Despite having had only one professional appearance under his belt, 20-year-old junior bantamweight Hamza Uddin was already being pushed as a future champion before Saturday’s fight at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England. He took another early step in making the hype a reality when he won a wide six-round decision over Italy’s resilient Giulio Commerso.
Uddin (2-0, 1 KO), who walked to the ring using Prince Naseem Hamed’s old entrance music, stood right in front of Commerso (4-2, 1 KO) aiming to use his quick reflexes and fast hands to punish the Italian for leading off. Uddin may not have the Prince’s famous “rocket launchers,” but he chipped away at Commerso, who became increasingly ragged.
Uddin did eat a flush right hand at the start of the third but was in total control and hurt Commerso with a hook to the body in the fourth. Clearly frustrated, he lost a point in the same round for holding.
It was good work for Uddin, who scored regularly with his counter right but continued to work with variety throughout the six rounds. The 60-53 scorecard in Uddin’s favor after the final bell was a formality.
Last August, Birmingham’s Ibraheem Sulaimann burst onto the professional scene at the Resorts World Arena with a spectacular first round stoppage victory. Sulaimann, a 23-year-old lightweight, returned home Saturday and once again sent his fans home happy by stopping Colombia’s Jesus Gonzalez in the second round.
The tall, rangy Sulaimann (4-0, 3 KOs) dictated terms from the start, dropping Gonzalez (3-2) with a double left to the body and head as the bell sounded to end the first round. Gonzalez had no idea how to get close to “The Spider” and went into his shell. The spiteful Suliamann quickly found the answer with a perfectly placed long left hook under the elbow.
Muhammad Mustafa Ali has gained plenty of plaudits during his short career, but the 19-year-old junior featherweight from Leicester, England, had to settle for a surprising draw with France’s Kelvin Madjid.
Ali (4-0-1, 1 KO) got straight down to work, getting Madjid’s attention quickly with a left uppercut and also seeming to hurt him to the body. But Madjid (2-1-1) continued to press forward, and by the end of the second round he was landing regularly himself.
Ali began to tire and Madjid refused to give him a moment’s peace. Ali landed the better quality shots but moved away constantly. Madjid took full advantage, rolling forward and letting both hands go.
Both fighters had their moments, and the entertaining six-rounder was fairly scored 57-57.
German heavyweight Emmanuel Odiase (4-0, 3 KOs) got the show underway and remained unbeaten by knocking out Kevin Masirika (2-2, 1 KO) in the fourth and final round. The more talented Odiase had the upper hand throughout, but just when it seemed that he may be forced to go the distance, he found a picture perfect left hand to send Masirika down for the count.
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