Danny Ball proved to be too much for Jamie Robinson in their domestic welterweight title fight.
An early knockdown and a disciplined performance put forth by Ball was enough to break down Robinson and force a stoppage after the eighth round of their DAZN opener Saturday evening from AO Arena in Manchester, England.
Ball scored the bout’s lone knockdown when he floored Robinson with a left uppercut early in round two. Robinson (15-6-2, 4KOs) put forth a brave effort but was unable to defend against the steady jab and grueling body work delivered by Kingswinford, West Midlands’ Ball throughout the relatively one-sided contest.
The fight was stopped prior to the start of round nine, as Ball (13-1-1, 6KOs) extended his three-fight win streak.
A pair of boxers with familiar surnames picked up wins by very different means on the ‘Before the Bell’ preliminary undercard.
Campbell Hatton (12-0, 5KOs) battered Poland’s Michal Bulik (6-3, 2KOs) en route to a fifth-round stoppage in their junior welterweight contest. Hatton—the son of legendary former two-division champion and Manchester boxing royalty Ricky Hatton—repeatedly rocked Bulik, including the final sequence which prompted referee John Latham to stop the contest at 0:38 of round five.
Manchester’s William Crolla was forced to overcome a debatable knockdown to outpoint Joe Hardy (2-10, 0KOs) in his pro debut. The 24-year-old junior middleweight won every round but was forced to take a count after he fell to the canvas from the force of Hardy’s forearm following a blocked right hand. Referee Steve Gray ruled a knockdown but ultimately awarded Crolla a 39-37 score as the lone arbiter in the four-round affair. Crolla is the younger brother of former WBA lightweight titlist Anthony Crolla, a wildly popular hometown attraction during his heyday.
Opening the show, Coventry's Aaron Bowen (2-0, 1KO) soundly outpointed Slovenia's Aljaz Venko (5-4-1, 2KOs) over six rounds. Referee John Latham scored the bout 60-55 for Bowen, who turned pro on the Lara-Wood I undercard just three months ago and is due to return on Matchroom Boxing's July 1 NXTGEN show on DAZN from Utilita Arena in Sheffield.
Headlining the show, Leigh Wood (26-3, 16KOs) aims to regain his WBA featherweight title and avenge a knockout loss at the hands of Mauricio Lara (26-2-1, 19KOs), who was grossly overweight and forced to vacate the belt.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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