In the latest installment of the JD NXTGEN events, Anthony Fowler claimed the vacant WBO Inter-Continental middleweight title with a unanimous decision victory over Brian Rose at the Exhibition Centre in Liverpool, England, on Friday evening.
Fowler (10-1, 8 KOs) was headlining for the first time and in his home city of Liverpool and outboxed Rose (31-6-1, 8 KOs) in front of a sellout crowd, winning 98-92, 97-93 and 98-92 on the judges’ scorecards.
Both fighters wasted little time throwing punches as the opening bell sounded. It appeared to be heading toward a high-tempo fight, but a low blow from Fowler called a halt to proceedings inside the first minute. They picked back up shortly after, with Fowler controlling the center of the ring as Rose appeared content to fight off the back foot. Fowler was persistent setting up four-punch combos with his jab, while Rose relied on his jab as a counter.
Focusing more on the body in the third, Fowler looked to get inside of Rose’s jab but was caught with a right hand — which he shook his head at in response. Tempers flared in Round 4 when Fowler motioned that Rose landed a shot to the back of the head. As the referee called for them to break, Fowler landed a right hook and received a warning for his actions.
At the halfway point of their scheduled 10-round bout, Fowler was in complete control and continued to outland Rose with well-timed hooks to the head and body. Rose came out firing in the eighth with two big right hands, but Fowler continued to come forward and land to the body. Rose seemed to grow in confidence after his previous round’s performance and started to land with more purpose in the ninth. Fowler suffered a cut above the right eye when the pair went head to head and traded punches, much to the appreciation for the crowd.
Playing it carefully after he was stopped in the final round his last time out, Fowler boxed cautiously in the 10th and found an opening where he stunned Rose with a straight right hand. With blood streaming from his right eyebrow, Fowler fired punches to the crowd's delight until the final bell.
Co-main event: Robbie Davies Jr. stops Michal Dufek inside three rounds
Davies (19-1, 13 KOs) impressed in front of his home-city fans with a dominant display over Dufek (25-22-2, 18 KOs).
From the opening bell, the 29-year-old fighter from Liverpool controlled the tempo of the bout with his jab and body shots. Midway through Round 2, Davies unloaded on Dufek but was unable to secure the stoppage. However, Davies put an end to Dufek in the third frame when the 36-year-old Czech stumbled and Davies took advantage of the opportunity. A bevy of power shots soon followed, with Dufek against the ropes and not firing. Seeing that Dufek was in serious trouble, the referee stepped in to end the fight at the 2:45 mark.
Undercard
- Lewis Ritson def. Marek Jedrzejewski, retains WBA Inter-Continental super lightweight title
- Jack Cullen def. John Harding Jr, retains BBBofC English middleweight title
- Thomas Essonba def. Sean McGoldrick; bantamweights
- Martin Bakole def. Ytalo Perea; heavyweights
- Qais Ashfaq def. Sean Davis; super bantamweights
- Thomas Whittaker Hart def. Ivo Krastev; light heavyweights
- Dylan Evans def. Aleksandrs Birkenbergs; lightweights
- Nathan Farrell def. Dylan Draper; welterweights
- John Docherty def. Darryl Sharp; super middleweights