BOURNEMOUTH, England – Brighton southpaw Harvey Dykes was a big moral winner against Ivan Dychko, not just going the distance but splitting the judges against the big Kazakh.
Dychko, returning from a decision defeat to Jermaine Franklin, won by two cards of 97-92 while one judge favoured the stocky English southpaw by 95-94.
A short right hook caught Dykes on the way in and dropped him for the count in the opener but the second was interesting, with Dykes landing to the body, but by the third the big Englishman’s right eye was swelling
Don Charles-trained Dykes had some aggressive moments in the fifth but Dychko quelled his aggression and kept him honest with feints and his jab and while Dykes began to load up with some big shots he couldn’t find a home for them.
Dykes was not wanting for enthusiasm or courage but Dychko’s long levers kept him in front but those who were concerned Dychko might blow the burly Brighton man out needn’t have worried. Dykes wasn’t going anywhere and he did better than seeing out the 10 rounds, he earned his money and made Dychko earn his.
Dychko is now 16-1 (14 KOs). Dykes is 7-1-1.
Lee Cutler kept his end of the bargain for a rematch with Steve McKenna alive by defeating Bristol’s Aaron Sutton in three rounds.
Bournemouth’s “Chaos” dropped Sutton in the third and his shoulder came out and the fight was stopped. Cutler called out McKenna, who had previously swamped Portland, Maine’s Casey James Streeter, in a round, dropping his opponent once before overwhelming him in just 64 seconds.
Sam Hickey landed a devastating right hand to stop Todd Tompkins in shocking fashion.
Tomkins went down so hard that the crowd fell into a worried silence as paramedics entered the ring to aid the fallen Tomkins, who fell in sections.
Scotland’s Hickey is 5-0 (2 KOs) and that was a Knockout of the Year contender.
Birmingham’s Tompkins is now 4-1.
There were quick wins on the undercard for prospects Alex Macmillan and Leon Hughes.
Macmillan, a 22-year-old super welterweight, opened up the show with a two-round stoppage of the 7-3 Leo Fathome, landing right hands at will and dropping his opponent twice in the first and once in the third.
Macmillan in now 4-0 (3 KOs) and is trained by Josh Pritchard and part of the McGuigan’s Gym team. Afterwards, he said that with Zuffa Boxing and Dana White behind him, he was heading to the top.
Light heavyweight hope Hughes was in charge from the get go to improve to 5-0 (4 KOs), scoring a third-round stoppage of 8-5 Bulgarian Mario Vergiev. Hughes was disappointed Vergiev was stopped on his feet but had it not been for the intervention of referee Mark Bates after 52 seconds of the round, things would likely have been different.
