Gomez Jr wins controversial Giles fight | Clarke stops Dinu after two
Giles #Giles
Michael Gomez Jr took a contentious split decision over Levi Giles to win the English super-featherweight title, while Frazer Clarke halted Bogdan Dinu in two rounds at the AO Arena in Manchester.
A rivalry that began with an ill-tempered weigh-in ended with Michael Gomez Jr beating Levi Giles on a split decision to take the vacant English super-featherweight title at the Manchester Arena on Saturday.
Gomez Jr’s vicious push sent Giles flying to the floor at Friday’s weigh-in. The British Boxing Board of Control let the fight go ahead but have said that the matter will still be dealt with afterwards.
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Giles didn’t seem to suffer any after-effects in the contest itself, at least in the first half of the bout.
He moved laterally, using good footwork and punching with classy counters.
Gomez Jr went forward, but Giles even snapped in straight crosses direct to the head to force him back.
But Gomez was undeterred. He kept on coming.
As the bout progressed through its second half, that direct approach started to pay off for Gomez Jr. He was beginning to grind Giles down, slowing him and starting to hurt him, gradually getting on top.
But he was leaving it late to try to overhaul the lead Giles had appeared to build up.
The judges were split. Mark Lyson marked it 96-95 for Giles. But Bob Williams scored 97-93 and Michael Alexander 97-94 both for Gomez, enough for Gomez Jr to win the vacant title.
Using Sky Sports’ new interactive scorecard feature, viewers actually had it 97-96 in Giles’ favour.
“I did think I did enough tonight, but hopefully we’ll do it again somewhere down the line for a bigger title,” Giles said.
Immediately afterwards Gomez Jr did apologise for the previous day’s antics.
Frazer Clarke stopped Bogdan Dinu after the Romanian stayed on his stool after two rounds of their heavyweight contest had been completed.
Dinu had gallantly stepped in to box Olympic bronze medallist Clarke, replacing Rydell Booker after the American was taken seriously ill.
He came in at his fighting weight and is an experienced heavyweight gatekeeper. He’s fought some of the division’s top fighters including Daniel Dubois and Kubrat Pulev.
Clarke didn’t get to work through his full arsenal of power punches but his hooks to the body did look punishing and Dinu withdrew with a rib injury.
The most difficult moment for Clarke was picking up a cut over his right eye in the first round. It was in a bad position but didn’t cause him too much trouble in the end.
Clarke stayed busy in the second round, blasting in hard shots. He looped his right hook into the body and screwed his left uppercut into his midriff too. He kept on attacking and Dinu stayed on his stool after the conclusion of the second round.
“It was a good night for me – and I want to say thanks to Bogdan for saving the show,” Clarke said. “I’m sorry about his rib, and I hope he enjoys Manchester.
“We’ll see what happens. If the cut can heal up then I’d love to go on the next BOXXER show [on May 6].”
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Giles did start sharply (Photos: Lawrence Lustig/BOXXER)