The ‘Magnificent Seven’ ride again tonight as Queensberry’s latest multi-title show rolls into Birmingham.

Last September, Ezra Taylor 8-0 (6 KOs) burst onto television screens with a flawless stoppage of former British light heavyweight challenger Joel McIntyre. The Nottingham light heavyweight kicked off tonight’s show and built on that victory by stopping Prince Oko Nartey 11-3 (10 KOs) in the fourth round. 

Taylor got straight down to business and rocked the Ghanian southpaw back onto his heels with the first right hand he landed. Taylor seemed to get excited by his early success and became a little reckless as he chased an early stoppage.

Taylor came out for the second round with his hands tighter and used his feet and feints to make Oko Nartey fall short. The visitor was game but woefully out of his depth and had no answer. He was harshly given a count after being bundled over but his balance was poor and he took a succession of clean left hooks and right hands. 

Maybe wary of emptying his gas tank too early in his first scheduled 10 rounder, Taylor cut down the movement and began to walk Oko Nartey down in the third. The Ghanian took advantage of Tyalor’s change in tactics and grabbed hold and bought time at every opportunity. He lost a point for pushing down Taylor’s head during the clinches but will have been happy for a brief respite. 

The end came in the fourth. Taylor scored his second knockdown of the fight with an arcing counter right hand and cut loose in a bid to end matters. Taylor went for quality rather than quantity and allowed Oko Nartey to escape but soon cornered him again and referee Kevin Parker stepped in to end matters.

Oko Nartey wasn’t happy but although he was never seriously hurt, he had taken a series of clean shots and it was the correct decision. The official time was 2:45 of the fourth.

The talented Taylor collected the Commonwealth Silver title but the 29 year old may be disappointed that he didn’t get the job done in cleaner and more clinical fashion. Nonetheless, he will have learned plenty from the experience.

 

In his first fight under his new trainer, Joe McNally, Pierce O’Leary, 14-0 (8 KOs) came through a minor firefight with Hovhannes Matirosyan, 16-1 (10 KO’s) to successfully defend his WBC International super lightweight title. 

Matirosyan isn’t usually shy about coming forward but started out conservatively, aiming to keep things long. His weariness was  justified and the first time he opened up and committed to a right hand, O’Leary timed him perfectly with a short left hook and Matirosyan dropped to the canvas. 

The Belgian did land one nice right hand but, otherwise, O’Leary seemed in his comfort zone. He was finding counter shots easy to find and stiffened the Belgian’s legs with another left hook. O’Leary was using his jab well against the taller man and at close range, he was the more compact fighter and his punches shorter and more powerful. 

Things began to change in the third. O’Leary picked up a cut over his right eye after a left hook and had his head rocked back by a long right hand by Matirosyan who had realised that he stood a much better chance of winning by keeping O’Leary at range and getting his shots off first. 

Whether he had grown accustomed to O’Leary’s power or just felt more comfortable in his surroundings, Matirosyan was visibly growing in confidence and willing to enter exchanges with O’Leary, who began to try and use angles and footwork to create his openings. Matirosyan began to roll forward and caught the Irishman with long straight shots as he bore down on him. 

The fight had become a real give and take battle by the sixth. O’Leary attempted to shift the momentum back in his favour by getting on the front foot and digging a left hook to the body. Immediately the mood of the fight changed and Matirosyan suffered a cut of his own. Television replays showed that the cut was caused by a clash of heads but referee Victor Laughlin ruled that a punch had opened the gash.

O’Leary opened the seventh with his most significant attack for some time. He momentarily stunned Matirosyan with a short left hook and followed up with  an accurate attack. Matirosyan still presented a clear threat and he continued to score with hard counter right hands of his own.

Whereas O’Leary’s corner had done a good job of tidying up his cut, blood flowed down Matirosyan’s face. The fight had come down to a battle of distance. When O’Leary could get close he had the better of the action with his short punches and left hook but if he got careless on the way in or allowed Matirosyan to get off first, he had to walk through some flush right hands. 

The pair were now caught up in the battle and punching with each other during some hard exchanges. During one of those, O’Leary landed another clean left hook and Matirosyan toppled backwards heavily. He made eye contact with referee, Victor Loughlin, but was still on his haunches as the count reached ten.

The official time of the stoppage was 2.39 of round number nine. 

O’Leary, 24, successfully defended his WBC super lightweight title and remains an exciting element in British boxing’s packed 140lbs division.