The fight before Christmas sees ten Newark managed fighters get their hands raised including Tom Cowling, Dec Spelman, Jamie Behan, Sonny Boy Price, Stanley Stannard, Sean Bruce, Tyler Rivers, Tom Pogson, James Richardson and Connor Meanwell
It was a highly successful night for all ten of the home fighters on the Carl Greaves Fight Before Christmas boxing card as each got their hands raised by decision.
Around 1,100 people gathered at the Newark Showground to watch the spectacle, which featured Newark fighters Tom Cowling, Connor Meanwell, and Sonny Boy Price.
Emma Dolan had to pull out with a chest infection and it is believed that she will be back in the ring sometime early next year.
The bouts started with Sean Bruce from Leicester making a strong debut as he secured his first professional win against Sean Jackson.
Next up was Newark’s own, 26-year-old Sonny Boy Price who thrilled the crowd by entering the ring to face Liam Fox dressed as Santa before extending his professional record to a flawless 10-0.
Price looked dominant against a fit opponent, controlling the fight and landing at will.
“What a night to remember,” said Price. “Fighting in front of my owncrowd was incredible.”
Carl Greaves-managed fighter Tyler Rivers fought a good bout against tough journeyman Dale Arrowsmith from Stockport as he moved up to 2-0 as a professional.
After him, was Newark-born and bred fighter, Connor Meanwell who came out to a revved-up crowd cheering him on from the moment he entered.
Meanwell controlled the tempo well against opponent Joe Hughes.
A clash of heads early on saw Newark’s Connor Meanwell bleeding badly from his forehead but his corner managed to treat the cut. The Pitbull turned on a powerful display in the final stages of the bout and came away with a well-deserved victory.
“I’m so happy that I was able to go out on my pro debut and win in front of the home crowd,” said Meanwell.
Jamie Behan, from Lincoln, then stepped into the ring for the Carl Greaves stable and defeated Charlie Sheldon in a convincing performance. The fighter, known as The Poacher, landed some good combinations as he won his professional debut.
A large crowd followed Tom Pogson down from Boston to see him win convincingly on his debut against tough as nails Liverpool-based fighter Bradley Davies.
The two traded shots to the delight of the crowd but Pogson was firmly in control as he walked away with a resounding victory.
The spectators were elated by the result and Pogson went out after the bout into the crowd to meet his fans.
Former English champion Dec Spelman beat Lamah Griggs in a heavyweight bout in the first of the six-round fights.
The two fighters turned it on for the crowd with some heavy shots and excellent boxing.
Newark trained Stanley Stannard pushed his record up to 10-0 after defeating Jake Bray in a strong performance.
Stannard looked comfortable as he dictated the fight and kept his slick opponent at bay.
The boxer has fought at Newark several times before and said that it was always a good experience fighting in the town.
James Richardson pushed his winning record out to four wins undefeated as he won against former Olympian Serge Ambomo.
Lastly, Newark fighter Tom Cowling entered the ring to a lot of fanfare as he headlined the evening and secured the win off the back of an excellent showing against Chris Wood.
“It was a great feeling topping the bill in my hometown in front of all my friends and family,” said Cowling.
“It’s great when they all get together and make some noise, and it was a fantastic way to end the year for me.
“I thought I controlled the fight from start to finish with a tricky and tough opponent who was hard to pin down but I got the job done.
“Another six rounds of experience was banked for me which is what I need at this point in my career.”
Carl Greaves said he was delighted with how the evening had turned out.
It has been a good season for Greaves with his fighter Harvey Lambert getting a win on his professional debut in Bournemouth the same day the Newark event was on.
Greaves said that Lambert impressed a lot of people with his dominant TKO over Sebastian Wojtan.
“The Newark event was a solid card from top to bottom with some real competitive fights on it and I was really pleased with it,” said Greaves.
“The main local interests were Tom Cowling, Connor Meanwell, and Sonny Price although I train Stanley Stannard and Tom Pogson in Newark four times a week.
“I manage all ten of the home fighters on the card.
“Getting 10 out of 10 wins is a great achievement for all of the fighters.
“Tom Cowling boxed very well and was always in control but for me, I thought Connor Meanwell was the stand-out performance as he had the toughest fight on paper.
“Connor rose to the occasion showing no fear against a dangerous opponent.
“Tom is a very good fighter who I’ve been involved with since he was ten years old he’s now 9-0 as a pro and was good to have him top the bill in his hometown again.
“Tom will be challenging for a title next year for sure.
“It will be a big 2023 with a lot of my fighters to be in title fights.
“I’m really looking forward to it.”
