Nico Michael was forced to dig deep in his first six rounder, and he came through with flying colours, earning a wide points win against Marius Vysniauskas headlining the BCB Promotions ‘Maximum Mayhem’ event at the Northampton Town Centre Hotel Saturday night.
The 29-year-old boxing in his hometown got off to a good start, keeping his Lithuanian opponent on the back foot as he found home with his jab. Michael was the taller of the two bantamweights, and he used that height advantage well, controlling the distance and the centre of the ring.
Vysniauskas started to warm in to the fight in the later rounds, managing to get through with some precise straight hands to the head and body. Michael was choosing to switch hits more frequently and was having more success in the orthodox stance.
The sixth saw both men trade heavy blows, but the cleaner work was coming from the ‘Mini Magician’, and Michael was awarded the 59-55 point victory. He will have taken a lot from the experience, and it will likely serve as an important step on the road to his first title shot.
Entering the ring to hugely vocal support, debutant Yayah Abdullah made a confident start to life in the paid ranks with a points win against Stephen Jackson. His brother Yousuf was scheduled for the same event, but after his withdrawal, it was left to the younger of the siblings to put on a show.
Abdullah looked very flashy, unloading numerous rapid combinations that had Jackson tucking up as the body shots came flying in. It wasn’t all about the offence, as he showed fast feet and good upper-body movement, managing to avoid the occasional wild swing from Jackson with relative ease.
The pace of the fight understandably slowed towards the end, but the point-scoring shots were all coming from Abdullah, who took the 40-36 win.
Macauley Owen blew off the cobwebs with a conclusive four-round points win against Naeem Ali. The 26-year-old from Telford has had time away from the ring due to an illness, and the Queensbury Promotions-signed talent still looked as sharp as ever.
His southpaw stance and quick hands made it almost impossible for Ali to land anything of significance, and Owen seemed content to pick his shots, focusing on accuracy over output.
Ali, who was boxing in his 129th fight, was entertaining as always, as the two men put on a show for the crowd. Owen worked well to the body in the 4th, finishing the fight as he started and deservedly taking the 40-36 score on Ryan Churchill’s card.
Dempsey Madden is entering an important stage in his boxing career, and his goal of challenging for a Midlands title moved a small step closer with a solid four-round point victory over the veteran M.J. Hall.
The 32-year-old from Daventry showed a nice variety of shots against one of the most durable boxers on the circuit. Madden started well, landing a nice combination off the back foot that forced southpaw Hall back against the ropes.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic, as the fourth saw Madden walk on to a heavy shot, but he took it well and finished the bout strongly. Hall may feel a bit aggrieved that he didn’t trouble the score sheet as Madden took the 40-36 point victory.
