Boxing: Reece Mould and Ed Hardy triumph but defeat for Conisbrough's Ellie Hellewell
It was a mixed bag for a clutch of Doncaster fighters on Saturday night's GBM Sports bill at Sheffield's Canon Medical Arena.
Reece Mould had to navigate early challenges before winning every round against Benito Sanchez Garcia. He beamed a smile in the final seconds of the tussle, completely satisfied that the win was his.
His Donny pal Ed Hardy - nicknamed the Farmboy - dominated his opponent, Jose Manuel Perez. His manager, Sunny Edwards, the former world champion, said: “I am impressed by the way he listens – he wants to go all the way to the end of the rainbow.”
Conisbrough's Ellie Hellewell put in a spirited 10 rounds and clearly felt she was in with a chance of edging the contest against Tysie Gallagher.
Unfortunately, all the judges disagreed: Phil Edwards 98-93, Howard Foster 97-93, and John Latham 97-94 in favour of Gallagher.
Ellie had been on the front foot for most of the night and had started well; however, Luton’s Tysie dodged, weaved, and then countered with a flurry of punches, which attracted the judges. She was focused, hard to hit, and confident against the taller opponent, who had Jason Cunningham and Ryan Rhodes in her corner.
You felt the former Brinsworth Junior and Wickersley Comprehensive pupil had to offer something more compelling and needed a KO as the fight drew to a close.
It wasn’t to be, though. While Ellie briefly lifted her hand as if to accept the acclaim of a winner, Tysie was on her coach’s shoulders long before the verdict was announced. Tysie did indeed keep hold of her British, Commonwealth, and WBO International super bantamweight titles.
Ellie is only 25, though, has had a mere eight pro fights, and trains hard in one of South Yorkshire’s highest-performing gyms – Doncaster’s DB Fitness and Circuit Centre. She will improve her skillset to match her drive and stamina and be back on the title scene.
The main event in Sheffield saw Belfast’s Sean McComb re-stake his claim to being a super-lightweight world title contender. He survived a first-round scare to outbox and outfox defending champion Ben Crocker and take the IBF European super-lightweight championship from the Welshman.