Sykes Motors Past O’Hara To Set Up Local Derby With Johanneson
By: Andrew Harrison
Category: carl johanneson, frank maloney, gary breen, gary sykes, kevin o'hara
British super featherweight boss Gary Sykes had too much in the gas tank for determined challenger Kevin O’Hara in Huddersfield last night, winning a comfortable decision in the first defence of his fledgling title reign. After a competitive start from the Belfast man O’Hara, Sykes slipped into his groove and slammed his foot to the floor, once again showing an impressive engine which eased his passage here.
O’Hara appeared to have his tactics spot on in the opener, commanding centre ring and ramming home short, economical blows which probably allowed him to nick the round, along with the second. With a veritable boxing brain trust in his corner comprised of Gary Breen, Eamonn McGee and Neil Sinclair, an upset looked a distinct possibility and the odds on O’Hara shortened up via the online sports book.
As is his way, however, Sykes found a higher gear and began moving on O’Hara, throwing punches in bunches and giving “Sweet Pea” angles, which provided too many riddles for the Belfast man to overcome.
From then on in, it was a Sykes shut out, with the young fighter’s conditioning and fitness impressing once again. There are flaws there, though, and Johnny Nelson (calling the fight for Sky) commented on the awfulness of Sykes’s footwork. It definitely requires attention, as does his need to shorten up his shots to a degree. His ranginess is an asset, yet he can look uncoordinated on the odd occasion, much in the way Lennox Lewis (now there’s a comparison you’ll not find elsewhere) struggled with his height and long limbs, prior to hooking up with Emanuel Steward.
Balance work in the gym should help smooth these teething crinkles and “Five Star” as the Dewsbury hero is known, can go on and grow comfortably into his role as champion.
Sykes, currently working part time as a greetings card designer, will now look to ditch the sideline and concentrate solely on the greater challenges ahead. A rumoured derby against the dangerous Carl Johanneson could be next on the agenda, with promoter Frank Maloney looking to stage it in Dewsbury itself, which would be a fantastic little gem of a domestic fight.
Sykes zooms to 16-0 (4), whilst O’Hara dips to 17-6 (5).
Readers may remember an article I penned back in October, which detailed a tragic outcome to the Brian Rose-Jason Rushton bout in Bolton. Rushton suffered brain injuries that night and whilst he continues his recovery, Rose returned to action against Max Maxwell on the Huddersfield undercard.
Rose, looking tentative at times, fielded a monster right hand over the top in round six and fell like a brick, landing horrifically, face first onto the mat. It will probably snag any domestic knockout of the year awards, however, there was a real sense of dread around the arena as the popular Rose lay poleaxed for a good while. Thankfully, he managed to make it to his feet after attention from ringside medics.
The Blackpool man has glimpsed the grim realities of the sport all too intimately in his past two outings, one now wonders if after just 15 fights, he can regroup from this latest blow to stage another run towards a domestic title.
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