Anthony Crolla retained his British lightweight title in emphatic style following a landslide points victory over Willie Limond in Motherwell.
Champion Crolla lives up to 'Million Dollar' tag
Anthony Crolla retained his British lightweight title in emphatic style following a landslide points victory over Willie Limond in Motherwell.
Crolla, 25, was stronger and faster and slowly sapped the energy from Glaswegian Limond in a fight that was absorbing more than exciting.
At the end, the scorecard showed 120-108, 120-108 and 120-109 in favour of the Mancunian in what was an impressive first defence of his title.
After the usual pre-fight introductions whipped the crowd into a frenzy, the first round was tentative as both boxers found their reach, rarely straying from the centre of the ring.
Crolla landed a good right-hand at the start of the second and found the target with several jabs as the veteran challenger appeared that little bit more cautious.
The champion was a little bit more aggressive as the rounds began counting down but there was little between the fighters, whose respective defences looked solid.
Technique
Crolla was forcing the pace and finding some joy with his body shots but
32-year-old Limond, known for his craft and technique, was slipping and deflecting many of the attacks.
By the midway point of the fight, though, Crolla was beginning to get his punches through, none of which were spectacular but eye-catching nevertheless.
Seconds into the seventh round the arena was plunged into darkness when the lights went out, but when the fight resumed, Crolla continued to force the pace with increasingly better results.
He bossed the middle of the ring, delivering combinations and clusters while Limond - who had only lost three times in 37 contests - was forced to spend most of his energy on his defence.
Although the fight refused to burst into life, Crolla's industry was keeping Limond on the back foot and the title seemed to be slipping away from the Glaswegian as the contest entered its latter stages.
Limond began bleeding from the nose in the 10th round and hope slipped away further, the home crowd sensing that too.
A rally in the 11th round reignited Limond's fans but only momentarily as Crolla responded in kind.
The two boxers hugged before the start of the last round but the champion's supporters were in full voice, confident that their man had done more than enough to keep his belt. And they were right.Matthew Hall beat Kris Carslaw in their official eliminator for the British light-middleweight title.
After 10 pulsating rounds, the Mancunian emerged an unanimous winner with a 96-94, 96-94 and 97-95 scorecard.
The 27-year-old Paisley fighter put in a valiant effort but finished with a broken left hand, an injury sustained in the fifth, and a broken jaw.
The early rounds were evenly matched with both boxers happy to stand and trade blows, most of which landed on gloves and arms.
Flamboyant
Hall had more command of the centre of the ring with Carslaw happy to work off the ropes, although in the fourth round he took a couple of hefty left hooks from the Englishman.
The more flamboyant Carslaw found Hall like a bulldog, tracking him all over the ring and the Scotsman's nose bled in the fifth round after another exchange.
A cracking left hook at the end of the next round looked to have edged it for Hall, who continued to appear the stronger and more focused fighter.
Unsurprisingly, the pace of the fight dropped as it entered its latter stages but Hall kept going forward and connecting with the better shots, especially in the punishing ninth.
The last round witnessed a flurry from both boxers but Hall emerged a deserved winner.
Earlier, Stephen Simmons continued his progress in the professional game with a comfortable points win over John Anthony.
The Edinburgh cruiserweight, a bronze medallist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, was too quick and powerful for Anthony, who took a bit of punishment over six rounds without offering too much in return.
The score of 60-55 confirmed Simmons' third win in three pro bouts and the 27-year-old now has the British title in his sights.
