Whittaker crushes Gavazi early to claim WBC silver belt

Olympic silver medalist and IBF International light heavyweight champion Ben ‘Surgeon’ Whittaker (10-0-1 (7) knocked out Benjamin Gavazi (19-2 (13)) Saturday night at 2:15 of the first round of a scheduled 10-rounder for the vacant WBC-Silver 175-lb title, the National Exhibition, Birmingham, England.

In the first round, Whittaker floored Gavazi with a right to the back of the head as referee Mark Bates gave him an 8 count. Seconds later, a combination dropped Gavazi on his back, forcing referee Bates to call a halt as Gavazi lay there with a cut on his left eyebrow running down the side of his face. It was a mismatch with Gavazi, a poor opponent for someone of Whittaker’s talent.

In the co-feature in a rematch, WBO European lightweight champion Cameron ‘The One’ Vuong (9-0-1 (4) finished in a 10-round majority draw with Gavin Gwynne (18-4-2 (5).

In the first three rounds, Vuong had an edge. In the fourth he began to complain about holding, for which he was as much responsible as Gwynne, the rest of the way in a fight, a third one is not worth it. Gwynne had the upper hand in the second half of the battle with Vuong tiring, and a draw seemed fair.

The scores were 95-95, 95-95 and 97-93 for Vuong. Marcus McDonnell was the referee.

Aaron Bowen, 7-1 (5), lost a 10-round split decision to Tom Cowling (15-1 (4) for the vacant BBBofC Midlands Area middleweight title.

In the first four rounds, Bowen had an edge, outworking Cowling. In the fifth round, Bowen dropped Cowling with a right for an 8 count. Cowling managed to get through the round.

From the sixth to the end, Cowling came back well in a tight battle, making it close at the end.

Southpaw Ibraheem ‘Spider’ Sulaimaan (10-0 (5)) stopped Nico ‘The Alchemist’ Ogbeide (6-2-1) at 1:52 of the sixth round of a scheduled 10-rounder to win the vacant BBBofC Midlands Area super featherweight title.

In the first round, Sulaimaan switched from southpaw to orthodox and back and took the round. In the last seconds of the second round, referee Chris Dean warned Sulaimaan for a low blow. In the fourth round, a left on the nose from Sulaimaan drew blood from Ogbeide.

In the fifth round, with a minute left, Sulaimaan took a flurry of punches. In the sixth round, referee Dean took a point from Sulaimaan for another low blow. With a little over a minute left, Sulaimaan landed a flurry of punches, with Ogbeide against the ropes, defenseless, hands up, when referee Dean stepped in and called a halt.

Lightweight Zelfa ‘Brown Flash’ Barrett (34-3 (18) defeated Liam Dillon (15-5-1 (3) by an eight-round points decision).

In the first three rounds, Barrett was the aggressor taking the rounds. In the fourth and fifth, Dillon came back well.

In the sixth, Barrett Dillon countered well. In the seventh and final round, Barrett countered Dillon, who kept his hands high with little offense.

Referee Ryan Churchill scored it 78-74.

Light welterweight Molly ‘Meatball’ McCann (2-0 (1)) defeated Ebonie Cotton (1-1) by six-round points decision.

In the first two rounds, McCann outworked Cotton. In the third round’s last minute, Cotton was cut on the top of the forehead.

In the fourth, McCann worked out Cotton, whose blood from the cut was running down her face. In the fifth round, McCann switched to southpaw and back, tiring with Cotton eventually winning a round. In the sixth and final round, Cotton took another lap, but not enough for the win.

Referee Ryan Churchill scored it 58-56.

Super featherweight Alfie Middlemiss (5-0) defeated Engel El Cohete’ Gomez (9-54-3 (4) by a six-round points decision.

In the first three rounds, Middlemiss used his jab to keep Gomez from making much of a comeback. In the fifth round, Gomez turned southpaw, but still didn’t get past Middlemiss. In the sixth and final round, Middlemiss followed Gomez around the ring with little action.

Referee Chris Dean scored it 60-54.

The Ring Announcer was David Diamante.