BOURNEMOUTH, England – Cheavon Clarke came off the floor and survived several worrying moments to stop Jack Massey in a low-key thriller on the south coast of England.
Clarke was dropped and hurt badly in the fourth and by that point it looked like the fight belonged to Massey.
But Clarke fought through the haze and the subsequent leather that came his way and astonishingly finished Massey with a sustained assault in the seventh round.
“He’s a quality operator, I manifested it,” said Clarke.
“I don’t care [who’s next].”
Both came out swinging early and they swapped right hands in the second and each enjoyed success as the fight progressed, earning one another’s respect as the fight went on.
Massey was looking to lead with the right hand, or to certainly make it count, but it was Clarke’s right hand that caught Massey and caused him to hold at the end of the third.
In the fourth, however, the fight turned and Clarke crashed to the canvas and was badly shaken.
Massey rushed to finish and Clarke tried to hold but Massey found his way through with a left hook and Clarke managed to grapple to the bell.
The former Team GB Olympian came out aggressively in the fifth but posed less of a threat. His punches slowed and his feet were heavy. Massey started to control the range but he switched off and Clarke stepped in and buckled his legs with a right hand.
Clarke smiled when Massey started to target his body but he was rattled by another right hand before the session ended.
There was no sign of either submitting in the sixth. Massey fired off a right hand, Clarke hurled a left hook as they went back to work. Massey was often looking for the double jab right hand, and then throwing occasional body shots while Clarke was trying to close the range and fight in close.
Clarke turned the fight on its head when he put Massey over with a big right hand in the seventh and Massey was sent reeling by Clarke’s follow up assault, forcing the intervention of referee Bob Williams. Time of the stoppage was 1-24 of the session and Clarke breathed new life into his 12-2 (7 KOs) career. It was a good fight.
Massey drops to 23-4 (13 KOs).
For Zuffa Boxing’s first fight card, the crowd was littered with fighters, including Denzel Bentley, David Adeleye, Dan Azeez, Craig Richards, Joshua Buatsi, Adam Azim, Josh Kelly and Conor Benn while former heavyweight Scott Welch and super middleweight champion Steve Collins were also in the audience.
