Josh Padley celebrates upset victory over previously undefeated lightweight contender Mark Chamberlain on September 21. Riyadh Season UK launch at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Photo Credit: Mark Robinson, Matchroom Boxing
The British launch of the Riyadh season opened with a loss to Turki Alalshikh’s favorite fighter.
Mark Chamberlain picked up a knock and a point in an upset decision loss to Josh Padley. The battle of unbeaten Britons saw Padley emerge victorious by scores of 96-92, 96-92 and 95-93 in their junior welterweight bout.
Chamberlain emerged as a regular in the Riyadh Season, but started slowly in his first fight on home soil in ten months. Padley arrived with the intention of shocking the world and forced the bigger Chamberlain out of his comfort zone.
Both fighters were cut from frequent headbutts. Padley pushed past his wound to target Chamberlain’s body whenever he had to fight on the inside. Portsmouth’s Chamberlain tried to bully the smaller Yorkshire boxer, but his aggression was largely of the ineffective variety.
Things went from bad to worse for Chamberlain when he was knocked out in the eighth round. Padley delivered “a peach of a punch” in the form of a left hook to bring about the surprise knock. The 28-year-old has only had four knockouts contested.
Chamberlain’s fate was already sealed at that point, more so one round later. Referee Victor Loughlin deducted a point after repeatedly cautioning Chamberlain for a variety of fouls and fouls. The Ring’s number 9 rated lightweight was not disillusioned with his chances of winning and was looking for a knockout at that point. To his credit, he took on Padley in the right fight, but the damage was already done on the scorecards.
Padley improved to 15-0 (4 knockouts) in by far the biggest win of his career. Chamberlain fell to 16-1 (12 KOs) with the loss after stoppage wins in Riyadh last May 18 and March 8. A five-fight knockout streak was also snapped with the loss and the distance fight.
Padley-Chamberlain opened a six-fight DAZN/PPV.com pay-per-view event. Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) defends his IBF heavyweight title against Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) on top of the show.
