If I can go all Jeremy Clarkson on you for a moment, then in car terms you would have to describe boxers Luke Campbell and Brain Rose as two very different vehicles. I would describe Campbell as an old Ford Capri.  In its day this car was flashy, easy on the eye and could easily get you very excited just by watching it move.  Rose on the other hand I would best describe as a Rover. It does not instantly excite you as much as the Capri, nevertheless it does have lots of redeeming features. It will go down as a proud British product that is unashamedly sturdy. When I think of a Rover car I think of it’s reliability and honesty. It tries it’s best even though it is never going to turn many heads.  My point here with this boxing/motor car analogy is that that Campbell and Rose were two very different winners last night.  Campbell used his boxing skills whereas Rose relied on his guts and big heart!

‘Golden boy’ Luke Campbell last night faced local rival and friend Tommy ‘BOOM BOOM’ Coyle, at the Craven Park Stadium, Hull. It was an eagerly anticipated match-up which had been in the works for many months.  Campbell was the big favourite going on into this contest but Coyle had been doing his best in the pre-fight build up, to convince the non-believers that he actually had a chance of knocking Campbell out.  I predicted prior to the fight that that Campbell would put on a very convincing win and so it proved.

Coyle came out giving it everything he had and credit must go to him for that.  His direct marauding style was not that pleasant to watch, however I guess he saw that as the only way he was going to the win the fight.  He tried desperately to rough Campbell up, pose him problems that up to now we had not seen him face in the professional ranks.  These roughhouse tactics proved pretty ineffective though. Campbell by and large coped brilliantly with them.  As many thought prior to the fight, he just had too much speed, power and class for Coyle to contend with. Very early on in the fight he put Coyle down on the canvas with a peach of a body shot.  The fight nearly ended then but for the always courageous Coyle to somehow get back to his feet.

The fight ended with Campbell stopping Coyle in the tenth round. Coyle was out on his feet and totally exhausted.  This brave warrior had given it everything he had but sadly for him this fight was all about levels. Campbell showed again why I believe one day he will win a world title. He oozes class and his shot selection is second to none. Coyle in my opinion is rather a good domestic fighter with a massive heart.  His somewhat kamikaze style he will always make him an exciting fighter to watch.

I thought Coyle spoke brilliantly in the post fight Sky interview afterwards.  He was clearly devastated at the loss but he spoke with immense grace towards his victorious opponent.  He flowered Campbell with compliments and I thought this is how boxing should be. He took the defeat so graciously.  For Campbell, the future looks incredibly bright like I have said. For me,  I would just rank Anthony Crolla above him right now in terms of British lightweights(due to experience), however it will not be long until he ranked the British number one.  I would love to see Luke fight Scotty Cardle next for the British lightweight title.  This would be a cracking fight because I rate Cardle very highly.  They have spared together so this further adds spice and intrigue to this contest.

The chief support bout saw Blackpool’s Brain Rose face brash American Carson Jones in a rematch. Their first fight was controversially stopped too early by referee Ian John Lewis, Rose on the wrong end of the bad decision.  Rose in this second fight was fighting for his career.  If he lost again to Jones then it seemed for sure he would be facing imminent retirement. He came out like a man fighting for his career though, he put his whole being on the line to get the vital win.

Beforehand, I thought this fight was too close to call. I could see a determined Rose winning on points but at the same time I could also envisage Jones stopping Rose again.  I edged pre-fight towards Jones stopping him again and such a prediction was nearly proved right early on in in the fight.  Rose was looking in control with a razor sharp jab just for Jones then to really rock again.  I really thought it could be curtains for Rose but he hung on in there and weathered the storm.  As the fight wore on Rose was clearing winning it on points due to being the far busier fighter.  He fought at close range too much for my liking which was where Jones wanted the fight to take place, however in the end it did not matter that much.  Rose gave the performance of his career just when he needed it. It was all about guts, determination and how much he wanted it. All the scorecards at the end gave Rose a very deserved wide points win.

The only thing that concerned me in the post fight interview with Rose, was his Promoter’s words that Rose now planned to move up a weight and fight at middleweight.  Rose’s main weakness at light-middleweight was his lack of punching power.  Therefore, surely if he moves up a weight then this is going to count against him even more so is it not? I can understand him wanting to refresh his career by moving up a weight however this seems a strange decision to me.

It was not an event that will go down in the boxing history books as ‘amazing’, nonetheless these two main fights certainly did make for an intriguing watch.  In the main event the atmosphere of the whipped-up crowd really gave the fight a pulsating, electrifying edge.  It was the night of two British victorious cars…….THE CLASSY FLASHY CAPRI, AND THE STURDY ROBUST ROVER!