Edwards and Jones continue unbeaten run at Medway Park show
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Sheppey’s unbeaten duo – Oli Edwards and Dave Jones march on undefeated with points wins each.
The first weekend in March saw an exciting five-fight card on the JE Promotions show, titled ‘Best of the Best’, which featured unbeaten prospects, an exciting young debutant, topped with heavyweight action at Medway Park on March 5th.
The Invicta Gym on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent saw its pair of unbeaten prospects both extend their winning records with points wins on the night.
First up was unbeaten heavyweight, Dave Jones (6-0) from Sheppey as he continued his unbeaten run by defeating Hungarian Ferenc Zsalek (15-48-6) in a shutout points victory in what was his maiden six-round contest.
The 34-year-old landed the cleaner shots, steadily piling on the pressure in the opening rounds. The travelling opponent flashed a smile every time he got tagged by the home fighter who clearly dominated the fight as the more aggressive and classier of the two punchers.
In the fourth round, the 30-year-old from Gyor began to vary his punches, landing some useful uppercuts but was ultimately outworked by Jones’ eye-catching combinations.
The final rounds saw much of the same with Jones landing more combinations and switching it up with overhand rights, sticking to a disciplined game plan with top trainer Ray Askew in the corner.
The final round was the most competitive as both boxers aimed to finish strongly, each landing decent shots; however, referee Ian John-Lewis rightfully judged the scoring at 60-54 in favour of Jones.
The 6ft 5” tall fighter has now enjoyed four straight wins at his favoured setting in Medway Park, the first of those kicked off last March with a fine points win over Paul Butlin, a former Midlands Area champion.
Post-fight, the victor commented:
“Best I’ve felt so far. I’ve improved with every fight, we’ve come away and worked on it and improved. It’s all down to Ray [Askew], we get in the gym after fights and work on what needs improving. It was the biggest step forward for me. We want to get the wins but it’s all about improving every time. We’re looking at the International Challenge belt for the next fight in a couple of months.”
It was a clean sweep for Askew’s Sheppey-based Invicta Gym, which also includes unbeaten middleweight prospect, Oli Edwards who moved up to 3-0 on the night with a landslide points win over Latvian super-middleweight, Edgar Sneidze (4-14).
Roared on by over 300 fans that he brought with him on the night, the 21-year-old from Sheerness was straight out of the blocks, stringing together a flurry of crisp combinations landing cleanly on his European counterpart.
Sniedze managed to catch Edwards neatly in the second segment but soon found himself kissing the canvas in the following round. He protested the decision for the subsequent eight-count and Edwards stepped up his work rate, sensing the finish.
The fourth and final round of the closing fight of the night saw the two men stand toe-to-toe in the centre of the ring. Edwards enjoyed the better of the exchanges and managed to visibly hurt Sniedze, who held on at every opportunity until the final bell chimed.
Due to the knockdown, Edwards triumphed at 40-35 to complete his debut year punching for pay in style. The youngster certainly has promise and the figure he cuts in the ring shows a high dedication to his craft – one to watch.
Post-fight, the popular local boxer said:
“We had a game plan and I stuck to it, the only frustrating thing is that I couldn’t get the knockout I wanted.”
The packed undercard saw Maidstone super-featherweight, Chris Matthews achieve another points win over 27-year-old travelling opponent Hungarian, Gyula Tallosi (10-6).
Although the Budapest boxer has an impressive winning record, he has never had his hand raised abroad.
The 21-year-old Maidstonian had Tallosi on the ground in the second round but the referee ruled it as a slip. Encouraged, Matthews stepped up the pace in the third round to catch Tallosi with a great punch causing his gum shield to fly across the ring.
There was a lot of caution displayed from both fighters in the final three-minutes, neither man wanting to risk getting caught. The score line of 39-37 in favour of Chris Matthews was justified and his record improved to 3-0.
It became a recurring nightmare for Whitstable’s James Chiericato (4-2-1) who suffered a second career loss at the same site where he conceded for the first time back in 2013.
The southpaw had wanted to put the demons to bed by getting his first win at the venue but failed to outwork his opponent. In the following round, the travelling challenger from Hull showed off an Ali shuffle as his confidence began to grow after cutting Chiericato above his left eye.
By the second half of the four-round fight, the 25-year-old away fighter was in complete control as the local lad faded entirely. Referee Ian John-Lewis scored the fight at 40-36 in favour of Luke Fash, handing the journeyman his first victory in the paid ranks. Post-fight, Chiericato complained of an injury sustained to his shoulder.
Exciting middleweight debutant from Chatham, Charlie Shane (1-0), successfully kicked off his paid career with shut-out points win against Hungarian Laszlo Kovacs (1-2).
Shane, a 24-year-old southpaw, had enjoyed a decorated stint in the unlicensed and white collar scene, winning a majority of his 24 competitive fights.
Shane caught Kovacs early in the first round and the Hungarian’s legs were wobbling, he showed a maturity beyond his years and experience to exact patience and not get carried away with the initial success.
He boxed well throughout and evaded Kovacs’ limited attacks with ease, who spent the duration of the 12-minutes looking to land one big left hook.
It was an impressive debut for Shane who demonstrated his decent boxing ability and brain.
Newly-formed promotional outfit – JE Promotions – headed by former pro boxer, Joe Elfidh counted this show as their fifth successful event at the Medway Park venue and are planning many more shows in the future. Elfidh concluded:
“I’m planning on putting on more shows on in Kent,” We’ve got some great sponsors on board now such as Kent Trade Frames and Campbell Nutrition, and we’ve got a good partnership with Invicta Gym and Fight Box Gym.”
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