Sam Gilley produced a clinical display and stopped Jack McGann in four rounds at the York Hall in London, England.
McGann, 31, had stepped in as a late replacement after Gilley, 30, was originally scheduled to rematch Louis Greene for the British junior middleweight title. The 18-1 Gilley (9 KOs) made clear the huge difference in preparation with his sharp counters. He displayed greater speed and when McGann pressed forward to try and turn the tide, he landed a powerful right hand that eventually led to the referee waving off the action in round four.
Gilley started the contest well, countering to the body and then bringing up a sharp uppercut. Gilley’s success continued in the second, in which he followed up a double jab with a perfect right hand that left McGann flat on his back. The brave McGann returned to his feet but was hurt again before the round ended.
McGann fought back in the third, pushing Gilley back to the ropes. Gilley, however, countered well on the backfoot and continued his attack on McGann’s body. Gilley again elected to counter from the ropes in the fourth. This time he switched his counters upstairs and a sharp right hand dazed the oncoming McGann.
Gilley pressed on, determined to finish the job and unloaded a barrage of shots with McGann stumbling around the ring. Referee Darren Sarginson jumped in with McGann about to fall after taking another right uppercut. The time of the stoppage was 58 seconds of Round 4.
Earlier, 12-0 junior lightweight prospect Royston Barney (6 KOs) made light work of 13-2 Carlos Rayo (7 KOs). It was clear from the beginning that Barney-Smith, still only 20, had the superior skills. He used his southpaw jab and left to the body to push the retreating Rayo around the ring.
In the second, Barney-Smith landed a beautiful lead right hand to the body that saw Rayo crumble to his knees. The Colombian stayed down for the full 10 count, with the time of the stoppage coming at 1:25 of the second round.
Nick Webb stopped the previously unbeaten, now 5-1 Courtney Bennett (2 KOs) to win the Southern Area heavyweight title. Bennett started fast and pushed Webb back to the ropes with hard shots.
The experienced Webb, 18-3 (14 KOs), never panicked and in the fifth the tide started to turn. Webb started to press the action and the tiring Bennett was getting caught more and more. At the start of the eighth, the exhausted Bennett spat out his gum shield to take a break from Webb’s pressure. His corner, however, had seen enough and called off the contest after 44 seconds of Round 8.
Milans Volkovs caused an upset against cruiserweight prospect Tommy Fletcher earlier in the night. The 11-3 (6 KOs) Volkovs used his size and strength to push the much slimmer Fletcher around the ring. The Latvian unleashed powerful shots to the head and body of Fletcher, 8-1 (6 KOs) forcing him into each corner. Volkovs was awarded a well-deserved 79-72 decision for his efforts.
The middleweight 3-0-1 (1 KO) Sam King got back to winning ways with a disciplined performance against Dmitri Protkunas, who is 7-14 (1 KO). King, coming off a draw with Artjom Sparta in April, used his superior fundamentals to outbox Protkunas and take a 39-37 decision on the referee’s scorecard.
Super middleweight prospect Lloyd Farrington, undefeated in six fights (2 KOs) put on a two round beatdown of Jesus Lobeto—1-6-1 (0 KOs)—to pick up his second stoppage win. Farrington came out at the sound of the first bell with the intention of knocking his man out. The end came in the second, when Farrington’s hard shots finally broke down Lobeto and he slumped to the canvas. He returned to his feet only to be dropped again with the action being waved off at 1:52 of Round 2.
Junior middleweight Ishtvan Herzheni, now 2-0 (0 KOs), beat the awkward 7-4 (1 KO) Ryan Maycock in a hard-fought contest. Herzheni was able to deal with the lunging punches of Maycock well and won the contest 39-37 on the referee’s scorecard.
Victorious debutant Elliot Elimasi (1 KOs) made light work of 10-7 (7 KOs) Jairo Nutes, winning by knockout in his first professional contest. The time of the stoppage came at 1:24 of Round 2.
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