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Kid Galahad remained undefeated today with a cut stoppage win over game but overmatched Josh Wale, winning the fight after the referee called the bout following the ninth round. The stoppage was 100% fair, and Galahad (12-0, 5 KO) had dominated to that point, with the determined but ineffective Wale (14-4-1, 7 KO) just not able to build any sustained momentum.
It was a solid performance for the 22-year-old Galahad, who said before the fight he wanted to work his way into a world title shot within a year. While that may be optimistic -- and frankly, getting him to world level as a serious contender may be optimistic, period -- he has shown legitimate skills. It's mostly a question of whether or not he has the power to hang on a higher level. I'm skeptical of that. The better fighters at 122 all have much bigger punches than Galahad, and it's not like they lack in boxing skills, either. It's a very good division, and Galahad remains a distant fourth on UK shores behind Scott Quigg, Rendall Munroe, and Carl Frampton, too.
On the untelevised undercard, Junior Witter defeated Colin Lynes to win the British welterweight title. The 38-year-old Witter (40-5-2, 22 KO) has had a rough go of it since losing his 140-pound belt to Tim Bradley in 2008, never really recovering from that, and he's a long, long ways from the time many thought he would have been the poison for Ricky Hatton.
Witter won on scores of 117-112, 116-114, and 115-114. Lynes, 34, drops to 36-10 (12), and this may have been his final marquee sort of fight -- although you can argue whether or not it was a marquee fight, given that Channel 5 didn't even televise a British title fight in a "glory" division with this one. Lynes had stunned observers by upsetting Lee Purdy in November to win the title, but that may have been his real "last hurrah."
Our live coverage will continue this evening at 9 p.m. EDT with the Viloria vs Romero III card from the Philippines.