Unbeaten lightweight prospect Mark Chamberlain extended his unbeaten record to 11 fights as he handed a sustained beating to Spain’s Marc Vidal over ten rounds on the Joyce-Hammer undercard at Wembley Arena.
Vidal was rocked in the first round and in most rounds thereafter, as the fight became increasingly uncomfortable viewing. But as much as Chamberlain hit him, he could not knock him off his feet.
All three judges scored it 100-90, the only possible reading. There was a good case for referee Bob Williams stopping the fight any time after the seventh round. Although Vidal kept punching back, he clearly had no chance of winning.
Chamberlain started in blistering style, catching Vidal with three lefts to the body early on and then staggering him with a left hook as he came forward. Another left staggered Vidal but provoked a response from the Spaniard who came forward to better effect later in the round.
Vidal put a lot of effort into the second round, but Chamberlain kept his boxing together and was timing him well, rocking his head back with his straight left.
Vidal was becoming increasingly frustrated in the third round, as Chamberlain started to get more and more on top. The main subject of his anger was referee Williams’s unwillingness to penalise Chamberlain for punches to the back of the head, or use of the head.
Still, it was Chamberlain’s straight punches that were most effective, and a three-punch combination had Vidal wobbling in the fourth round.
Vidal stuck with it, though, coming forward, trying to throw Chamberlain off his stride. Chamberlain finally got a warning in the sixth round, as he rather blatantly used his head to push Vidal off, and the Spaniard actually had a bit of success, although Chamberlain was landing much more frequently.
In the seventh round, Vidal took a steady amount of stick, but would not go down. The onslaught got even stronger in the eighth, as Vidal was rocked repeatedly on the ropes but kept punching back.
It was now horribly one-sided, with Vidal’s incredible determination preventing a stoppage that would have been in his best long-term interest.
Instead it kept going and in the final round Chamberlain again came close to a stoppage, as he hurt Vidal repeatedly.
Micky Burke Jr extended his unbeaten record with a six-round points decision over Serge Ambomo at super-welterweight. That Burke won was not really in doubt, although Victor Loughlin’s decision not to give Ambomo a round seemed very harsh.
Burke took control early on, boxing tall behind a good jab and mixing his punches well. But Ambomo stepped things up in the third round and began to have success.
Ambomo might have been a bit tough around the edges, but his willingness to stand and trade ruffled Burke, who was caught several times and complained to the referee when Ambomo caught him on top of the head.
Burke did well for most of the fourth round, moving and catching Ambomo with jabs and straight rights, but when Ambomo managed to get close he had success, catching Burke with a solid right that seemed to bother Burke.
An early warning in the fifth for Burke was a sign he was getting a bit desperate and Ambomo had the best of the round as he backed Burke up on the ropes and scored to head and body.
But if the result was in doubt, Burke went out and settled it by controlling the last, until the final ten seconds when the pair went toe-to-toe, swinging wildly and both landing.
Referee Loughlin had it 60-55 to Burke, which was greeted by boos.
Henry Turner continued his unbeaten start to his professional career as he pounded out a six-round points decision over Jakub Laskowski, of Poland, at super-lightweight. Southpaw Turner was on top throughout and staggered Laskowski from time to time with hard lefts, but Laskowski was good enough to stay out of serious trouble. Referee Marcus McDonnell scored it 60-54.
Cruiserweight Tommy Fletcher made a successful and quick professional debut as he stopped Croatia’s Aron Vrnoga in 58 seconds of the first round
The 6ft 7in Fletcher, 20, towered over Vrnoga, who gave it a go, coming out swinging before he was knocked down by the first clean left that Feltcher landed. Vrnoga rose with a bloody nose, but it was only a matter of time before another clubbing left dropped him, referee McDonnell waving it off as he hit the canvas again.
Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 – covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.