Bilal Fawaz held to controversial draw against Junaid Bostan

Junaid Bostan and Bilal Fawaz battled it out to a split decision draw for the English junior middleweight championship on Friday night in London, England.

Fawaz, now 9-1-1 (3 KOs), forced the pace throughout and was unlucky not to get the nod in a close contest against Bostan, now 10-0-1 (8 KOs).

It was clear to see that Bostan, still only 22, had the superior skills and speed during the opening session. Fawaz attempted to cut off the ring with his hands held high, but Bostan seemed to glide effortlessly away from the oncoming Fawaz’s attacks and counter at will.

Fawaz, 36, increased the pressure on Bostan in the second and had more success, landing two clean right hands. After a stern word from trainer Grant Smith, Bostan returned to his boxing in the third and used his fast feet and counter punching to outclass Fawaz. 

Bostan came out for the fourth with a look of confidence after his success in the prior session. Fawaz quickly took that look off his face by landing two right hands that caused Bostan to stumble into the ropes. The youngster, however, was able to compose himself and returned to his boxing.

In the fifth, Bostan was unable to glide around the ring with ease like he was in the earlier rounds. Fawaz had started to close the gap and Bostan was forced to trade. Bostan held his own with the physically stronger Fawaz, with both men landing hard shots.

Fawaz again found a home for his right hand in the sixth, taking a moment to taunt Bostan as the youngster retreated. Bostan was again forced to trade, but it was Fawaz who landed the cleaner shots of the two.

Bostan started the seventh attempting to box off the backfoot, but Fawaz was relentless and pushed a pace that Bostan seemed to struggle with. By the close of the round Bostan seemed to be tiring and Fawaz was able to unload on him with little coming back.

The red hot pace of the fight dropped in the eighth, with Bostan able to find success boxing off the backfoot again. The young Englishman returned to his corner at the end of the session having had his best round for some time.

Heading into the ninth, the fight was neck and neck, and both men seemed to realize they needed to win both of the final rounds to be sure of victory. However, the session was a hard one to score with both men landing cleanly, and at times, simultaneously.

Fawaz came out for the final session like a man possessed; he quickly landed the right hand that had brought so much success and caused Bostan to desperately hold on. Fawaz pushed Bostan from pillar to post with everything he had, and as the round came to a close Bostan was forced to trade again. At the sound of the final bell an exhausted Bostan retreated to his corner whilst Fawaz was lifted aloft by his cornerman.

Bostan anxiously awaited the three judges’ scorecards in his corner while Fawaz had already begun celebrating in his. Both men seemed disappointed as the fight was declared a split decision draw, but it was Fawaz who expressed his outrage ringside.

“I felt like I did enough but the judges did not see it that way,” said Fawaz post-fight. “Even a blind man could see that he was outboxed.”

“It was a close fight, it could have gone either way,” Bostan replied “No excuses, we’ll run it back. I could make up a million excuses to why that happened. I wish Bilal [Fawaz] the very best. A draw ain’t a win, to me it’s a loss.”

“I always back our guys but I thought Bilal [Fawaz] edged the fight 6-4,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “I thought he won the last two rounds to edge the fight, but it could have gone either way. This fight has to happen again.”

Earlier, unbeaten middleweight Jimmy Sains picked up his ninth stoppage win in as many fights with a seventh round finish of Pierre Rosadini. Sains, now 9-0 (9 KOs), was nearly taken the distance by the tough Rosadini (6-7-3, 0 KOs) but became the first man to stop the Frenchman after referee Kieran McCann waved the action off at 2:33 of Round 7.

Junior welterweight prospect Georgio Visioli impressed again when he defeated Francisco Javier Lucero. Visioli, now 6-0 (5 KOs), dominated throughout and picked up yet another stoppage after Lucero was pulled out by his corner during the interval following the fifth round.

Amateur standout Taylor Bevan continued his brilliant start to his professional career with a second round knockout of Szymon Kajda. The 2-0 (2 KOs) super middleweight dropped Kajda (1-1-1, 1 KO) with a right uppercut and then finished his opponent shortly after with a flurry of shots. Referee Bernard Oyet called a halt to the action after 1 minute 31 seconds of Round 2.

Before then, Anthony Joshua’s junior welterweight prodigy Jesse Brandon impressed against Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira. Brandon, now 5-0 (1 KO), used his sharp punches to outscore Oliveira (6-19, 5 KOs) 60-54 on referee Amy Pu’s scorecard.

Middleweight prospect Emmanuel Buttigieg collected a hard fought win against tough customer James Todd. Buttigeig, now 7-0 (1 KO), was made to work in every second of every round by the aggressive Todd (4-5-2, 0 KOs). The 19 year old was awarded a 58-56 points victory by referee Bernard Oyet.

Maisey Rose Courtney opened the show with an impressive shutout victory over Jasmina Nad (11-34-5, 4 KOs). Courtney, now 8-1 (0 KOs), collected her second win since defeat to Jasmina Zapotoczna back in July, and the 24 year old flyweight will now look to push on to better opposition. Referee Amy Pu scored the contest 60-54 to Courtney.