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Well, they got a round in. Stuart Hall retained his IBF bantamweight title on a technical draw today, as his fight with Martin Ward was stopped at 0:35 of round two due to a cut on Hall caused by a clash of heads in the opening round, meaning that the domestic world title showdown barely happened at all.
Hall (16-2-2, 7 KO) probably got the better of the opening round over Ward (18-2-1, 4 KO), for whatever that's worth.
Undercard Results
Bradley Saunders TKO-3 Martin Prince
An impressive performance from Saunders (9-0, 7 KO), who took a bit of a step up in class here, but scored four knockdowns -- two in the first, two in the third -- to put away Prince (12-3-2, 1 KO) in dominant fashion. Saunders, 28, is probably ready for the better fighters at domestic level already, as he's an advanced prospect and a very talented fighter who has blown away his competition thus far. He may take a bit more time, but by the end of the year, he could easily be a British or Commonwealth champion.
Frankie Gavin UD-12 Sacky Shikukutu
Gavin (19-0, 12 KO) was dropped in the second round, but mostly was able to clearly dictate the fight. Shikukutu (18-3-1, 12 KO) gave a decent accounting of himself, but was overmatched in the skills department, and though it was never easy, Gavin earned the win. The scores were 118-109, 118-109, and 117-110, which seem wide at first thought after watching the fight, but Shikukutu didn't actually win rounds so much as stay in them, which is more than was expected by most of us.
Jon-Lewis Dickinson TKO-10 Neil Dawson
Dickinson (15-2, 4 KO) had his way for most of this fight, wearing out Dawson (12-3, 5 KO) and earning what was as much an exhaustion stoppage from referee Phil Edwards as much as a damage stoppage, which was fair enough. Dawson just wasn't good enough to hang with Dickinson, who made his third defense of the Lonsdale belt and now gets to keep it.
Eddie Chambers TKO-6 Tomas Mrazek
This one was stopped very late in the final round. You could argue it should have gone to the final bell for Mrazek's pride, but it doesn't really matter either way, as Chambers (37-4, 19 KO) won handily in his return to heavyweight after an ill-fated one-fight stint at cruiserweight. Eddie, who turned 32 today, did what he should have done in this fight, and looked pretty good physically, getting his punches off and dominating the bout, shutting Mrazek's left eye over the course of the six rounds. He's now training under Peter Fury and was given a birthday cake by Tyson Fury after the fight. Mrazek, a pro opponent, falls to 9-46-6, stopped for the 15th time as a pro.