Kirk Stevens crowned Midlands Area champion for a second time
Kirk Stevens takes Midlands glory for the second time
Telford's Kirk Stevens is a Midlands Area Champion once again after beating Dylan Cheema in a small hall classic to pick up the vacant super-lightweight belt.
In his first fight since a loss to the impressive Steven Cairns, the 36-year-old from Shropshire knew this was a must-win, and he looked confident making his way to the ring at the Mercure Hotel in Northampton.
Cheema, at 29, was boxing for the first time over the ten-round distance and had a huge amount of support from Coventry, who came anticipating an exciting main event, and the two men delivered and then some.
It was the younger man who made the better start, landing some spiteful body shots as Stevens looked to counter with the left hand. As often is the way when a southpaw faces an orthodox fighter, the two were getting their feet tangled up, but referee Ryan Churchill did well to keep the action flowing throughout.
The rounds flew by at a breathless pace, with both having plenty of success. The fight took a dramatic turn in the 8th with a sickening head clash that saw a wide cut open over Cheema's eye. It was ruled a punch, but there seemed to be obvious unintended contact between the forehead and eye.
Cheema fought on bravely with the blood running down his face, but Stevens sensed an opportunity to take over the fight and was dominant down the stretch, closing out the championship rounds with more of those heavy southpaw left hands. Ryan Churchill scored the bout 97-93 for Stevens, and despite a smattering of frustration from Cheema's fans, he acknowledged it was the right decision.
“It was a close fight," said Cheema. "But I do think Kirk did enough in the end. I was doing well till the clash of heads, but I live to fight another day." A thrilled Stevens added, "I want to see how far I can go. I've had three Midlands title fights now, and all I want to do is secure a good future for my family.”
In the chief support, Callum Latimer passed his first test at six rounds with flying colors, easily beating the experienced Christian Lopez Flores 60-54.
The 22-year-old, who trains at Shoe-Box Gym in Northampton, showed patience looking for the openings and a good punch variety throughout the one-sided affair.
Mexican-born Flores is a seasoned veteran and rarely fails to see the final bell, but he took plenty of clean right hands and never looked to trouble the scorecard. An injury had caused a rather stop-start beginning to his professional career, but now with a clean bill of health and a bit of momentum, Latimer will be wanting an active 2026.
Shona Whitwell continued her impressive start to life in the paid ranks with her second knockout in a row, moving to 3-0 against Joanna Fraszcsak.
The 28-year-old southpaw dominated the fight from the start, reddening the face of the Polish fighter. The onslaught came to an end in the 6th round as Whitwell trapped Fraszcsak against the ropes and unloaded an unanswered combination that saw referee Pete McCormack step in to call a halt to the action.
Finally, Zoe Newton picked up her first career loss but will have taken plenty of positives from her four-rounder with Sam Lightfoot. Both women entered the ring unbeaten and came out firing, with the Matt Sturgess-trained talent landing several heavy left hands early.
The quicker pace was suiting Newton; however, she was starting to get picked off by Lightfoot, who is managed by heavyweight Dave Allen, as the two continued to trade. It was a fight that deserved more than just the eight minutes, but it was Lightfoot who closed strongly in the last to take a 39-37 points win and move to 3-0.
