Dylan Cheema defeats Rylan Charlton to win BOXXER Series lightweight final after Scott Melvin and Shaun Cooper exited in the semis, while Otis Lookham, Tion Gibbs, Joe Underwood Hughes and Brooklyn Tilley were beaten in the quarter-finals
Sunday 17 April 2022 18:33, UK
Dylan Cheema was crowned BOXXER Series lightweight champion via a unanimous decision victory over Rylan Charlton in the final in Coventry.
Cheema, the hometown boy roared on by the local crowd, capped a stunning night in which he knocked out Otis Lookham inside the first round of the opening quarter-final and beat Scott Melvin by split decision in the semi-finals.
The relentless Charlton came out swinging early in both of the first two rounds of the final, but Cheema displayed a great chin and ultimately wore his opponent down with some crisp body shots and counter punching.
Charlton began to tire and became a little more ragged as the fight wore on, although he produced one final assault late in the third in a stunning finish to the final. But it was Cheema who ultimately emerged victorious to take home the £40,000 prize money.
Cheema, speaking to Sky Sports after his win, said: "Cream of the crop, this is absolutely fantastic.
"I owe it to every single person who's turned out tonight because we came out to win. Respect to Rylan, he was really tough.
"This is the start. I'm ready for the bigger nights.
"I came into this tournament with two fights. I leave with five fights undefeated and one KO.
"I've got a good manager and a good team, and they're going to guide me."
In the semi-finals, Cheema had edged out Melvin by split decision, while Charlton delivered a brutal knockdown of his own to beat Shaun Cooper in the third round of their bout.
Earlier, Cheema got the evening off to a sensational start with his stunning TKO victory over Lookham inside the first round.
In the other quarter-finals, Melvin won the battle with his training partner Tion Gibbs by split decision, while Charlton and Cooper both secured wins by unanimous decision over Joe Underwood Hughes and Brooklyn Tilley respectively.