Scottish super bantamweight Cassidy Todd battled to a convincing points win over Welsh fighter Ashleigh Johnson at the Caledonia Gladiators Arena, East Kilbride, on Friday.
Glasgow’s first-ever female professional boxer announced her arrival as a major player in the division when beating a more experienced opponent over ten rounds.
In out-pointing “Sweet Poison”, Todd won a Commonwealth title eliminator, rushing the unbeaten fighter up the rankings and towards the prize places.
Cassey explodes out of the traps
Facing the biggest fight of her fledgling professional career, Hot Todd wasted no time getting down to business. The 27-year-old exploded out of the starting blocks, immediately meeting Johnson in the middle of the ring.
Cassidy caught the eye of the scoring judges and encouraged a healthy support inside the venue with crisp combinations. She often had the first and final say in the early exchanges, effortlessly finding her distance with smart jabs before scoring with crowd-pleasing backhands.
Team Todd was eager to move her along after suffering multiple setbacks and delays in her opening few seasons as a prizefighter. And they got just that from Swansea’s Johnson, who played her part in a bout that swung back and forth.
With the crowd against her and seemingly behind on the scorecards, Ashleigh’s head never dropped. She continued to ask questions of the home fighter, remaining in the pocket, taking the blows and coming back for more.
Judges reward work rate
If scoring on likeability, it would’ve been unfair to call either fighter a loser on Friday, but professional boxing is an unforgiving sport. Todd’s early work rate and high punch output, as well as attacking from angles and a willingness to throw the right hand, ensured she got the decision on merit.
The result was announced to an expectant audience and confident bunch following Todd read 96-94 in the hard-working Scot’s favour. Tighter than many expected, but Hot Rod got the win she deserved, much to the delight of her training team.
Cassey’s assistant coach, former champion boxer Garry Monkhouse, spoke exclusively to Flashscore from ringside following the final bell.
“The team are proud of Cassey for another hard-earned but deserved win. She completed an intense training camp and boxed to orders on the night.
Cassey started well and couldn’t miss with her straight three-punch combos, but started loading up with shots in the second half of the bout, which tired her a little, encouraging a late rally from Ashleigh.
A good performance and a great win. We'll keep putting in the work to make sure Cassey continues to improve.”
Limond falls to a first defeat
Iain Wilson and his devoted team at the St Andrews Sporting Club, including matchmaker Allen Payne, deserve credit for delivering a competitive night of professional pugilism from a smart venue.
In a rare treat, especially on the small hall circuit, every bout was a 50/50, much to the appreciation of the audience who filled the Playsport on a glorious summer’s evening. The unpredictability of a well-matched programme was best demonstrated in Adian Williamson’s ten-round points win over previously unbeaten prospect Jake Limond.
Williamson upset the odds and silenced the bulk of the crowd with an all-action performance. The 21-year-old took the fight to his well-schooled opponent, landing the cleaner shots throughout a fast-paced battle. Adian regularly jolted back the head of Jake, impressing the judges while dominating the rounds.
The victory earned Williamson the Scottish super lightweight title, extending his CV to 12 wins against one defeat. Limond moves to 8-1-0.
McHale batters the Bruce
In the main event, Matt McHale of Edinburgh stopped Sean Bruce of Leicester inside five rounds to claim the Commonwealth title at super flyweight.
29-year-old McHale, known as “Trouble”, made a mockery of what was billed as a ‘pick-em’ contest involving two exciting talents. The big punching Scotsman controlled the pace from the opening punch, using his skills and experience to stay on the outside of his rival's guard, allowing him to land hurtful backhands and power hooks.
The writing was on the wall early for Bruce, who was sent to the canvas three times before the referee stopped him in 2.22 of the fifth round. McHale is easy to like, with his shot selection and power, which belong to a higher weight. However, the quality that impressed me most with Matt was his ability to finish.
When he had his opponent hurt, McHale kept on the pressure, putting his punches together to overwhelm Bruce and encourage the man in the middle to step in. Many boxers have power, but not every hard hitter knows how to secure an early finish through intensity and a change of gear.
McHale’s record now reads eight wins against one defeat, with six knockouts, producing a 75% KO average. It’s safe to presume there’s plenty more to come from the warrior from the capital.
Stoppage joy for Jolly
The most entertaining fight of the night involved Tyler Jolly of Dumfries and Jake Tinklin of Risca, Wales, for the vacant Celtic featherweight title. Jolly won a fascinating bout where both men suffered heavy damage during a nine-round slugfest.
Tyler had a nasty-looking cut above his eye in the opening exchanges, but it was a wound his corner team got hold of early. They managed to stem the blood flow long enough to allow their man to remain in the bout, avoiding an early upset.
Boxing with the handicap of a cut and blood running into his eye and obscuring his vision wouldn’t have been a pleasant learning curve, but young Tyler showed experience beyond his years.
He turned the tide in the second half of the fight, causing an ugly bruise around his opponent's eye. The swelling caused an obvious disruption to Tinklin’s vision and flow. Having examined the swelling and damage, the fight night doctor advised the referee to end the contest, awarding the Scotsman another inside-the-distance victory that earned him a respected title and moved Jolly towards big fights.
Other results
In the other fights from an eight-bout programme at the Caledonia Gladiators Arena, the experienced Craig Morgan was the hot favourite to add a 15th win to his stats sheet. The Kelty southpaw allowed himself to be dragged into a trade-off with Tanzania’s Ally B Lubanja, resulting in a 57-57 fair draw.
Glasgow’s “Wild Bill” Billy Neil used his size and strength advantages to defeat Mexican Ramiro Garcia Lopez over six rounds. The Glaswegian won every round on the scorecard but was also guilty of allowing his opponent to close the gap down the home straight, making the last two rounds much more competitive than they needed to be.
Local fighter Lewis Connelly did what he had to do to extend his record to three wins from as many starts as a paid fighter, beating Mexico’s well-travelled Mario Valenzuela Portillo by 39 points to 37.
Ireland’s Donagh Keary was another one that impressed me. The 20-year-old from Castlewellan in Northern Ireland caught the eye with great footwork, creating angles for his shots and leaving opponent Erick Omar Lopez of Mexico chasing shadows for much of the four rounds.