A packed crowd braved the rain at Ipswich Town’s Portman Road, eager to see local hero Fabio Wardley test himself in a late-notice heavyweight showdown, title fights at super-lightweight and cruiserweight, and a deep supporting cast of British prospects. Every bout carried stakes, so tension stayed high right through the final bell.
Wardley was behind on the cards but found one clean right hand halfway through round 10, flooring Justis Huni hard. Although the Australian rose at the count, referee John Latham waved it off at 1:42, handing Wardley the WBA interim heavyweight strap and moving him to 19-0-1 (18 KOs).
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Pierce “Big Bang” O’Leary pressed from the outset to out-work Liam Dillon over twelve rounds, mixing body hooks and straight rights to earn the vacant EBU super-lightweight belt by scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 117-112.
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Cuban veteran Mike Perez broke down Steven Ward for the WBA Inter-Continental cruiserweight crown, dropping him twice late in round 8 and finishing the job with a pair of lefts 49 seconds into round 9 as Ward’s corner threw in the towel.
Unbeaten Albanian puncher Nelson Hysa kept his KO streak alive, flooring Patrick Korte in each of the first two sessions and forcing a referee stoppage at 2:05 of round 2 to retain his WBO Euro heavyweight title.
Sam Gilley started fast but faded late against Jonas Onyenani; a clinch-filled finish left referee Kiernan McCann scoring it 76-76 over eight rounds. Earlier, Umar Khan scored a knockdown and swept Moises Garcia 79-72, while Billy Adams, Olympic bronze medallist Lewis Richardson, and prospects Lillie Winch and Jack Williams all posted shut-out points wins to close a busy Ipswich card.
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Image Credit: Queensberry Promotions