Boxing: British trio make winning starts

Page last updated at 00:02 GMT, Sunday, 1 March 2009

British trio make winning starts

Beijing gold medallist James DeGale was made to go the distance British trio James DeGale, Frankie Gavin and Billy Joe Saunders got their professional boxing careers off to winning starts at Birmingham's NIA. Gavin impressed in front of his home crowd, the Birmingham boxer halting George Kadaria in the fourth round. Saunders did the job even quicker with a second round win over Attila Molnar. But Olympic gold medallist DeGale came in for a mixed reaction, being booed off after being taken the distance by little-known Georgian Vepkhia Tchilaia. The 23-year-old Londoner, who they call 'Golden DeGale', entered the ring amid a huge fanfare in a golden robe. But he showed only glimpses of the golden touch that had secured him his Olympic middleweight title in Beijing. DeGale was still dominant enough to win every round on the judges' scorecards, to earn a 40-36 points victory. The next year and a half is a learning curve James DeGale after his pro debut But he admitted, in his switch from four two-minute rounds an amateur to four three-minute rounds in his first fight as a pro, now minus his Olympic vest and headguard, he has taken only a very short step on what he hopes is a long career. "The next year and a half is a learning curve," he said. "You lot are going to see the best of me when someone is there and wants it just as much as me. "People were telling me these journeymen come over and try and survive. It's true. I had to track him down and bang him around. "I still had a couple of good shots. But that's only 30% of me. I'm never happy with my performance, even in the Olympics, never." DeGale was done no favours by promoter Frank Warren in starting his pro career in front of a partisan home crowd who had already cheered three of their own to the rafters. In an all-Midland contest, Dudley's Darren McDermott earned a 97-94 points decision against the holder, Coventry's Steve Bendall to claim the English middleweight title. Undefeated Birmingham super-flyweight Don Broadhurst, 25, had made a first successful defence of his Commonwealth title with a stoppage of Ghana's two 20 seconds from the end of the 11th round. Broadhurst, trained by former WBC world super-middleweight champion Richie Woodhall, made an electric start, flooring his opponent inside the first round. And when he put Owusu down again in the 11th, this time it was stopped. Then another Brummie Gavin, raucously roared on by a thousand-plus strong army of fellow Birmingham City fans, proved just as popular a victor. It was Gavin's first fight since his heartbreaking failure to make the weight for Beijing. But he responded well to his move up from lightweight in the amateur ranks to welterweight at pro level. Britain's first world amateur champion was made to work hard by Kadaria, the first of two Georgians on show, who attacked from the first bell and caught Gavin with a firm right hand. But a deep cut to his nose after a clash of heads in the third round, which led to him needing six stitches, seemed to spur Gavin on. The Georgian retreated before a series of shots to the body brought him to his knees. And, with just one minute and 21 seconds of the contest remaining, the referee stopped it. "I've been in big fights before," said Gavin. "And this one was a tough opponent. But I've now got bright people around me and that's going to make all the difference." As for the first Olympian of the evening on show, 19-year-old Saunders appeared to have the hardest looking opponent on paper, up against a Hungarian by the name of Attila. But Molnar rapidly proved he was no Attila the Hun, taking a battering before he finally quit, turning his back on his opponent one minute and 47 seconds into the second round. The Romany gypsy fighter from Hertfordshire was at his opponent from the first bell, landing some heavy combinations from the off. Against an opponent with a relatively respectable 12-12 record, Saunders seemingly could not miss, landing stiff jabs, hooks and right-handers. A right uppercut was the pick of his first round shots but it was a string of blows to the head which forced the Hungarian's premature end. There was also a comfortable four-round points victory for a third Brummie, Thomas Costello, who won a 40-36 verdict against Nottingham's Matt Scriven.