Heaney vs Pauls 2: Live updates and results
ANOTHER MAGNIFICENT SEVEN
23:31:09
And with the words of an elated Brad Pauls still ringing in the ears, that concludes our blog from another superb Mag 7 show. Until next time. Cornwall forever.
‘CORNWALL FOREVER’
23:30:19
History maker Brad Pauls says: “It feels like the fans won tonight. I gave my everything like I promised. Cornwall forever!
“Terry is in the gym with me everyday. I couldn’t do it without Terry Steward. I finally got my roses and it was down to Terry Steward pushing me all the way.
“It’s a busy division and I’ll happily fight anyone. This is my moment, I’ve boxed for 21 years and this is all I ever wanted. Dreams do come true. This is something I’ve thought about everyday and now it’s here, it feels surreal.”
IT’S ALL OVER! PAULS IS THE NEW CHAMPION!!
23:22:51
Pauls takes the instruction from his corner and goes for broke from the start of the round. Heaney gets caught in the eye of the storm and finds himself shipping heavy shots while pinned against the ropes. He finally slumps to the canvas and does his best to beat the count but referee Michael Alexander counts him out. The official time of the stoppage was 00:54 R12.
Brad Pauls is the new British middleweight champion, the first from Cornwall since 1939.
PAULS PILING ON THE PRESSURE
23:20:09
Into the 11th and Pauls is starting to look for the knockout. He was disappointed after the first fight and he looks like he doesn’t want to leave it up to the judges this time as he piles on the pressure in the final minute of the 11th. Heaney, though, does not wilt and is still standing at the end of the round. “Put it right on him,” says Pauls’ coach Terry Steward in the corner. Into the 12th we go.
HEATING UP
23:08:28
This is starting to evolve into the toe-to-toe battle many were expecting. After his crisis moment in the fourth, Heaney has regrouped well but Pauls is still the one who looks to be in control of the fight. But with four left, it is still all to play for and the fight is heating up nicely.
HALFWAY HOME
23:00:53
Heaney ships more heavy shots through the sixth as Pauls begins to take control of this fight. The champion is struggling to make a dent in Pauls, who has no problem walking forward in order to land with big right hands or left hooks. Still anyone’s game with six left.
HEANEY REGROUPS
22:57:08
After his crisis in the fourth, Heaney regroups in the fifth, stays on his feet and gets back to his boxing. But there is a fresh step in Pauls’ step as we enter the sixth round. He knows he can hurt Heaney and he’s throwing with more authority now.
DOWN GOES HEANEY!
22:54:16
After a frustrating opening quarter, Brad Pauls gets a huge breakthrough with 30 seconds left of the fourth. For once, Heaney is lazy with his jab and Pauls slips outside it and lands with a howitzer right hand. Heaney goes straight over but climbs back to his feet with time to spare. He makes it to the end of the round but let’s see how the fifth unfolds.
THREE DOWN
22:48:58
Another good round for Heaney who is keeping it long and forcing Pauls to overreach in his attempts to land. The Newquay Bomb, however, did manage to land with a couple of left hooks right before the bell. You could argue he is 3-0 down already and needs to get a foothold here.
JAB IS KEY
22:44:57
Very mature use of the jab through the second from Nathan Heaney, who is using his longer levers to keep the big-punching Pauls at bay. The champion has settled well here but it’s all very much still to play for.
EVEN OPENER
22:41:02
Much like the first fight, there is little between the two men in the first round. Couple of good shots from Heaney, particularly a right uppercut, which drew a roar from the pro-Heaney crowd. A good start to this anticipated rematch.
BUT FIRST – THE HEANEY RINGWALK
22:24:33
Nathan Heaney is one of the biggest ticket sellers in the country which means his ringwalk to Delilah, the anthem of his beloved Stoke City, is one of the best in world boxing. They are both about to walk…
MAIN EVENT TIME
22:20:51
The anticipated rematch between British middleweight champion Nathan Heaney and Brad Pauls is up next. The pair met back in March and shared a split draw after 12 thrilling rounds. Now, four months on, they meet again to try and determine a winner – but this could be close again.
IT’S ALL OVER
22:11:16
We have a new British and Commonwealth bantamweight champion! With 1:10 left of the fifth, the fight is stopped after Lane is floored for the second time. Inside the first minute of the round, he was dropped for the first time by a short right hand and did well to get up and hold on. But the writing was on the wall and the stoppage came just moments later when the champion was floored again by another relentless barrage. The official time of referee Kevin Parker’s stoppage was 1:47 of round No.5.
Another huge win for trainer Paul Stevenson and the Everton Red Triangle. A tremendous performance.
MORE OF THE SAME
22:09:13
Controlled and calculated pressure from Cain throughout the fourth round which he dominates. Lane looks out of ideas here as almost everything he throws is getting countered in devastating fashion.
CAIN CONTROL
22:04:28
Cain going through the gears a bit in the third, landing by far the better shots throughout the round and leaving Lane chasing shadows at times. Even when Cain was against the ropes he was landing with superb catch-and-counters. He seems to be really warming into this while Lane has not quite found a groove.
TWO DOWN
22:01:11
Two down and, as expected, very little to choose between the two men. In the second, Andrew Cain landed a lovely uppercut and a picture perfect left hook to the body. He has settled well into this fight but can he maintain it?
LANE V CAIN IS HERE
21:54:01
Into the chief support as Ashley Lane defends his British and Commonwealth bantamweight titles against Andrew Cain. A big fan of fights where the two surnames rhyme anyway but this one could be special.
CAMERON SPEAKS
21:41:46
After her majority decision victory, Chantelle Cameron said: “I’m back now and I’m coming for those belts again. It was my first fight with Grant so I just want momentum now, I don’t want to be waiting around.”
Her new trainer Grant Smith added: “She’s a very good fighter. I wanted her to go out there with no pressure and do the things we’ve been working on in the gym.
“To call that fight a draw, she was taking some big shots, I take my hat off to her, some of those shots would’ve knocked a man out. What that judge was scoring I don’t know.”
TO THE SCORECARDS WE GO…
21:34:41
And it’s a majority decision for Chantelle Cameron. Juergen Langos inexplicably scores it 95-95 while the other two score it 98-92 (Ernesto Saldivar) and 99-92 (Victor Loughlin) to hand Cameron the victory. The 95-95 is one of the strangest cards of the year.
‘WALK INTO HER’
21:28:54
Grant Smith calling for his boxer to keep up the pressure with Cameron continuing to press forward in search of a breakthrough. Full credit to Mekhaled for hanging in there so far. The ninth and penultimate round is just about to start…
SIX DOWN
21:22:51
Mekhaled is as game as they come but she is starting to take a shellacking from Cameron, who can’t miss the visitor. Cameron is moving well and having success with almost every forward foray.
CAMERON TURNING THE SCREW
21:16:14
Mekhaled sent stumbling after Cameron lands with an uppercut and a hook. Cameron then piles on the pressure in search of a knockdown but Mekhaled is going nowhere and ends the round with some success of her own. Into the fifth we go.
MEKHALED IN TROUBLE
21:08:02
Cameron straight into business in her first fight with Grant Smith in the corner. Hurts Mekhaled with a left hook and spends almost the entire first round on the front foot. A tough assignment for the Parisian who has spent most of her career at super-featherweight but is now up against the former unified super-lightweight champion.
CAMERON DEBUT UP NEXT
20:58:53
Into the fifth fight of the night we go with Chantelle Cameron’s Queensberry Promotions debut up next. She boxes Elm Mekhaled over 10-twos in her first fight since she was beaten by Katie Taylor in their November rematch.
IT’S ALL OVER!
20:52:24
Power’s corner speech does not have the desired effect as Dacres lands a crushing hook-cross-hook combination which forces Webster to turn his back and eventually drop to the canvas. Again he makes his way to his feet but this time referee Kevin Parker decides enough is enough. The official time was 1:10 of round seven.
CORNER WORK
20:51:09
Michael Webster’s coach Denis Power trying to get more from his fighter with words of wisdom in the corner: “My mam died a couple of weeks ago, and I never neglected your training.”
Will it inspire him now?
WEBSTER BACK IN BUSINESS
20:48:46
A mature response to the knockdown from Webster, who gets right back behind his jab and gives nothing away through the sixth. Has some success of his own with the triple jab in particular. Into the final four rounds we go.
DOWN GOES WEBSTER!
20:45:35
In the closing stages of the fifth round Dacres gets a huge breakthrough when a three-punch combo downs Webster. He takes his time rising to his feet but manages to beat the count. This has been very even so far but will Dacres take over now after that knockdown?
INTO THE FOURTH
20:38:40
Much like their first encounter, there is not much to choose between these two big men. Dacres, the English champion, is putting his shots together well but the fight is being fought at a pace that Webster seems happy with.
DACRES-WEBSTER 2 UNDERWAY
20:28:04
With four more fights to go, Queensberry are not hanging around and the heavyweight rematch between Sol Dacres and Michael Webster is now in the ring. The pair shared 10 rounds in November, with Dacres getting a majority decision. Will it be repeat or revenge this time?
TAYLOR UD10
20:13:17
Ezra Taylor wins a unanimous decision against Carlos Alberto Lamela with scores of 97-93 and 99-91 twice. A good learning fight for the Cannon who moves to 9-0. “It wasn’t a great fight to watch, let’s be honest,” Carl Frampton says. “It was getting a bit boring there.”
WE GO TO THE SCORECARDS
20:11:42
Taylor goes the 10-round distance for the first time and will surely get a lopsided decision in the eye of the judges here.
INTO THE 10TH…
20:06:31
Very little to report across the last few rounds with the fight following a similar pattern, with Taylor marching after Lamela but unable to really make a dent in him. This is now unchartered territory for Taylor, however, as he had never gone more than eight rounds before tonight, so a good box ticked here.
SIX DOWN
19:52:28
After this extraordinary fight before, this one is all a bit lowkey. Taylor is doing nothing wrong but the pace is slow and Lamela is offering little going forward. With four left, can Taylor add an explosive full stop to this performance?
MORE OF THE SAME
19:39:37
Mainly one-way traffic in the second but Lamela does land with a counter right hand in the final minute of the round. Taylor is having success with overhand rights but the visitor’s chin is holding up well so far.
EASY FOR EZRA
19:35:58
Taylor has it all his own way in the first round against Lamela, who looks overmatched and eats a few right hands in the first round. With nothing coming back, the Nottingham man can do basically what he wants and seems to be enjoying it.
EZRA UP NEXT
19:26:44
Two fights, two big knockouts – five to go in Birmingham. Up next is light-heavyweight prospect Ezra Taylor as he takes on Cuba-born Spaniard Carlos Alberto Lamela. Can he keep tonight’s knockout streak going? The odds would suggest he very much can. He’s got 10 rounds to do it against the 8-3 visitor.
SMASH AND GRAB
19:20:11
According to the TNT commentary team, all three judges had Cooper well ahead at the time of the stoppage. The 35-year-old Essuman pulls it out of the bag when it mattered most. What a fight, what a performance.
COOPER IS DOWN AND OUT!
19:16:58
After what we saw in the ninth, I cannot quite believe that within seconds of the start of the fifth it’s all over – and it’s Cooper who is knocked out! Essuman was on the brink of defeat at the end of the ninth but he would just not be denied. A big left hook sent Cooper into a corner once again and Essuman jumped on him, two more big shots landed on the chin and Cooper was down and referee Bob Williams waved it off straight away.
DOWN GOES ESSUMAN!
19:14:26
With less than a minute left in the ninth round, Cooper drops Essuman with a huge right hook. Essuman climbs to his feet and Cooper is unable to find a finish before the end of the round. Yet another pendulum swing in this mini-classic. “Listen, he’s fucking gone!” is the war cry in the corner. Into the 10th and final round we go.
MORE OF THE SAME
19:07:13
Again, Essuman manages to spend much of the round with Cooper against the ropes, allowing him to unload to head and body. Cooper does not have much success of his own but he is showing incredible toughness to still hang in there at all. With three rounds left, can Cooper get back into this one?
DOWN GOES COOPER!
19:02:40
After a proper old-fashioned onslaught from Essuman, where he landed with a series of huge hooks, Cooper finally goes down with only a few seconds remaining in the round. Cooper gets back to his feet and holds on until the end of the round – but can he make it through the seventh?
FIREWORKS IN THE FIFTH
18:57:57
Essuman manages to outmuscle Cooper early in the round and manoeuvres him back to the ropes and gets to work, mauling with hooks to head and body. But Cooper keeps his cool and manages to work his way back to centre ring where he gets through with two sharp right hands which Essuman seems to feel. At the halfway point this is anyone’s fight.
THREE DOWN
18:51:51
Some great work from Cooper in round three but he ships a big left hook from Essuman after a minute of the fourth. Essuman, perhaps sensing his opponent growing into the fight, has decided now is the time to turn up the heat.
ENGINE BREAKING?
18:40:02
Amazingly, Essuman is a full 12 years older than the undefeated Cooper, who won the English title in this very same arena on March 16. Essuman, however, is coming off the back of his first defeat, when he lost on points to Harry Scarff in Manchester in November. We are one round down and Cooper seems to have found an early groove – this is shaping up nicely.
WELTERWEIGHTS NEXT
18:30:40
Zach Parker provides an explosive stoppage in the first of tonight’s (Magnificent) seven fights. Next up is Owen Cooper against Ekow Essuman for the English welterweight title.
IT’S OVER
18:26:03
Arnfield is wobbled by a big right hand from Parker and goes stumbling back to the ropes. Parker then lines him up for a huge right hand which sends him heavily to his knees. Arnfield does well to even get up at all, let alone beat the count, but he is allowed to box on. However, one more attack from Parker, which downs Arnfield again, is enough for referee Chris Dean to wave things off. The official time was 1:16 of the fourth.
THREE DOWN
18:23:42
Not much to report through three here. Parker chipping away but Arnfield has been equal to everything so far. Of course this is Parker’s first outing since he was dropped for the first time in his career, against Tyron Zeuge in March, in a fight he won on points. No knockdowns for either as of yet.
PARKER-ARNFIELD FIRST
18:15:00
And without further ado, the 10-rounder between Zach Parker and Jack Arnfield is now underway in what is the first TV bout on the card. We are one round down. Off TV, Shabaz Masoud and Bradley Thompson both won on points over eight and four rounds respectively.
WE’RE OFF
18:13:12
Hello and welcome to tonight’s live blog for the latest Magnificent Seven card, this time in Birmingham. I’m Declan Taylor and I will be walking you through every cough, splutter and everything in between via this magical medium of text. If you want to get involved remember to enter your predictions on the Boxing News app and of course you can Tweet me all your thoughts to @declantaylor87.
Nathan Heaney faces Brad Pauls in a clash for Heaney’s British middleweight title. Headlining the latest Magnificent 7 card, the pair fought to a draw in March.
The televised undercard action, ‘Fight Night Live’, kicks off on TNT Sports from 6pm (UK/IRE). Catch Bradley Thompson and Shabaz Masoud in the preliminary bouts here:
Nathan Heaney vs. Brad Pauls 2 Fight Card
Nathan Heaney vs. Brad Pauls
British middleweight title – 12 x 3 rounds
Zach Parker vs. Jack Arnfield
Super-middleweight – 10 x 3 rounds
Chantelle Cameron vs. Elhem Mekhaled
WBC Interim World super-lightweight title (vacant) – 10 x 2 rounds
Ashley Lane vs. Andrew Cain
British and Commonwealth bantamweight title – 12 x 3 rounds
Solomon Dacres vs. Michael Webster
English heavyweight title – 10 x 3 rounds
Owen Cooper vs. Ekow Essuman
English and WBO European welterweight titles – 10 x 3 rounds
Shabaz Masoud vs. Marvin Solano
Featherweight – 8 x 3 rounds
Ezra Taylor vs. Carlos Alberto Lamela
WBC International light-heavyweight title (vacant) – 10 x 3 rounds
Bradley Thompson vs. Stephen Jackson
Super-flyweight – 4 x 3 mins
