"Magic" Matthew Hatton's place at the top of the European
welterweight summit was assured when a crunching body shot in the
third round sapped the fight out of Switzerland's Roberto
Belge.
It was Matthew's second defence of the continental title he won
by beating Gianluca Branco in March.
The younger Hatton brother accurately mixed up his shots while
Belge, previously unbeaten in 25 outings, repeatedly fell short
with his right hook.
Hatton, 29, racketed up the pressure in the third and after
shaking the challenger with a left hook to the head, he detonated
blast to the ribs that saw Belge sag to the canvas.
The victory further demonstrated the improvement Matthew has
shown since teaming up with trainer Bob Shannon.
"The preparation was absolutely perfect and when the preparation
is right, this is what happens," Matthew said, afterwards.
"I think over the last few fights I have shown different things.
I knew I was league above this fellow. I have gone in tonight and
absolutely destroyed him."
Martin Murray claimed the vacant WBA international crown when a
huge right hand in the third round rocked Carlos Nascimento forced
the intervention of the referee.
The opening two rounds had been relatively routine for St
Helens' Murray but when his foe Brazilian foe tried to up the pace
in the third, and ultimately final, stanza, he took advantage of
the openings.
A looping shot rocked Nascimento to his boots and with his guard
open, Murray picked the shot that ended the fight. It was a
particularly impressive win considering that the South American had
previously challenged for the WBO light-middleweight title.
Scott Quigg left the crowd in awe once more as he skilfully
navigated the often treacherous path set by Togo-born Frenchman
Daniel Kodjo Sassou.
The Bury star landed many eye-catching hooks and uppercuts on
way to a unanimous decision (119-108 twice and 119-109).
2008 Olympian Joe Murray took his tally to 9-0 when he halted
David Cianelli at 2.28 of the second round.
The Joe Gallagher student trapped Cianelli in a corner and hurt
him continuously with both hands until Howard Foster had seen
enough.
Other results
Matty Askin bt Mitchell Balker KO 3
Kid Galahad bt John Riley KO 1
Adam Etches bt Iain Jackson KO 1
Dean Halsall bt Jamie Norkett pts 4
Tasif Khan bt Pavel Senkovs pts 4
12/06/2011 21:54:34