Matchroom's Fight camp series comes to an end with a devastating loss for Dillian Whyte
Matchroom's Fight camp has given us some fantastic nights of boxing over the past few weeks leaving last night's finale with some pretty big boots to fill.
The Box Office event had sparked debate on social media throughout the week, with many questioning whether the card was worthy of the £19.99 pay per view cost. Now that the dust has cleared, we think there'll be little chance that anyone who did splash out will feel they didn't get their money's worth.
As well as some great clashes on the undercard, week 4 saw one of the knockouts of the year as Dillian Whyte, a man banging on the door of the division's elite took on the dangerous veteran Alexander Povetkin, plus an absolute classic between Ireland's undisputed champion, Katie Taylor and Belgium's Delphine Persoon.
Here's how the night unfolded -
Jack Cullen (18 - 2 - 1) vs Zak Chelli (7 - 1 - 1)
10 rounds at super middleweight
Draw (97 - 93 Chelli, 96 - 95 Cullen, 95 - 95)
The always game Jack Cullen steps up to super-middleweight to face Zak Chelli in a bruising encounter that the yielded no clear winner for judges.
While Chelli looked the stronger of the two and undoubtedly landed the heavier shots, he was often guilty of loading up which made him look crude at times and likely played a part in the judges giving rounds to Cullen who did the neater work.
Chelli was perhaps slightly hard done by not to get the win, but as he moves on to tougher opposition he'll need to be cleverer with his work if he hopes to progress through the levels.
Alen Babic (4 - 0) vs Shawndell Winters (13 - 4)
8 rounds at heavyweight
Winner (Babic KO round 2)
Dillian Whyte's sparring partner and protégé, Alen Babic, pummeled American fighter Shawndell Winters into defeat in the second round.
The fight was billed at heavyweight, but Winters, who once took former WBO champion Joseph Parker into the 5th round, came in closer to cruiserweight and looked drastically out-gunned by Babic from the opening bell.
Babic came out throwing heavy combinations and although looking slightly crude, was able to bulldoze his way through Winters' offence to land a couple of enormous hooks that scored him a knockdown against the ropes.
Winters was able to see out the round but he was breathing heavily in the corner and looked weary as he came out for the second round where Babic looked to pick up where he left off.
As the round neared an end Babic started to get through again with some huge blows to the head and Winters was bundled to the canvas. Although not ruled a knockdown, winters looked defeated, having to be pulled to his feet by the ref. Winters' team, or the referee, could have been forgiven for pulling him out right then and there - unfortunately for Winters, he was sent back out for more, having to suffer another knockdown before the referee waved it off.
Luther Clay (13 - 2) vs Chris Congo (12 - 0)
10 rounds for the WBO world welterweight championship
Winner (Congo KO round 9)
In the third fight of the evening, Luther Clay put his title on the line against unbeaten Chris Congo.
Everyone expected a close, skilful encounter here and that's exactly what we got. It was tit for tat in the first half of the fight with both men having bursts of success making for difficult scoring.
In the fifth, Congo came on strong, pinning Clay on the ropes and landing a barrage of punches. However, perhaps, underestimating what his opponent had left in the tank, Congo seemed to punch himself out and allowed Clay to drag himself back into the fight.
With his head clear, Clay fought well over the next few rounds, investing well in body shots and using his pro experience to make a real fight of it. Congo boxed patiently though and got through again in the ninth, pinning Clay down in a sequence that played out almost exactly like that which came in the fifth.
With Congo unable to find the right punch to finish things, Clay once again survived the onslaught but only moments later found himself on the end of a left hook that ended the encounter.
Katie Taylor (16 - 0) vs Delphine Persoon (44 - 3)
10 rounds for the undisputed lightweight championship
Winner (Taylor 98 - 93, 96 - 94, 96 - 94)
Katie Taylor put it all online against her old foe Delphine Persoon in another absolute war that took Taylor into the trenches.
The two first clashed in 2019 when Taylor picked up the decision in a fight that many had Persoon winning. With such a controversial decision the rematch was inevitable.
Persoon came out exactly as we expected she would, applying the same relentless pressure that gave Taylor so much trouble in the first fight.
For the first two rounds, Taylor boxed brilliantly, landing some sharp counters while avoiding being dragged into a scrap, but by round 3 Persoon's pressure became too much and Taylor was forced into the type of fight that she needed to avoid.
From round 4 onwards the fight became almost impossible to score as Persoon marauded forwards with arms that seemed never to stop throwing punches. It wasn't at all pretty, but it was effective in offsetting the neater work from Taylor.
There came a point in the 8th when Taylor, who looked exhausted from trying to repel Persoon, was bundled to the floor and you wondered if she would have the energy to stick to her boxing for the remaining two rounds.
With an enormous welt on her forehead, and visibly fading, Taylor dug deeper than she ever has and was able to box to the final bell while Persoon quite literally chased her around the ring.
The decision could have gone either way, depending on what you prefer. As in the first fight, the judges favoured the more skilful work of Taylor and awarded her the decision with scores of 98 - 93, 96 - 94 and 96 - 94.
Dillian Whyte (18 - 2) vs Alexander Povetkin (36 - 2 - 1)
12 rounds at heavyweight for the WBC interim title
Winner (Povetkin KO Round 5)
At nearly 41 years old, Alexander Povetkin is surely nearing the end of his career and early in the fight, he looked every bit his age.
Whyte came into the fight looking in excellent shape and had a great start, boxing behind a long jab and making Povetkin look uncomfortable with heavy body shots.
In the third, Whyte Rocked Povetkin early and finished the round strong with more hurtful body shots that were really beginning to affect the Russian.
Whyte had an even better fourth, dropping Povetkin twice - once with a short left hook, and again with a short uppercut on the inside. Although able to see out the round, it was looking grim for Povetkin.
Going into the 5th, nobody would have been shocked if the fight didn't make it to the 6th, but few would have imagined that the man left standing would be Povetkin.
Showing why he has only lost twice in a pro career spanning 15 years, Povetkin found a thundering uppercut from nowhere that knocked Dillian Whyte out cold in what was a shocking end to the Fight Camp series.
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