European super-bantamweight championship: Martin Ward loses in round two to Abigail Medina

By Sunderland Echo

Abigail Medina celebrates his victory at the Borough Hall ROY KELLY Email Published: 23:05 Saturday 30 September 2017 Updated: 00:10 Sunday 01 October 2017 0 HAVE YOUR SAY Martin Ward’s challenge for the European super-bantamweight title was ended in under five minutes tonight at the Borough Hall. The 29-year-old was put down three times by champion Abigail Medina with referee Guiseppe Quartarone calling it off after one minute, 29 seconds of the second round. All had began so promisingly in the first round at the Headland veune with Ward looking relaxed and composed. Both champion and challenger landed good scoring shots in a gripping opener, but all that changed right at the end of the round. A right to the head from Medina landed dead on timekeeper Stewart Litgho’s bell with Ward going down. He was up swiftly with Mr Quartarone making no count. Ward seemed to have recovered for the start of the second, only for Medina to deliver a long right bang on the southpaw’s chin, sending the challanger to the canvas. The Neil Fannan-trained boxer gave himself time to try to recover his senses and was up at “eight.” Medina went straight back on the offensive and ruthlessly finished the job. Landing with both fists, his attack paid off and a right-left put Ward down near the ropes. He was up at “seven” but could barely stand and the Italian ref correctly halted the bout. Ward required lengthy treatment from the medical team but left the ring to warm applause, with the Spanish contingent then able to celebrate the victory of the 29-year-old from Barcelona. Earlier in the night, Sunderland’s Glenn Foot warmed up for a crack at Josh Leather’s IBF European title when he outpointed Nathan Hardy, from Sheffield, over four rounds. Hartlepool’s Adam Cope made an accomplished pro debut when he also saw off Yorkshire opposition, beating Youssef Al Hamidi after four one-sided rounds. There were two other debutants on the Dave Garside-promoted event at the famous Hartlepool venue. Ferryhill’s Terry Tyers opened the show with a points victory over fellow debutant, Paul Lovell, from Wrexham. It was a closer bout than the 40-36 scoreline suggests but Tyers finished the stronger and got the nod from referee Ron Kearney. Redcar’s Tom Hill also brought a large army of fans for his first steps in the pro game and the Peterlee-trained boxer gave them plenty to shout about, defeating wily MIdlander Kevin McCauley. Mr Kearney marked it 40-37.