Halesowen boxer, Lennox Clarke, silenced his doubters with a stunning knockout against highly-touted Willy Hutchinson on Saturday night to claim the British and Commonwealth Super Middleweight Titles writes Noah Abrahams.
The 29 year-old ripped up the bookies odds as he out-muscled Hutchinson before sending the Scotsman to the canvass with a sensational three-punch combination in the fifth round.
Hutchinson staggered to his feet but referee, Bob Williams, rightly waived off the contest with Scotland’s first ever world youth boxing gold medallist in no position to continue.
Ripping up the script at the Copper Box Arena, he told Queensberry Promotions:
“It’s what I’ve been training for, it’s what I’ve believed in and it’s come true. I’m over the moon.
“It’s all come good. I’ve come from the white collars and now I’m headlining on BT Sport. That’s a dream for any boxer coming through the ranks. I’m enjoying every moment now.”
After an even opener, Hutchinson optimised his reach advantage in the second as Clarke worked his way into the fight.
Dominic Ingle trained Hutchinson began the third with a cut on his left eye courtesy of a clash of heads late in the second and, by the end of that round and in to the fourth, the bout had shifted in Clarke’s favour as he closed the distance and attacked on the inside.
It was all over in the fifth when Hutchinson ate a big right hook that had him out on his feet before Clarke landed a second huge right and a left for good measure to fold Hutchinson.
“It wasn’t my best performance at all, far from it,” Clarke added. “I give myself five out of ten. I knew that when I clipped him, I’d hurt him. He’s never been clipped and tested like that.
“I was very scrappy in there. I chipped away at him and it came off.
“I suffocated him. I watched David Avanesyan versus Josh Kelly and even though David wasn’t having success at all times, he believed in the process and it came in good style with a dynamite left and right hook.
“I knew I had him when I had him. If he had recovered, then I would have slipped him off a couple of seconds after. He was gone. Credit to Willy Hutchinson because he’s a very good fighter who has good rhythm and pace. It was just too early for him. In five fights’ time he would have given me a different fight.
“That fight was 50% of me and the Lerrone Richards fight was 40% of me. That there against Willy was very scrappy. I’ve got a lot more to my game, I’m not just a bull. I get drawn in and I enjoy fighting.
“I can’t wait to go and wrap these belts around my little girl and show my family what I’ve been working for.
“I’ll get Frank [Warren] on the phone and we’ll go from there.”
Image (c) Queensberry
