Josh Warrington became a two-time featherweight world champion as he won the IBF title with a seventh round stoppage over Kiko Martinez in front of a raucous sell out crowd at The First District Arena in Leeds, England.

Warrington almost made it a real early night as he was all over Martinez and dropped him with a hard right hand. Warrington battered and bloodied the left eye of Martinez. Warrington dominated the rest of the fight with the exception of a couple hard rights that were landed by Martinez.

One of the rights may have set Warrington off as he stormed back and beat up Martinez on the ropes until the bout was stopped at 2:12 of round seven.

Warrington, who decisioned Martinez five years ago is now a two-time champion by thrilling his hometown fans and has a record of 31-1-1 with eight knockouts, Martinez of Spain is 43-11-2.

Bridges wins IBF Bantamweight Title from Roman

Ebanie Bridges won the IBF Bantamweight title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Maria Cecilia Roman.

Bridges out worked and outhustled Roman on the inside and landed some good punches to the body. Bridges was effective with her uppercut and took the lead from the outset.

Bridges landed 205 of 645 punches; Roman was 156 of 430.

Bridges, 117.3 lbs of New South Wales, AUS won by scores of 100-91 and 97-93 twice and is now 8-1. Roman, 116.4 lbs of San Juan, ARG was a five year-champion, who had made seven defenses is now 16-6-1.

“I am feeling proud of myself and everything that I sacrificed has been worth it. This belt means all of the sacrifice and training. I was so happy for that kind of fight. I hope the fight was entreating. Cecilia brough the fight. I am grateful to win the title in this great city of Leeds,” said Bridges,

Hughes decisions Walsh

Maxi Hughes won a 12-round unanimous decision over Ryan Walsh in a lightweight contest.

In round three, Walsh was cut over left uppercut that was ruled from a punch.

Hughes landed 163 of 610 punches; Walsh was 79 of 614.

Hughes, 133.5 lbs of Rossington, ENG won by scores of 120-108, 119-109 and 118-110 and is now 25-5-2. Walsh, 134.4 lbs of Cromer, ENG is 23-4-2.

Smith Stops Moylette in 10

Dalton Smith remained undefeated with a 10th round stoppage over Roy Moylette in a junior welterweight bout.

In round two, Moylette started to swell under his left eye.

In round seven, Smith was deducted two points for a low blow.

In round 10, Smith landed a hard left that sent Moylette to the canvas. Seconds later, it was another left hook that sent Moylette down again and the fight was stopped at 49 seconds.

Smith, 139.25 lbs of Sheffield, ENG is now 10-0 with eight knockouts. Moylette, 139.2 lbs of Islandeady, ENG is 12-2.

Nicholson Decisions Connolly

2021 Australian Olympian Skye Nicholson remained undefeated with a six-round decision over Bec Connolly in a featherweight bout.

In round five, Connolly began to bleed from her nose.

Connolly, 127.2 lbs of Queensland, AUS won by a 60-54 score and is now 2-0. Connolly, 127 lbs of Swindon, ENG is 3-12.

Cory O’Regan won a six-round decision over Jakub Laskowski in a lightweight bout.

O’Regan, 137.4 lbs of Heckmondwike, ENG won by a 60-54 score and is now 6-0. Laskowski, 137.3 lbs of Siemianowice, POL is 4-14-1,

Mali Wright won a four-round decision over Luis Palmer in a light heavyweight bout.

Wright, 186.25 lbs of Leeds, UK won by a 39-38 scores and is now 2-0-1. Palmer, 186 lbs of Huddersfield, ENG is 0-1-1.

Callum French stopped Angelo Turco in round three of their six-round super lightweight bout.

French dominated the action and hurt Turco several ties before the fight was stopped just as the towel came in at 1:11,

French, 137.5 lbs of Gateshead, ENG is 2-0 with one knockout. Turco, 140.1 lbs of Quaragnon, BEL is 8-24-2.

(September 22, 2020) — Two MTK Global Golden Contract champions will be crowned Wednesday, Sept. 30 at Production Park Studios in Yorkshire, England. The 10-round super lightweight and featherweight championship matches will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ beginning at 2 p.m. ET/11 a.m. PT. 
 
Here’s what’s in store when the championship combatants fight behind closed doors.
 
Ryan Walsh (26-2-2, 12 KOs) vs. James “Jazza” Dickens (29-3, 11 KOs)
Featherweight
Walsh has run roughshod through the featherweight bracket, toppling Hairon Socarras by ninth-round stoppage and knocking down Tyrone McCullagh twice en route to a decision victory. A former British champion, Walsh has not tasted defeat since October 2016. Dickens has won seven in a row since back-to-back losses and won a majority decision over Leigh Wood in their semifinal bout.
 
Ohara Davies (21-2, 16 KOs) vs. Tyrone McKenna (21-1-1, 16 KOs)
Super Lightweight
Davies entered the tournament coming off a controversial decision over former world champion Miguel Vazquez, but the former English champion has appeared revitalized. He knocked out Logan Yoon in seven rounds in his quarterfinal match and stopped Jeff Ofori in six rounds to advance to the championship. McKenna, from Belfast, bested French contender Mohamed Mimoune in the semifinals via decision.
 
In other action on ESPN+:

• In a Golden Contract light heavyweight semifinal match scheduled for 10 rounds, all-action British favorite Liam Conroy (18-5-1, 9 KOs) will face 2016 German Olympian Serge Michel (10-1, 7 KOs). Conroy and Michel shared a bill last December, and each man won their respective quarterfinal bout by unanimous decision. 

• Middleweight prospect and former amateur star Ben Fail will make his professional debut in a six-rounder against Robbie Chapman (6-4).
   
• In a six-round cruiserweight tilt, former WBO European light heavyweight champion Steven Ward (12-1, 4 KOs) moves up in weight to fight Jone Volau (5-5, 2 KOs).

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service from Disney’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to 8.5 million subscribers, offering fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, as well as premium editorial content. 

(June 24, 2019) — British featherweight champion Ryan Walsh will make the sixth defense of his title in a 12-round showdown against the unbeaten Lewis Paulin on the latest edition of #MTKFightNight Friday, June 28 at York Hall in London.

In the 10-round super lightweight co-feature, loquacious contender Ohara “Two Tanks” Davies will take on former lightweight world champion Miguel Vazquez.

Walsh-Paulin and Davies-Vazquez will headline a scheduled four-bout stream on ESPN+ — the leading multi-sport streaming service — beginning at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT.

Walsh (23-2-2, 11 KOs) has held the British featherweight title since 2015, when he edged Samir Mouneimne by split decision to win the vacant belt. He is unbeaten in three bouts — all defenses of the British title — since losing a split decision in October 2016 to Dennis Ceylan for the vacant European featherweight title. Paulin (12-0, 3 KOs), from Edinburgh, Scotland, is taking a massive step up in class, as he has only two wins against foes with winning records. He is two fights removed from winning the Scottish featherweight title via decision against then-unbeaten Stephen Tiffney.

Davies (18-2, 14 KOs) turned pro in 2014 following a brief amateur career and became one of Great Britain’s leading prospects following a 15-0 start to his pro career. He stumbled in a bid for the Commonwealth super lightweight title against Josh Taylor, suffering a pair of knockdowns en route to a seventh-round stoppage loss. Davies rebounded with a trio of wins before dropping a competitive decision to Jack Catterall last October.

Vazquez (41-7, 15 KOs), from Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, famously lost a split decision to Canelo Alvarez in his professional debut in 2006. In August 2010, he won the vacant IBF world lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Ji Hoon Kim. He would go on to defend the title six times before dropping a razor-thin split decision to Mickey Bey in September 2014. He is 7-3 since losing the world title, most recently upsetting Ghislain Maduma by split decision in Maduma’s adopted hometown of Montreal.

Friday’s stream will also include:
In a 10-round showdown featuring a pair of unbeaten super lightweights, Daniel “Danny Darko” Egbunike (4-0, 3 KOs) will take on Martin McDonagh (5-0, 0 KOs).

Former European super lightweight champion and recent world title challenger Anthony Yigit (23-1-1, 8 KOs) will fight Siar Ozgul (15-3, 3 KOs) in an eight-rounder.
About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.

Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL games, exclusive UFC, Top Rank boxing and PFL fights and events, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more), thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and can cancel at any time.

ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.

Ryan Walsh defends his British Featherweight title against Reece Bellotti at The O2 in London on December 22, live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and DAZN in the US.

The Cromer star won the Lord Lonsdale belt outright when he stopped Belfast’s Marco McCullough at the Copper Box Arena in May 2017 before drawing with Manchester’s Isaac Lowe in his next defence of the title on the George Groves vs. Chris Eubank Jr. undercard earlier this year.

Bellotti, a former Commonwealth and WBC International Silver Featherweight Champion, is hot on the comeback trail after his shock defeat to Ryan Doyle at York Hall in June and hopes a British title win will signal the beginning of a new chapter in his career.

“Bellotti is a young, fresh prospect and I rate him highly,” said Walsh. “He’s got a lot about him and he’s very dangerous, not just because he can punch but because he’s lost. He’ll want to prove himself to everyone.

“I was trying to get the Bellotti fight when he was the Commonwealth Champion. He was on the up and he was a Champion, ideally I would have got him then and won the Commonwealth but I’m glad we’re getting in on now.

“Bellotti will be another Commonwealth Champion that I’ve fought. Lowe was a Commonwealth Champion and so was McCullough. James Tennyson got a win over McCullough and went on to fight for a World title so you never know what will happen in this sport.”

“The British title has always been the title that I’ve wanted to get my hands on,” said Bellotti. “Every kid starting out in boxing wants to win it eventually. Obviously the main goal is to win a World title but the Lonsdale belt is a very prestigious title.

“I’ve got my chance now and I’m looking forward to it. This will be the toughest fight of my career by a million miles. I’ve watched Walsh for years, I was at the Copper Box Arena when he won the belt outright against McCullough.

“He’s a tough, well-rounded professional and I’m expecting a really good fight. I’ve learnt massive lessons from my loss against Ryan Doyle and hopefully winning this title will signal the start of a new chapter of my career.”

Walsh vs. Bellotti is part of a huge night of boxing in the capital.

Main event sees fierce Heavyweight rivals Dillian Whyte and Derek Chisora rematch after their Fight of the Year contender in December 2016.

Charlie Edwards gets a second shot at a World title when he challenges Cristofer Rosales for the WBC Flyweight World title, with further exciting fights to be announced soon.

Tickets for Whyte vs. Chisora 2 are priced £40, £60, £80, £100, £150, £200, £300 and £600 (Inner Ring VIP)

General Sale tickets are available to purchase from StubHub (www.stubhub.co.uk), The O2 (www.theo2.co.uk) and Matchroom Boxing