Campbell halts brave Connelly in five; Coyle stops Simpson in seven

The man responsible for bringing prime time boxing back to Hull – Olympic gold medallist Luke Campbell – was made to work for his third win by the extremely tough Lee Connelly.  Campbell (9st 8lb 7oz) eventually secured the stoppage at 2 minutes of the fifth round. Sharp, straight punches took their toll as a lead southpaw left started the trouble for Connelly (9st 8lb 5oz), before a lightning burst of five or six shots from Campbell forcefully slammed into Connelly’s head and body, causing referee Michael Alexander to step in.

Campbell had looked good up until the stoppage, throwing fast hard shots in combination, particularly accurate with the left hand lead followed with the right hook which landed to good effect in round two. Another darting right – left snapped into the oncoming Connelly’s face and pushed him onto the back foot. Connelly’s attacks were met with a sound defence, Campbell very disciplined behind a high guard, moving in and out of range to set himself for his own offense. In the fourth, another classy burst of hurtful-looking punches resulted in a bloodied face for Connelly, who gained much respect with his brave showing against insurmountable odds.

Whilst fighting at this level is a necessity (unless you are Vasyl Lomachenko) Campbell is just far too sharp for his opponents to stand up to his placement, speed and accuracy. Connelly (now 2-6-0) had not been stopped in any of his losing efforts previously, and although that record has now gone, in his headline moment in front of the live Sky Sports cameras, put in a terrific effort to bring the fight to Campbell and extend the golden boy to a few rounds for the first time as a pro. It’s surprising that the youthful looking Campbell is actually 26 – but still with bags of time on his side to continue his assimilation to the professional game and onto future honours. He fights next on the Manchester undercard to Carl Froch v George Groves later this month.

Another Hull lightweight favourite – lightweight Tommy Coyle (17-2) – overcame seasoned Scot John Simpson (25-10) for the vacant IBF international title, scoring a seventh round stoppage. The official time was 2:02. It was an excellent performance from Coyle, although the stoppage when it came from referee Phil Edwards, appeared somewhat premature.  Simpson had previously been down earlier in round seven – a right hand catching him on the side of the head to put him over, although he was straight back up on his feet at the count of two. More hard and fast punches came in from the dynamic Coyle in follow-up, who found an opening with the jab before a swinging right hand put Simpson down on his back. Rising at five, and seemingly in full control of his senses, referee Edwards waved it off upon completing the eight count, much to Simpson’s annoyance. It was difficult to disagree that he could have continued.

Simpson (9st 8lb 8oz), who was moving up from his favoured super-featherweight, couldn’t match Coyle’s pace and workrate. Coyle immediately looked the quicker fighter, jabbing to the body and leading with left hooks. On the counter his right hand over the top had Simpson tentative to attack, as Coyle got into his rhythm of circling on the back foot. Already confident, Coyle landed lead right hands and a couple of uppercuts at the bell to end the first round. Simpson had already complained about heads coming together before he emerged from another engagement with a cut over his right eye in the last minute of round two. As he moved forward to trap Coyle into a corner, the Hull man fired a quick left hook – right uppercut which landed perfectly and dropped Simpson to the canvas. Shaken but not seriously hurt, Simpson was up at two as the round ended before another punch could be thrown.

Simpson is known for his resilience and to his credit, fought his way back into things with tidier, cleaner work over the next couple of rounds. Simpson continued to march forward, staying in his opponent’s face, but was hurt again by a Coyle right hand at the end of the fifth round, his cut now leaking blood again. Simpson came out for the sixth looking weary as Coyle jabbed, moved and feinted effectively, keeping the Greenock man guessing until eventually securing the stoppage victory.

After the bitter disappointment of being so near yet so far in his Commonwealth title scrap with Derry Mathews, Coyle (9st 8lb 4oz) held his boxing together superbly, showing the same ability which caused Mathews a shedload of trouble back in the summer. It would be a surprise if Coyle hadn’t been watching Shane Mosley tapes – the technique used to whip in his short hooks and right hands at times reminiscent of the former multiple world champ. The disputed stoppage shouldn’t detract from an impressive performance by Coyle – who cements his place amongst the exciting British lightweight mix with Mathews, Anthony Crolla, Gavin Rees, Martin Gethin et al.

Undercard report to follow

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