Andy Townend and Maxi Hughes both secured stoppage victories in impressive fashion at the Doncaster Dome this past weekend, pushing themselves into the conversation for title shots in 2018.
Barnsley’s lightweight Townend dismantled Peter Cope in five rounds, repeating his victory over the Hartlepool man in 2014, whilst Hughes stepped up to lightweight and promptly demolished Danny Cassius Connor in four rounds to add a rare stoppage victory to his record.
Townend lived up to “KO Kid” moniker, putting Cope, who had started well off the back foot, down with a short right hand in the first round. Cope recovered well and the fight descended into a bit of a mess as the pair ended up on the floor three times after the feet got tangled up due to the mix of southpaw and orthodox.
However, Townend re-adjusted and his power shook Cope with every shot he landed. Another right hand put Cope down early in the fifth and from there the floodgates opened as Townend couldn’t miss. He was patient, pressing forward intelligently and took his opportunities when they presented themselves.
Cope was down twice more from the same shot, visibly getting angrier with himself, but he could have no argument when Mark Lyson stepped in to end the fight. Townend will now be hoping to get himself into contention for a major title shot, perhaps a rematch with Commonwealth champion Sean Dodd, who he also stopped back in 2014.
Townend’s stoppage was expected, however Hughes’ wasn’t and he stole the show with a superb performance against Connor, who had no answer for a more aggressive “Maximus”. The Rossington man bounded into the ring and he didn’t hang around, piling on the pressure from the opening bell.
His corner implored to remain calm, but Connor simply didn’t show up and Hughes took advantage, the left hand in particular proving his most dangerous weapon. Connor went down in the second, but saw out the round despite a ferocious onslaught from Hughes.
Things got worse for Connor as a clash of heads left him with a cut by his right eye in the third and he was down heavily from another left in the fourth. Hughes put his foot on the gas and pounced on Connor who was taking too much before his corner threw in the towel with 1:55 gone in round four.
Connor protested to his cornerman, but could have no real complaint as nothing was going his way and he had no answer to anything Hughes was throwing his way. Hughes remains undecided as to whether he will continue to campaign at lightweight or drop back down to super-feather where he has challenged for the British title.
Following the disappointment of failing to qualify for the Rio Olympics, former European kickboxing champion Chantelle Cameron (4-0-0, 3 KO's) put her amateur career behind her in search of new opportunities.
Cameron planned to move to the other side of the world until a phone call from her former amateur coach changed the course of her career once more.
“I was going to go to Australia to work and I got a message from my amateur coach saying that the McGuingans wanted to meet me, so I went down the gym and from there we just gelled and they offered me deal." said Cameron, in an exclusive interview with Behind The Gloves .
The 26-year-old is delighted to have teamed up with Cyclone Promotions, and spoke glowingly of trainer Shane McGuigan, who has been entrusted with guiding her professional career.
“It’s amazing." she said enthusiastically.
"He [Shane] is a brilliant coach and anything he says to me I trust one million percent. I’m always trying out the things he tells me to do and it seems to be working for me."
“He is absolutely great and its not all about the training: we have a laugh everyday and he makes it enjoyable. I think he understands that boxing is a hard enough sport so makes sure you enjoy it at the same time. The gym is buzzing at the moment. Everyone is enjoying it and everyone is performing so it's a great environment to be in." Cameron finished.
Manuel Charr (31-4-0, 17 KO’s) claimed the WBA ‘Regular’ World Heavyweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Alexander Ustinov (34-2-0, 25 KO’s) in Oberhausen, Germany.
The bout was, in truth, representative of the lightly regarded title, with both men producing sub-par performances in correlation to the more established and esteemed competitors in the Heavyweight division.
Charr, however, was able to manoeuvre his cumbersome opponent around the ring, outworking him in in stages to secure the decision and capture the WBA’s secondary belt in the process.
The giant Ustinov began the contest on the front foot in the opener, backing Charr up to the ropes and clubbing away to the head and body of his 34-year-old opponent. Despite the, ahem, “fast” start from the ambling Belarusian, Ustinov gassed badly in the middle rounds of the contest, becoming more and more ungainly as the bout went on, with Charr growing in confidence with each passing minute.
Though he gave up considerable height and reach to his 6’7” opponent, Charr was able to land his jab consistently throughout the fight, beating Ustinov to the punch and forcing him on to the back foot. With Charr holding the middle of the ring, Ustinov seemed befuddled and devoid of ideas, lumbering around the ring and unable to string together any real momentum.
However, Charr - who failed in his previous attempt at a World title against then-WBC champion Vitali Klitschko in 2012 - was in danger of allowing the fight to slip from his grasp, with an alarming lack of activity that somehow enabled the exhausted Ustinov to remain in the fight.
A hard left hook from Charr in the seventh round sparked the contest into an admittedly brief moment of life, with Ustinov tying his man up in a bid to make it through the session. Make it through the session he did, however, the same shot towards the end of the eighth round from Charr sent the 40-year-old Ustinov capsizing to the canvas. After dragging his considerable frame to his feet, Ustinov survived the remaining ten seconds and made his way groggily to his stool, sporting a nasty looking cut under his left eye from the blow that felled him.
Charr was unable to capitalise on his success in the ninth round, but no matter, due to the lack of return fire from his opponent. While the bout was close throughout - with many rounds potentially going either way - Charr was able to gain control in the championship rounds, with Ustinov simply too tired to mount any sort of resistance.
The final round saw Charr rubber-stamp his victory, cheered on by a legion of vocal home supporters. At the sound of the bell - a sweet sound for many spectators of this extraordinarily-second-tier-tilt - Charr raised his arms aloft, with the cut and dishevelled Ustinov trudging back to his team wearing a look of resignation.
With scores of 115-111, 116-111 & 115-112, Charr claimed the WBA ‘Regular’ title via unanimous decision, but in truth, the contest showcased the severe lack of depth in a still top-heavy Heavyweight division.
Another sidenote highlighted was the worrying state of the governing bodies (in this case, the WBA), with a title reading ‘World’ up for grabs, and ultimately won by a man that has no business fighting at the very top level in boxing.
While the bout was scrappy, lacking in quality and, at times, somewhat degrading to the sport’s marquee division, Charr edged over the line - deservedly so - using an attritional and wily gameplay to highlight the obvious deficiencies in the clumsy Ustinov’s style.
Behind The Gloves [Rob Tebbutt] Scorecard: 114-113 Charr
Article by Rob Tebbutt
You can follow Rob on Twitter at: @RobTebbutt
Lee Selby has his eyes fixed firmly on unbeaten Mexican southpaw Eduardo Ramirez ahead of their showdown at the Copper Box Arena on December 9th.
The 30-year-old knows that should he come through his latest challenge unscathed, he'll be cashing in on some huge pay days in 2018, with the likes of mandatory challenger Josh Warrington, Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg all banging the drum for a shot as his IBF featherweight title.
Selby told Behind The Gloves : "I'm not looking past December 9th and doing the job against Ramirez.
"There were only a few names available for this fight who were up there in the ratings, and Ramirez was the one we went for.
"I don't like to do too much research into my opponents, I've had a little look on YouTube and he looks decent, with fast hands and he seems tough too.
"He's the sixth or seventh unbeaten fighter I've faced, so I have no worries about his record."
The Welshman was talking from his training camp in Fuerteventura following a sparring session with Ryan Wheeler and Jazza Dickens, and admits it's nice to train with the sun beating down on his back, adding: "We've been out here before, the facilities at Adam Bailey's gym are superb and it's nice to break camp up and come out here to get some sun on my back.
"I'm getting great sparring with two southpaws in Ryan and Jazza and my preparation is going well."
Former Team GB amateur standout Harvey Horn has said he hopes to be fast-tracked as he embarks upon his professional career. Horn will make his debut on the undercard of a show featuring British world champions James DeGale and Lee Selby at London’s Copper Box Arena on December 9.
The 22-year-old signed a long-term promotional deal with Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren at the beginning of October and will campaign in the Flyweight division. He trains out of the famous Peacock Gym in Canning Town under highly-respected coach Mark Tibbs.
The East-Londoner gained a wealth of experience in a fine amateur career where he won won the 2014 ABA championships, before continuing his progression in the following year after winning a European silver medal in Bulgaria. He then represented Team GB at the inaugural European Games in Baku.
Horn gained what could be crucial experience through participating in the World Series of Boxing (WSB) which he entered with the British Lionhearts squad. The pro-style boxing format sees participants compete without a vest and are not permitted to wear protective headgear over three-minute rounds.
"They’re five round fights, no vest, no head guard, it’s like a professional fight." said Horn, in an exclusive interview with Behind The Gloves reporter Isaiah Benjamin.
"I was in there with the world’s best, so as far as I’m concerned I’ve already had three or four professional fights already. I’ll jump in at four rounds to start and maybe have two of those and then move up to six rounders, but I don’t want to stick around on the six’s too long."
"Judging on how I’ve been performing the last few years, and with the WSB and amateur experience that I’ve got, I’m hoping to be fast-tracked and that’s something that is expected of me from my promoter and my trainer.” he continued.
Quick! Name two currently active professional boxers with more talent and skill than Vasyl Lomachenko and Guillermo Rigondeaux? I'm not a gambling man but I'll bet the farm you can't do it. So don't even try. Listen, pedigree doesn't lie. Double Olympic gold medal winners don't grow on trees.
For the boxing faithful, 2025 has been a year where our cups have runneth over. We've had the drama of Wladimir Klitschko vs Anthony Joshua and Ward vs Kovalev, the controversy of the long awaited clash between Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, and the shock of Roman Gonzalez getting unexpectedly bombed out by the dynamite fisted Thai, Sor Rungvisai. Whichever way you slice it boxing is on a roll this year. And it's not over yet.
On December 9th, at Madison Square Garden in New York City, we get the biggest fight in the sport that can be made in any weight class below 135lbs. And the second the Lomachenko vs Rigondeaux bout was officially announced, you could hear the collective sound of jaws dropping across the entire boxing landscape. In fact mine dropped so hard it hit the floor, bounced back up and knocked me clean out.
A couple of swift kicks below the belt line from the wife - her version of first aid - woke me up and, apart from the searing pain in my groin, my first thought was of Loma-Rigo. The fact this fight is signed, sealed and delivered is almost too good to be true. So go ahead and slap yourself. This dream matchup is actually going to happen and if you're anything like me I'd wager you can't wait for the first bell to ring on fight night.
Moving forward I'll say this... It's a damn good time to be a follower of the "Sweet Science."
On 30 October 2025, Robert Smith of the BBBoC blamed Tyson Fury for delays to his anti-doping hearing. He said to Sky Sports, “ We [the BBBoC] are ready to go, UKAD are ready to go on our behalf, and the independent panel are waiting for a confirmed date. It's up to them [Team Fury] now [to propose a date] ."
Then, on 23 November 2025, Mr Smith reiterated to Sky Sports, " The reason why this has taken so long, so I have been led to believe, is because Mr Fury's legal team could not agree a date for the recommencement of the hearing. They obviously now have, and the hearing will recommence [in December 2025] ."
Mr Smith is incorrect. While Team Fury have been advised not to discuss this matter until it is over, we would like to clarify as follows:
(i) This matter started in February 2015 – almost 3 years ago – after routine doping control tests.
(ii) Tyson and Hughie were not notified of the results of those tests for 7 months, and even then UKAD simply asked them about their diet. There was never any suggestion that Tyson and Hughie had done anything wrong or that they might be in any sort of trouble.
(iii) Then, without warning, UKAD charged Tyson and Hughie in June 2016 in relation to the February 2015 tests – i.e. 16 months after the tests.
(iv) A hearing eventually took place in May 2025 but was halted after UKAD objected to the participation of a tribunal member.
(v) Hearing dates were then proposed for early October 2025 but UKAD’s team ( not Team Fury’s team) was unavailable.
(vi) A hearing has now been fixed for December 2025.
Contrary to the BBBoC’s suggestion, therefore, the delays have not been caused by Team Fury.
Source: Hennessy Sports [Press Release]