By Ben Carey
Mark Thompson could earn himself a shot at the British welterweight title if he can overcome former champion Kevin McIntyre in a ten round eliminator. This excellent match will take place on Hatton Promotions’ first show of 2010 at the Altrincham Leisure Centre on January 15.
They Heywood puncher has put together an impressive 11-fight win streak since first bursting onto the scene following his thrilling but ultimately gallant loss to South Africa’s Vincent Vuma 18 months ago. At 28 and after 23 fights (22 wins, 1 defeat), Thompson has more than served his apprenticeship and will be looking to finally win a title of significance in 2010.
Opponent Kevin McIntyre has endured a similarly frustrating time. Harshly stripped after being unable to defend his British crown against Kell Brook due to injury, McIntyre was blitzed in a round by Brook when trying to regain the Lonsdale belt in November 2008 against the Sheffield star.
The Scot returned to the ring last February with a second round stoppage victory over Jay Morris. McIntyre was once again bemoaning his bad luck though in October when his contest with the unbeaten Brett Flournoy was suddenly aborted in round 2. The fight was subsequently declared a no contest after ringside medics were called away to attend to Jason Rushton who had collapsed in the dressing room following his stoppage loss to Brian Rose.
Thompson and McIntyre is a difficult fight to call. One can envisage Thompson bulldozing the slow-starting McIntyre to defeat early, as proved to be the case when Kevin was stopped in the opening round by Kell Brook and Nigel Wright. Thompson does have a tendency to load up with every shot however and if he fails to get McIntyre out of there the crafty southpaw could settle into a rhythm and outbox a fading Thompson down the stretch.
The British and Commonwealth cruiserweight title rematch between Robert Norton and David Dolan tops the bill. This Hatton Promotions bill will also feature the explosive rematch between middleweight punchers Paul Samuels and Cello Renda – two fights I have previously discussed in an earlier article (see below).
If that isn’t enough, the Hatton’s also stage an English lightweight title battle between Dezzi Higginson and Martin Gethin and will showcase a host of North West talent on a packed undercard. Full details below.
Venue:
Altrincham Leisure Centre
Oakfield Road
Altrincham
WA15 8EW
0161 926 3255
Doors: 6.00pm
First Fight: 6.30 tbc
Live on Sky Sports
Ticket Prices:
£30.00 General Admission
£50.00 Ringside
£75.00 VIP Ringside
0161 775 7500
Ticketmaster: 0844 847 2500
CARD:
Rob Norton Vs David Dolan
12×3 British & Commonwealth Cruiserweight Title
Mark Thompson Vs Kevin McIntyre
10×3 British Welterweight Eliminator
Dezzie Higginson Vs Martin Gethin
10×3 English Lightweight Title
Cello Renda Vs Paul Samuels
8×3 Middleweight Contest
Matty Askin Vs Hastings Rasani
6×3 Cruiserweight Contest
Craig Lyons Vs Emliano Salvani
8×3 Bantamweight Contest
Stephen Foster Jnr Vs Kakha Avetisyan
6×3 Super-Featherweight Contest
Joe Murray Vs George McHedlishvili
6×3 Super-Bantamweight Contest
Kieran Maher vs Johny Greaves
4×3 Light-Welterweight Contest
James Barker vs Delroy Spencer
4×3 Super-Bantam Contest
