Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, England. In the featherweight (up to 57.2 kg) WBA eliminator, Otabek “Bruce Lee” Kholmatov (11-0, 10 KOs) from Uzbekistan knocked out local techie Thomas Patrick Ward (33-1-1, 5 KOs), who was previously called ” British Lomachenko.
There will be no Lomachenko-style footwork today, as southpaw Kholmatov works as an aggressive No. 1. Ward managed to fail the aggressor several times, but for some reason hung at the ropes: Kholmatov went under the left arm and dropped the Briton with two left hooks. Ward is shocked, his face is broken. But he continued to fight. Survived.
Wow! A good second round from the Brit. He is better at working as the first number – excellent manual speed, finds angles of attack well, combines. But the fighters simply have an unrealistic gap in firepower.
Ward intercepts Kholmatov’s attacks, and for some reason he lost his way in an attempt to deliver one accurate blow to the target. In those moments when the favorite from Uzbekistan combines, the Briton is simply lost. Thomas Patrick lost his footwork. No, not at all. He imposes a power fight – so it is a little more difficult for a boxer from Uzbekistan to disperse a blow.
Did not help. Ward is back on the floor in the 4th round. He rose to his feet, even more tried to press on the favorite. A very brave fighter. In the 5th three-minute period, the fight ended. The Briton took blows to the body, exhausted fell on the canvas of the ring. A towel was thrown out of his corner.
Fantastic! There’s another Beast in the featherweight division. And he is from Uzbekistan!
Kholmatov TKO 5.