WEMBLEY ARENA is currently being treated to a thrilling fight as British rivals Brad Pauls and Denzel Bentley are facing off RIGHT NOW with the middleweight title up for grabs!
The Newquay Bomb knocked out Nathan Heaney in his last bout and wrote his name in the history books by becoming the first boxer from Cornwall to win a Lonsdale Belt since 1939.
However, Pauls’s opponent Bentley is a man on a mission to reclaim the title that he lost to Heaney a little over a year ago.
But before the main event, Lawrence Okolie marked his heavyweight debut with a win by brutally stopping Hussein Muhamed in the first round.
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Pauls Bentley R8
Bentley’s nickname is 2Sharp but he looks frustratingly blunt right now, circling around the ring and not offering enough to dismiss Pauls from applying pressure in a bout he was once leading.
Pauls is sternly warned for rabbit punching in the clinch during another competitive round, punctuated by the champion unloading a six-punch combo in centre ring.
Bentley is being beaten to the punch and in a fight where he’s battling vociferous support, he needs some urgency.
Pauls Bentley R8
Pauls needs to step on the accelerator and seize this lull from Bentley as long as it lasts because, well, you never quite know what to expect.
Pauls has found a home for the jab and Bentley doesn’t look too convincing, almost a little gun shy to throw his bigger punches now.
Linus Udofia, who lost a split decision over twelve rounds against Bentley three years ago, is one of Pauls’ closest friends and was very pleased with that last stanza. I make it 5-3 in favour of the champion by that token, maybe 4-4 through eight rounds.
Pauls Bentley R7
Into the second-half of this contest they go, punches in bunches is the cry from Pauls’ support team as the crowd surge in favour of a champion who needs some encouragement right about now.
Why? He’s begun this round getting his head pinged back, repeatedly, for the first minute and Bentley is doing a better job of making him miss with wild forward forays failing to find its mark.
Bentley threatens with a double uppercut, Pauls responds with more powerful advances and this is definitely a swing round. Bentley won the first-half, Pauls the second… 4-3 either way.
Pauls Bentley R6
Bentley content to box off the back foot in sequences and now Pauls is the aggressor, his support team urging him not to wait and punch whenever the distance between them closes.
Three stiff jabs to finish the stanza for Denzel, but he’s not as active as before and Pauls can sense a momentum shift. It genuinely feels like the tide is starting to turn… 3-3 through 18 minutes from me.
Pauls Bentley R5
That was probably Pauls’ best round and by that assessment, it’s 3-1 to the challenger. Almost as if he can read my writing, he’s starting to find his mojo and being more active – punching with Bentley – inviting danger but by the same token having sustained success.
When they’re boxing up close, that sorta scrappy style suits the champion far more than having Bentley piece him up at distance.
Dare I say… 3-2? This is getting interesting.
Pauls Bentley R4
Bentley starts the fourth with a short left hand that lands flush, he’s starting to find his rhythm and Pauls needs to offset this with more of the counterpunching brilliance that saw Heaney unseat Bentley twelve months ago.
Easier said than done when you don’t move as smoothly as the Stoke man did that night, but doubling up behind his jab would help – right on cue he does – then lands two more lefts.
It’s a nip-and-tuck stanza, Battersea’s Bentley investing downstairs and the Wembley crowd throwing every punch with a defending champion 250 miles down south.
Pauls Bentley R3
Into the third they go, Bentley catches the champion clean with a disguised looping left and it’s a timely reminder Pauls can’t afford to just press forward at will – he’s got to pick his moments better.
Both swing wildly and while it looks good on TV, nothing landed to unsettle either man as Bentley flicks out the jab and unloads one-twos. Even if they’re not all landing, he’s far more active and in a 12-round contest, this early tempo suits the challenger far more.
Pauls Bentley R2
Newquay Bomb chants aren’t too far away but neither is Bentley’s piercing jab or his right hand from a champion standing exactly where he wants him.
An overhand right catches the challenger’s attention in the final half-minute but Pauls’ activity isn’t enough to deter this pressure now.
Pauls Bentley R1
They waste no time with their respective ringwalks, meaning business as both stride into position raring to go.
We’ll soon see if Pauls has progressed even more after snatching British honours away from Nathan Heaney in July, against a two-time former champ finding form again and is the better boxer on paper.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the atmosphere, in favour of the champion, influences the judges during their cagier rounds like this opening stanza – Bentley trying to close the distance against Pauls, who hasn’t fully got his legs under him yet and is wary of the jab.
Pauls partially lands a whizzing right, both connect on crowd-pleasing shots to finish a competitive stanza but Bentley edges that for me.
With that… main event time!
Denzel Bentley making his ringwalk now… you ready?
Noakes: We knew Walsh wouldn’t quit!
Refreshingly candid as ever in his post-fight interview, Sam Noakes concedes there aren’t going to be “any easy fights anymore” as he steps up towards world level in a deadly lightweight division.
“Just gotta keep growing and hats off to him [Walsh], he’s got a very hard head as you saw! We knew the corner wouldn’t pull him out, fought until the last minute and deserved to see the final bell with some of the shots he was taking.”
His head coach Al Smith: “We exercised patience in the corner, maturity, he could’ve gone for the finish with a bit more pressure but we’ve got a way to go … if there’s an opportunity for a big fight though, we’ll take it.”
Noakes eases to UD12 win!
119-109, 120-108, 120-108: Sam Noakes bt. Ryan Walsh via UD, retains British, Commonwealth and WBO International lightweight titles
Boxed like a seasoned pro, didn’t get carried away and continued chipping away at a grizzled veteran who didn’t offer much by round three and the 27-year-old goes the 12-round distance a second time in eight months – never a bad thing!
Noakes vs Walsh R12
So they enter the final round, Walsh looks worse for wear and his nose tells the story of a one-sided beatdown – patient, methodical and perhaps even more damaging than the explosive knockout trio that preceded this.
Noakes presses forward, connects on a few big shots but every time Ryan senses danger, he holds or finds a way to survive the onslaught.
Admittedly an anticlimactic ending given how easily Noakes was in control but he didn’t lose a round nor leave third gear for large spells.
Noakes vs Walsh R11
More on that previous post… Noakes is #3 with the WBO, behind Keyshawn Davis (#1) and Raymond Muratalla (#2). Both above him have boxed in the last month and scored second-round stoppage wins over Gustavo Lemos and Jesus Perez Campos respectively.
Sam continues to sting and probe a wily veteran firing far less back in response and now I’m really interested for this post-fight interview.
Berinchyk-Noakes next?
Meanwhile, I’ve just seen an official fight poster with WBO world lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk vs. Sam Noakes on the Usyk-Fury 2 undercard, in some 14 days’ time, circulating on social media.
Everyone’s ignored that and instead focusing on the fact that Ishmael Davis will step into the breach again… facing Serhii Bohachuk on December 21 in Riyadh, after former WBA light-middleweight world titlist Israil Madrimov withdrew with a bout of acute bronchitis.
Wonder what we’ll hear in the post-fight interview… was that meant to be released? Could they reschedule for the Feb. 22 card, where Madrimov will box Vergil Ortiz on a stacked Saudi show next year?
Noakes vs Walsh R9
Dig deep is being consistently barked ringside but it’s falling on deaf ears now as Walsh is purely in survival mode now, little more than that.
The ringside doctor’s taking a long look in the corner after watching the cumulative damage pile up… somehow they’re still going and the final quarter of this 12-rounder begins.
Noakes vs Walsh R8
Straight jab pierces through the guard lands flush for Noakes, taking his time and going up the gears as Walsh’s intermittent resistance continues. “Give him everything you’ve got,” is being repeatedly barked at a challenger who looks on his last legs now and cooked.
Looked moments away from a stoppage sequence at the end of this round just now… but again the bell comes to his aid.
Noakes vs Walsh R7
Walsh winces as he eats a straight in the first minute of another one-sided round and well, if not for the referee’s intervention as they tie up, he could’ve easily been needing to climb off the canvas there.
Noakes staying composed behind the jab, connects on a three-punch combination before more of the same – holding gives Walsh reprieve.
Noakes vs Walsh R6
You can’t help but feel a bit for Ryan Walsh’s corner, willing their man on as best they can though he can’t match that intensity against a younger, fresher boxer beating him to the punch and versatile enough to pepper him a myriad of different ways.
Noakes narrowly misses with a haymaker in the final half-minute, then has the 38-year-old pinned against the corner frantically dodging flurries in the final seconds of another dominant round.
How much longer can this persist? Into the second-half of this 12-round contest, we’ll soon find out.
Noakes vs Walsh R5
Intermittent punches thrown by a weary challenger but Noakes’ body punching is starting to take a toll, he can’t mask it much longer and that has only enthused the champion – use that method of attack further. These rounds are becoming gruelling for Ryan now.
Noakes vs Walsh R4
Into the fourth they go and Noakes is cranking up the uppercuts as Walsh wades further back… a disguised body shot hurt the grizzled veteran in the final half-minute and after absorbing two to the head, the bell sounds at just the right moment for him to recover.
“Use your double jab” is the latest, a louder plea ringside but something tells me Walsh can’t exactly execute the way his support team would like… into the fifth they go.
Noakes vs Walsh R3
Noakes meets air as he whizzes a few cuffing hooks in Walsh’s direction, but the intent is there for one man and the champion’s dictating pace in an ominous manner – almost as if he’s waiting for the right moment to strike. Stiff right hand lands flush, then a deft body punch and Walsh gets caught standing static in the pocket.
This feels like a fight Noakes can finish whenever he wants to, truthfully. Uppercuts are flowing, he’s found his range and Walsh has a bloodied nose too, never a good sign against a power puncher.
Noakes Walsh R2
Noakes tees off with a four-punch combo a minute into the round, just as I was about to say… Walsh needs to get his respect and quickly here, otherwise this will resemble target practice for the champion.
“Go first and break him down Ryan,” is the cry ringside from one of the challenger’s team, but it’s easier to say and harder to do against someone with the punch power Noakes possesses. Heaney had an interesting anecdote I’ll share with you later, so stay tuned for that.
Anyway, “get your jab popping,” is the latest instruction for Walsh but he’s increasingly on the defensive and gets his head pinged back to finish another solid stanza for a patient favourite right now.
Noakes Walsh R1
Sam Noakes looks a million dollars as he soaks up the reception, older brother Sean proudly holding his British crown before fight #4 of the year for an active, ambitious hopeful looking to bridge that gap to world championship level in the not-too-distant future.
Noakes paws out the right hand, then patiently picks punches downstairs against a twitchy opponent yet to really land anything of note through 90 seconds.
Instead, it’s the champion applying pressure and a looping right hand causes damage to finish a good round worth of work.
Crotty cruises to debut win
Dylan Courtney did well to hear the final bell in truth, against a motivated debutant who chained attacks nicely… and left his opponent bloodied and bruised over four rounds. 40-36 the final score, no surprises there, a decent float bout with two bouts left.
Unbeaten lightweight contender Sam Noakes faces a deceptively difficult challenge in Ryan Walsh, making his way to the ring now.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
