Lewis Crocker Edges Conah Walker In An Instant Classic; Emma Dolan Outpoints Shannon Ryan

Lewis Crocker survived the relentlessness of Conah Walker to preserve his unblemished record.

A terrific domestic welterweight slugfest saw Belfast’s Crocker prevail by scores of 96-93, 96-93 and 95-94. The memorable brawl served as the DAZN co-feature to the Tyler Denny-Felix Cash middleweight bout Saturday from Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.

The final verdict was met with mixed reaction as Walker appeared to have done enough to earn the nod. The Wolverhampton-based slugger provided constant pressure throughout all ten rounds. Crocker landed the more telling singular shots in the early rounds. Walker seized the moments when Crocker admired his work, and walked down the unbeaten prospect.

Crocker took the best that he had to offer and fired back with heavy shots of his own. The unbeaten prospect landed his left hook and uppercuts with regularity in the middle rounds. Walker took the shots well and had Crocker hurt more often than the opposite was true.

Both fighters were cautioned by referee Steve Gray for excessive low blows. Walker didn’t heed the message and it cost him on the cards.

It didn’t overshadow the fantastic two-way action that took place over the final three rounds. Both fighters made their presence felt in a furiously paced eighth round. Walker committed to his body attack, though it would cost him in the ninth. A point was deducted early in the frame, while Crocker was later let off with another warning for the same infraction.

It did little to dull the in-ring action. Crocker scored with a clean combination. True to form throughout the fight, Walker shook it off and had Crocker hurt on at least two occasions.

The tightly contested affair left both fighters to go all in for a fantastic finish. Crocker and Walker both emptied their clips as the crowd roared with admiration. Walker appeared to get the better of most occasions, even if ever so slightly.

That perspective was not reflected on the final cards. Crocker (20-0, 11 knockouts) escaped with perfect record intact. Walker (13-2-1, 5 KOs) snapped a two-fight win streak, though the fight certainly warranted high demand for a rematch.

UNDERCARD RESULTS

Cameron Vuong (5-0, 3 KOs) went beyond the sixth round for the first time in his young career. The 21-year-old junior welterweight prospect from Blythe outpointed Tottenham’s Jeff Ofori (13-8-2, 4 KOs) over ten rounds. Scores were 98-92, 98-92 and 99-91 for Vuong, whose skills and stamina were tested late but ultimately prevailed.

Ofori accepted the fight when Jordan Flynn (10-0-1, 1 KO) withdrew eight days ago due to a knee injury.

Emma Dolan proved her worth in an upset win over highly touted Shannon Ryan in their tightly contested junior bantamweight battle.

A second-round knockdown provided the margin of victory for Norwich’s Dolan, who claimed a ten-round, split decision. Ryan (7-1, 0 KOs) won 95-94 on one card, overruled by scores of 96-93 and 95-94 for Dolan (7-0, 1 KOs).

Hamza Uddin went all six rounds following a knockout pro debut just two months ago. The 20-year-old crowd favorite from nearby Walsall outpointed Giulio Commerso (4-2, 1 KO) over six lopsided rounds. Referee Kevin Parker scored it 60-53 for Uddin (2-0, 1 KOs) in their bantamweight contest.

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