Skip to content

Ochieng moves on with stoppage

Erick Ochieng retained his English light-middleweight title with a fifth round stoppage victory over Northolt's Ryan Toms.

Latest Boxing Stories

Londoner retains English title at Alexandra Palace

Erick Ochieng retained his English light-middleweight title with a fifth round stoppage victory over Northolt's Ryan Toms. 'The Eagle' struggled to find his rhythm early on against the tall southpaw, with Toms taking the opener after securing the centre of the ring. Ochieng was wary of his opponent but worked his way into it with a slightly better workrate, although at times was too reliant on landing the big right hand. With that tactic shelved, the Londoner worked the body and a left hook downstairs put Toms down early in the fifth. With the Southern Area champ clearly there for the taking Ochieng stepped in, upping the pace and working another opening for another left to the body. One look at his corner showed that Toms was not in a good place, and he was happy enough to hear the referee's count reach 10. "I knew he was a tough opponent, but I knew I was going to get to him - it was just a matter of time," said Ochieng, who moves to 11-1 with his fourth win inside the distance.

Thudding

John Ryder extended his 100 percent record to 12-0 with a second round stoppage victory over Hungarian Sandor Micsko. 'The Gorilla' from Islington sized up his opponent in the opening round and was soon forcing him back with thudding right hooks. And it was that shot which ended matters in the second, opened up by a short left the 24-year-old Micsko was caught with a perfect shot on the temple, with a further left ensuring he would not beat the count. "I caught him early on and thought he was wobbling a bit so I knew I could just take my time and pick him off," he said. "I believe I'm in the top ten (in Britain) but I won't rush things and just listen to what the people around me say." "After two tough eight rounders on the road that's just what we wanted," said Hearn. "We'll be looking for title fights now with the British hopefully sometime next year." Former Team GB squad members Kal Yafai and Martin J Ward also registered victories on the undercard. Ward looked good on his debut against the reliably durable Kristian Wraight, unloading an impressive variety of shots throughout the four one-sided rounds, while Yafai got rid of the over-matched Richard Voros from Hungary in a minute and eight seconds to take him to 2-0.

Around Sky