Brighton heavyweight hope Tommy Welch hopes to get in the domestic mix with the likes of Fabio Wardley, Frazer Clarke and David Adeleye. The son of former WBO heavyweight title challenger Scott Welch, Tommy scored a workmanlike six-round to improve to 11-0 (6).
Welch, 28, was lively from the start at Bournemouth’s Voitality Stadium on the Lawrence Okolie-Chris Billam-Smith undercard, coming out jabbing but soon trying to set up heavier shots that had Amine Boucetta back-pedalling. The Belgian shipped some big blows while on the ropes early on, right hooks to the body and right uppercuts to the head. It was one-sided and the durable Boucetta was increasingly reluctant and hard to hit. The action progressively slowed. Welch tucked up tightly whenever anything came his way and the Brighton prospect had his moments in the fifth round
Welch’s supporters urged their man to finish with a flurry. He landed a booming left hook and forced Boucetta back but could not find the shots to get the visitor out of there. Welch won 59-55.
The fight between light-heavyweights Lewis Edmondson and Petr Nosic ended in the fifth when Nosic couldn’t continue after a headclash.
Edmondson won 50-45 but Nosic was frustrating and Southampton’s Edmondson tried taking different looks at him, switching southpaw and orthodox trying to find a way in. But Edmondson found it hard to get flowing against Nosic and in the fifth round the fight was cut short with Edmondson in an unassailable lead.
In the show opener shortly after 5pm, featherweight Razor Ali and Brazil’s Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Olivera shared a lively six-rounder, and Ali stayed unbeaten winning a 58-55 decision.
There was good action throughout. Ali weathered a second-round storm, was aggressive in the third, when he picked up a warning for leading with his head. At times, the Brazilian tried to find his way in from the southpaw stance and while Ali had some success in the fifth, Olivera was never discouraged. It was not easy for Ali. Olivera stayed on the front foot, soaking up everything that came his way, landing good shots of his own and they respectfully acknowledged once another at the end. Olivera is now 4-4. Ali is 8-1.
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