Lewis Crocker and Gary Cully both put in tremendous performances as the duo each came away with titles at MTK Fight Night at the University of Bolton Stadium on March 12.
Crocker successfully retained his WBO European welterweight title with a unanimous decision win over Deniz Ilbay after 10 fantastic rounds of action, while Cully recorded a Knockout of the Year contender with a massive second round stoppage win over Viktor Kotochigov to win the vacant WBO European lightweight title.
Crocker retains WBO European welterweight title
Lewis Crocker kept hold of his WBO European welterweight title after an amazing back and forth battle with Deniz Ilbay over 10 hard-fought rounds.
It was non-stop action from start to finish, but looked like it could be a quick night for Crocker when he knocked Ilbay down in round three. The German recovered though, and fought back with some big shots of his own that Crocker did well to take on the chin.
The high-tempo continued for all of the fight, with both boxers giving it their all and leaving it all in the ring. Crocker earned the win on points in the end, in what was a fantastic main event.
QUICK HIGHLIGHTS ?@LewisCrocker1 ? @IlbayDeniz
FULL RESULTS & REACTION ?? https://t.co/QmSZRVvWuH#MTKFightNight #CrockerIlbay #LewisCrocker #Boxing pic.twitter.com/Ui6cKdbYfl
— MTK Global Boxing ? (@MTKGlobal) March 13, 2021
Crocker said: “He has the hardest head I’ve ever hit in my life! That was a great 10 rounds and a great learning experience for me. It gives me confidence for my next fights and that’s a quality opponent on my record.
“I’m now 13-0 and still only 24, so I’m getting better each fight. I showed heart, grit and maturity in there against a quality fighter and he brought the very best out of me.”
Cully lifts vacant WBO European lightweight belt
Gary Cully showed yet again that he is a true force to deal with at lightweight as he secured a huge second round knockout win over Viktor Kotochigov to win the vacant WBO European lightweight title.
Kotochigov had only lost one fight in his career and had never been stopped heading into the bout, but Cully landed a ferocious straight left that sent Kotochigov to the mat in round two.
The Kazakh tried his best to get back to his feet but was unable to do so, handing Cully yet another big knockout win early into a fight.
QUICK HIGHLIGHTS ?@BoxerCully ? Viktor Kotochigov
FULL RESULTS & REACTION ?? https://t.co/HnwORNzAl5#MTKFightNight #CullyKotochigov #GaryCully #Boxing pic.twitter.com/bbaS9Qr7Gf
— MTK Global Boxing ? (@MTKGlobal) March 13, 2021
Cully said: “I expected it to go like that. Viktor is durable and a good fighter but I have worked hard in the last year and grown into the professional game. You can ask anybody on my team, I said that it would go early.
“It shows how much work in the gym I have put in and it is paying off. I won the Irish title last year and now I have the WBO European title. The potential is definitely there to go on and win world honours.”
Elsewhere there were impressive wins for Isaac Lowe, Carl Fail, Jordan Reynolds and Mace Ruegg. The full fight results can be found here.
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