur.

Only hours before the fight, UK bookmakers had ceased all activity on the Londoner being KO’ed in round 3. Apparently, there was a suspicious amount of bets being placed on the early rounds in and around East London, home of the challenger. It did not even get to reach the third, as Burns improved his record to 32(9)-2, only throwing 1 meaningful punch in the process. Burns swung a right hook which did clearly land at the 6 second mark, but Cook collapsed to the floor grimacing as he held his back. Cook managed to stand again, but did hit the deck again without any punches being landed. Burns did knock the London man down again on the minute mark, at which point the towel was thrown in, and the fight stopped at 1 minute 33 seconds. Nicky Cook left the ring in a stretcher, and Ricky Burns left with yet another frustrating ‘W’ on his record. One cannot blame the Scot for the insane way in which the bout ended here tonight in Liverpool, but serious questions do need to be asked as to why the challenger was allowed to even fight?

The dust had hardly settled since David Haye’s disastrous attempt at Heavyweight glory two weeks again, when yet again another high profile domestic fight ended in a highly controversial manner. At least Khan v Mcloskey went 6 rounds, this fight seemed to have been won outside of the ring. Robert Smith, general secretary for the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBoC), was interviewed post fight by SKY TV. “The lad was in a wonderful condition before the fight, and there was no sign of injury, it looks to be a freak injury, and we are really disappointed for the lad.” Asked if there would be an enquiry into the outcome of the fight, Smith replied, “We will have to look at the fight again, we will wait and see.” As for the betting being suspended just before the fight, one can make their own assumptions, but quite clearly, something drastically went wrong last night. If Cook’s team knew about the injury, and let him fight in that condition then they should be suspended, and if somehow the details were leaked by his team to family and friends, who proceeded to bet on their man being KO’ed early, they too should be suspended, and they should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. That was genuine pain on the face of Cook, not a broken toe, but a genuine spinal condition that he should not of been actively fighting with. Once again, paying UK fight fans were treated to a non-event, and were left with one final bout of the evening to bring some much needed excitement.

Luckily, the main bout of the evening lived up to, and exceeded expectations. Kevin Mitchell, the returning Londoner, who had been KO’ed in front of 20, 000 fans at his beloved Upton park stadium in 2010, was challenging the best lightweight in Europe, Manchester brawler John Murray. The fight was moved up to the Liverpool bill from last weeks planned show at the EXCEL arena amid poor ticket sales down in London, although the official reason was Mitchell had contracted a bad viral infection a wekk before the fight. It is just a well it ended up on tonight’s bill, as without this great scrap, the whole card would have been a dire event. Tony Bellew fought a lackluster points win against Orville Mckenzie, in a Light Heavyweight rematch from May which saw the Liverpool man knocked down twice in the opening 3 rounds. We did not have such a luxury this evening as even the home fans starting booing the loud and over confident British and Commonwealth champion, as he jabbed his way to a landslide points victory. Newly crowned WBO king Nathan Cleverly was ringside, but will not of been troubled by what he saw.

There was a great atmosphere in the Echo Arena as the fighters made their way to ring for the main event. Mitchell, the skilled technician, out to prove a point after his emphatic defeat to Michael Katsidis, wearing blue, Union Jack trimmed trunks appeared confident and was hoping to make the headlines for his boxing skills, not for the personal problems which have plagued the Dagenham man of late. He allegedly spent £200, 000 on alcohol binges after his TKO defeat against the world class Australian. Murray, wearing black with white trim trunks, started the proceedings well, his constant pressuring style not allowing Mitchell to use his jab. One minute in and Mitchell found some rhythm, trading well on the inside, and picking his shots well when the space was available. Although Mitchell is the technically more gifted fighter of the two, he would need to prove that he can mix it rough, as Murray would not be giving any leeway with regards to space and finding his range. Mitchell definitely won the first round, purely based on the crisper punches being landed, and the fact he looked the sharper fighter, better speed and accuracy, and the punches he landed looked very dangerous.

The second round started at a higher pace, with Murray applying his shots well, mixing to the body and throwing some good left hooks. 1.43 of the round saw a huge right stagger Mitchell badly, although he managed to retaliate with some clean punches whilst trying to avoid being stuck on the ropes. With 43 seconds left, Murray again landed a great right, but Mitchell rebounded well with a superb uppercut, and managed to regain the centre of the ring, with some nice combinations, and an eye catching flurry, although that would not be enough to win the round. 10/9 Murray, but Mitchell showed the better footwork and speed.

The 3rd round was an absolute peach, both fighters exercising their power, and taking some heavy shots in the process. Mitchell adapted very well, commanding the ring well and not allowing Murray to engage on the ropes, although at 1.14 Mitchell was rocked by a solid right. The east London man was now mixing his punches better, starting to work the body, and definitely letting Murray know that he was fighting as a proper lightweight. The round was incredibly hard to score, as Murray was naturally the aggressor, throwing more punches, but hardly any cleanly landing in this session. The round ended with Murray being badly rocked himself after a great right from Mitchell. Too close to call, 10/10, and the fight was practically all even going into the 4th.

Round 4 pretty much went to Murray, as again his output was superior, but clearly he was not the technician in this fight. Mitchell landed on the minute mark with 2 great uppercuts and a very nice combination. Murray did look to have won this round easily, purely based on punch output, but when Mitchell was on the ropes he did not appear hurt, and reeled off some nice shots in return, Murray 10/9.

One third of the way in to the fight, and statistically, it was suprisingly even with Murray throwing 209 shots, of which 64 landed; Mitchell throwing 211 and landing 54. The 5th probably went to Murray again, as he threw the cleaner punches, although again, Mitchell landed another stinging uppercut, it was his best tool in the box, by far. Mitchell ended the round bruised, but Murray’s right eye seemed badly swollen, and seemed very tried and disorientated when returning to his corner.

Round 6 saw the fight explode, as Mitchell started finding his range, letting the right go, with some great combinations surely catching the judges eyes. Murray looked incredibly fatigued mid round and was relying on holding and rough inside fighting, though Mitchell appeared very strong and not bothered with the Hatton like mauling he was encountering. Great round, which Mitchell won, Murray was taking far too many shots for my liking. Joe Gallagher was imploring Murray to work the body as they entered the 7th; only 15 bodyshots were thrown from each fighter up until this round. The 7th saw an astonishing comeback from Mitchell as he sensed his opponent was losing heart, and proceeded to start putting together some very very decent combinations, including some devastating left hooks which staggered Murray badly, as well the signature uppercut which had performed well all night long for Mitchell. Murray was in a very bad way as the bell signaled the end of the seventh round, and was very lucky to hang on as Mitchell looked very dangerous and relaxed, and knew he had his man in serious danger of being knocked out.

Mitchell exuded confidence as the eight started, reeling off 4,5 great left hooks, but Murray was not going down without a fight, and he landed some of the best punches of the fight, two perfectly timed uppercuts followed by a left hook which rocked Mitchell. Murray looked shattered and was sent to the canvas at 1 minute 33 seconds after taking a heavy left from Mitchell, teed up beautifully from a straight right. Mitchell did not lose eye contact with his opponent as he was counted to 10, blood streaming from his nose, and both eyes badly swollen. Murray did not even raise his guard, and looked ready to drop again, as Mitchell landed 3 huge left hands, at which point the referee rightly ended the contest just before the end of round 8.

Delirious scenes followed for Kevin Mitchell and his team, as he proved his critics wrong, with a stunning TKO victory over one of the best lightweights in the world. Murray cut a sad figure, and looked tearful, and badly bloodied after this epic war, a truly great fight with a stunning ending. I had the fight even until this round, but Murray, now dropping to 31(18)-1, had exhausted all supplies, and had quite clearly been matched against a far better fighter on the night. Though there is no shame in this defeat, he too can still reach the world level again, it was just Mitchell had too much in the box for him on the night.

Do not forget, the Dagenham fighter was fighting for a world strap himself only last year. As the result was read out to the crowd, a rather poignant scene emerged, Mitchell, the referee Richard Davies, and Murray hugging, both in respect of each other, and knowing they had just been in a great war. A great end to a mixed card, which would of been an absolute disaster, should this have been staged last week in London as planned. Murray can re-group, and should be pushing for a world title shot very soon, Mitchell on the other hand has just come off a 14 month layoff, and the manner of this victory over his rival tonight, showed a great deal of character, professionalism and a lot of heart. Mitchell, improving to 32(24)-1, is a very talented boxer/technician who may end up fighting Katsidis again very soon, although a huge fight against Brandon Rios would appeal, and would sell both sides of the Atlantic. The lightweight division is packed with talent at present, and with John Murray being ranked number 4 in ‘the Rings’ rankings as of last night, big matches will now await the rejuvenated Mitchell and his trainer Jimmy Tibbs. Superb fight.

The much anticipated ‘Face Off’ feature for the huge Klitschko v Haye bout was aired last night on HBO in the US, and across Europe via the Internet early this morning. The excellent format of this mini-programme has proved a great success for recent Pay Per View fights of late, and is now a staple part any big fight build up. It is a crucial element in actually selling the event, but more importantly, showcasing possible physiological flaws or advantages in front of a large international audience. Last night’s episode was a superb advertisement for any mainstream fan wanting to buy the PPV, or even bother to watch it if you are an HBO subscriber.

The ever professional IBF/WBO king Wladimir Klitschko, and the ever so loud WBA champ David Haye crossed tongues, not swords, for approximately 13 minutes, half of which were spent silent as Klitschko visibly angry at Hayes wild and abusive comments, paused for thought, and at one point, looked ready to lick Haye in front of the confused Max Kellerman. The ‘Face Off’ for Bernard Hopkins (WBC Light Heavyweight champ) now history making defeat over Jean Pascal was an enthralling watch. If you have not already, pop onto Youtube and have a look, its TV at it’s best. The difference with Hopkins v Pascal ll, was the fact the story had been set 5 months previous to their rematch of May this year, when Hopkins rose from the canvas to score a hotly disputed draw with the Quebec based light heavyweight. The first bout had controversial scoring, flash knockdowns, and what many thought, an overall unsavory result courtesy of the loud and loyal Canadian crowd. Klitschko V Haye does not have that luxury, before it deals with the actual fight (which I hope turns out to be a Heavyweight classic), it must first try to generate genuine worldwide interest, and it could do without the comments that arose on last nights show. But then again it is the whole reason fans are going to purchase the fight. Trash talk sells, ask Mike Tyson.

The fight itself, is a blockbuster by any standards. A massive unification fight showcasing two heavyweights who probably have more critics than followers, but who still, are probably the biggest fighters in the sport bar Filipino sensation Manny Pacquaio and the now re-activated Floyd Mayweather. Both of the fighters mentioned above will share an eery similarity if they ever do meet in the ring. Klitschko V Haye has been on and off for about 3 years now. It was put together twice, and the ‘Hayemaker’ (25-1 (23 KO’s) even managed to put a fight together with Vitali Klitshcko in that time, only for it to be cancelled for him to fight the giant Nicolay Valuev for his WBA strap in 2009. Such a horrendous run of events for fans of both camps has soured the proceedings, although the fight now looks like it will sell big in Europe at least, as David Hayes antics will be splashed across tabloids for the 2 weeks running up to the fight. It works, do not get me wrong, it is one of the reasons I, and millions of others watch Boxing. You can get a build up to a football, soccer or cricket match/game, but nothing can equal the anticipation, excitement and intrigue of a big fight build up, and the hype that comes with it. Trash talk will always be a part of it, but it generally emanates from the US and the UK, you will hard pitched to find the following comments emit from, say a European fighter. Wladimir Klitschko (55-3 (49 KO’s) is the complete opposite to a David Haye, a Ricardo Mayorga, or a Floyd Mayweather to an extent. He possesses a diplomatic, calm, even statesman like demeanor, and is as famous in his homeland of Ukraine for his charity work, as the work he does with his fists.

That is what made watching the ‘Face Off’ episode so hard. You see, personally I do have an allegiance to the former undisputed cruiserweight champion fighting out of London, England. I grew up not far from where he still operates, and I grew up watching his fights both on the BBC, all the way up to his UK PPV’s against Monte Barrett, John Ruiz and Valuev, and of course the awful ‘event’ with Audley Harrison. This is a fighter who has cashed in his chips in a big way, and whom I view more of as a businessman than a global boxing star. You get the impression if he did lose come July 2nd, that it would not matter that much to him, as there will be around £20 million in the bank from this fight alone, not to mention the £5 million he earned against Harrison. Throw in the October retirement date, the fact Vitali will not be fighting him regardless of the outcome with his brother (Vitali Klitschko fights Tomasz Adamek on September 10th in Poland for a defence of his WBC belt), and you get the distinct impression that Haye is doing a runner to Hollywood with no conscience as soon as that cheque clears. One can only come to this conclusion when you add up how much money it costs to follow such a fighter. The PPV fees for a UK subscriber; around £100 if you had started watching him post 2008, after dismantling Enzo Maccarinelli inside 2 rounds at London’s 02 arena. We see the glitzy Hayemaker t-shirts, the phone applications, the constant bad press that circles him everywhere he goes, it just smacks of raking in all possible funds available, before a pre-determined retirement date that will deny his fans the fights they have always wanted to see. Haye is a great fighter, really he is. he is devastating and explosive when he fights. His speed and agility for such a small heavyweight is astonishing, his power and finesse is worth paying a fee to see, but after last nights showing, there really is a line. A lot of people fail to se the bigger picture, that they have been dragged along on a 4 year journey to this fight, which has seen him only score one convincing victory along the way. Barrett had him down, Ruiz was an old example of his former self, Audley Harrison, enough said. The Valuev fight was a great tactical masterpiece, but that was a t a cost of missing out on him fighting both bothers back in 2008-2009.

Max Kellerman, host of HBO: face Off “What do you think of Wladimir Klitschko, David?” He’s a dickhead”. Probably the most stupid of all insults someone can throw at another human being. Its something that lacks intelligence, is cringe-worthy and childish. I mean it does not even make sense, well it makes money sense. This attitude definitely taps into that mainstream market of UK fans, the football/soccer heads who have no sport for the next 2 months, and will have been bored stupid by tennis for the last month or so. It is without doubt, the sporting event of the summer in Europe, its a huge fight, and if either win, you could argue it will be a career defining victory. Unfortunately for Haye, what little amount of fans he had outside of the UK, he would of lost them last night. I am not sure our fans or even media know the extent of how much Haye is derided and ridiculed outside his homeland, and in boxing circles. He is a bad advert for British boxing as a whole. It is not about whether you need to sell your PPV, and you need to generate support, its about the integrity of the sport, and most importantly how you represent your nation. It is bad enough that HBO are airing this ‘fight of the year’ for free as they are seriously not keen on David Haye, Vitali Klitschko or Wladimir for that matter. They never will be. Hardcore boxing fans are really excited about this fight, it could be an all time great, but someone is getting knocked out in 2 weeks, that much is academic. If it is to be Haye who is the victim, then he will never be able to repair what is left of his legacy on the international stage, last night was pretty much the last throw of the dice. Sure, he will remain popular amongst his fan base, he probably will become an actor as he has always wished, and will still be on peoples TV’s as the man who used to box. But amongst true boxing fans, he will be remembered for his bad PR stunts and lack of his respect for his opponents, in what still is the quintessential gentlemans sport.

Aside from the obvious negativity surrounding Haye’s comments, Klitschko did not have much to say. For the most part, he let Haye take the lead, and at one stage stayed silent for at least a minute, looked visibly seething at the Londoners comments. If Klitschko is to win this fight, he has to remain focused and not get sucked into the Hayemakers gameplan. It may look like the Englishman has the physiological advantage if you check out the clip on HBO/Youtube now, but that was recorded 6 weeks ago. Since then, Klitschko has been received very well in the UK, in particular his interviews on prime time SKY and BBC news shows have shown who he is and what he is about, and to be frank, none of it was bad press. He fits the bill perfectly for the actual marketing of the fight. Haye assumes the bad guy role, and Wlad remains placid, choosing not to engage in the childish antics such as the infamous decapitation t-shirts and video games that have preceded the build up to the 2 fights, one of which Haye pulled out of due due to an ‘injury’. Although, his UK TV contract with the broadcaster Setanta went under the same week, leaving him without a cable TV platform. (Brief history of Klitschko v Haye if you did not know before. You can probably now see why the Germany based fighter is so aggrieved and agitated when discussing David Haye). If Wladimir does get sucked into the mind games, then he loses his focus, his game plan and all of his training is out of the window, and he reverts back to the Klitschko bother who has been knocked out on 3 occasions, all before 2004 mind.

Wlad is trained by the legendary Kronk founder, Emmanuel Steward, although it is not an orthodox fighter-trainer relationship that exists between the two. Only last week, Klitschko appeared to be slightly negative, when discussing how they work together. Something along the lines of ‘I decide how I fight, not Emmanuel.’ It may of been misinterpreted, but it is a fact that ‘Dr Steelhamer’ has suffered devastating KO losses in the past, to Corrie Sanders in 2003 (knocked down 3 times before being rescued by the referee in round 2) and the to Lamon Brewster only 1 year later, going out on a TKO in round 5. He is nowhere nearly as careless these days, choosing to operate a safety based approach which is somewhat derided by some boxing fans, and is the reason HBO will not buy into the Heavyweight division anymore. Ask HBO president Ross Greenburg for clarification. Such a view is ignorant and ill founded, its just a fact of national interest. If he is not American/Mexican we are not interested, that kind of thing. Klitschko has the most devastating jab in modern heavyweight history, and when needed, KO’s his victims in a seriously bad way. He pummeled the likes of Samuel peter, Hasim Rahman, Ruslan Chagaev and Eddie Chambers within the distance, and to be honest has rarely been in trouble since he lost to Sanders all those years ago. He is a legit pound for pound fighter, but you could argue, his resume is as flawed as Haye’s. Do not forget that Klitschko pulled out on Britain’s Dereck Chisora, twice, whilst trying to make the fight with Haye happen. Chisora was never a worthy opponent, and was merely tossed to the gutter on both occasions, a pawn in this immensely tiring set of negotiations to make the bout. Still, Wlad is a classy boxer, but can be exposed, and if he fights with his heart, not his head, which Haye literally is begging him to do, then he loses.

Its an intriguing fight nonetheless. 50/50, not in the sense that they are evenly poised and matched, they both have contrasting attributes, strengths and styles, it just depends on who wins the mind games, and who enters the ring focused on one thing, winning. Nothing personally, just getting the job done, and achieving the sole goal of the fight, to win. Adam Booth, David Hayes trainer and manager, pulled off a stunning tactical victory when his boy George Groves defeated the highly rated Olympic medalist James de Gale only last month. There seems to be a great confidence omitting from Team Haye over this fight, and there is much talk of a so called ‘masterplan’ that will defeat Klitschko easily. I feel it is common sense, that Haye is betting all of his chips that he has dragged Klitschko far enough out of his comfort zone to want to go to war with him, and that he has to knock him out early. It can be done, and I feel probably will be done if it works, that is how important last nights Face Off was, the early suggestion is that David Haye is getting the upper hand on Wlad Klitschko, and his Ali-esque tactics have wound him up enough to want to kill him. I wonder if Haye will try and fight southpaw, or will it be a similar fight to when he picked away at Valuev, and stole a decision in Germany. I doubt a Decision of any kind is up for debate, especially as Wladimir so adored there. Haye has to win big, to save his reputation and prove he belongs with the Heavy weight greats. Either way, the damage to Haye’s standing on the global stage and his legacy in the sport is done, lets just pray that Wladimir is not bluffing though, as someone is going to end up with Pizza on their face. On PPV to. Food for thought.