Bradley Skeete retains British welterweight title; Markham, Jones victorious

Bradley Skeete made a successful first defense of his British welterweight title today in Brentwood, England, defeating John Thain by unanimous decision. Scores were 116-112, 118-111, and 118-111.

Skeete (25-1, 11 KO) didn’t cruise through the defense, as Thain (16-3, 1 KO) gave him some things to think about in the first half of the fight, at least, before the class difference between the two began to really show.

The 29-year-old Skeete won the British title in March, defeating Sam Eggington.

Lee Markham retained his English middleweight title on the card, as well, in a close, action-packed bout with Andrew Robinson. Scores for the fight were 96-95, 97-95, and 98-93. Markham improves to 17-3-1 (7 KO), while Robinson falls to 18-3 (6 KO) after a fight that could well demand a rematch ahead of anything else.

19-year-old super featherweight Boy Jones Jr picked up the Southern Area title with a 99-92 score over Martin Hillman. Jones (10-0-1, 7 KO) will likely get a chance to show his stuff against the better domestic fighters at the weight by the end of 2017, but being as young as he is, there’s going to be no huge rush, either, as the British scene at 130 pounds is pretty strong. Hillman drops to 8-3 (2 KO) in defeat.