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SportsTranscript
00:00 So what will we see with the man that's held those belts?
00:17 Lerone Richards, the 30 year old from New Malden in Surrey but firmly based in Sheffield
00:22 where he is trained by Grant Smith and that fine, stable, steel city gym in against the
00:29 very well travelled Harry Matthews, a real road warrior, the 35 year old Poppington Rocket
00:35 who wears all black with haz in silver across the band in against Richards who wears the
00:41 multi-coloured shorts if you like, the red and blue.
00:47 Flap at the back, black, furish, I don't even know how to describe those kind of shorts
00:52 if that's the right word, Lee McGregor, but we were so good to see Lerone Richards back
00:56 in the gym, he had that curious incident of course when he was meant to face Zack Chelley
01:00 at the end of last year, had an illness after the weigh in, just hours really before the
01:04 fight and had to be pulled out of that, it's been very very frustrating for him for a man
01:09 that was really on the cusp with the European belt, with the Commonwealth British, everything
01:12 that he's done and that IBO belt as well, just wants to get back in action, hence this
01:18 fight tonight.
01:19 Yeah and I can totally relate to him, I totally get his frustration, very similar situation
01:24 to myself, being British, Commonwealth, European champion, had some big, huge nights, a little
01:31 bit of bad luck, other things, maybe personally things going on and you just end up finding
01:38 yourself being so inactive, lost a lot of momentum and this tonight is all about just
01:45 getting back in the ring, getting back doing what he loves and I'm sure he'll be back in
01:49 title contention and picking up more belts and pushing on to get back to where he was
01:56 really, it's been an unfortunate time for him falling off with the Zack Chelley fight,
02:01 couple of hours after the weigh in, so a real shame but good to see him back and good positive
02:08 start on this opening night.
02:10 Yeah and a real talent isn't he, Richards, again people look at the record, he's 16 and
02:16 oh he's only got three stoppages but I think he does hit harder than the record would suggest
02:20 and I think again had he not had that pause in momentum I think we would have seen that
02:25 momentum, we would have seen more as he stepped up and up in company, maybe a bit more of
02:28 that would come to the fore but as it is, just needs to get back on that conveyor belt
02:33 and got to get past Harry Matthews, a fellow who, well he's been on the road for quite
02:41 some time and a great achievement, his 95th professional contest tonight, a real credit
02:48 to the sport.
02:49 Yeah you can see by Lerone's start he's one and obviously just getting here and get back,
02:58 I believe obviously he's now linked up with Grant Smith, I think that's a new partnership
03:02 as well so I can imagine he'll be wanting to work on the things that he's been working
03:06 on in the gym with Grant, I know Grant very well, he's got a great team there with Sonny,
03:11 Dalton, brilliant stable and I'm sure they'll just be wanting to put everything into practice
03:16 what they've been working on in the gym tonight.
03:19 Yeah Sonny has been an impressive opening round after that period of inactivity, not
03:25 boxed since December 2021 when he outpointed Carlos Gungorak to win that IBO belt but he's
03:32 got his first three minutes in a while under his belt and he looks sharp enough really
03:37 after that, he's obviously putting the hours in the gym as he always would, he's very dedicated
03:42 as you say, Grant Smith in the corner now, Sonny Edwards that quiet chap is there as
03:46 well, maybe has a word or two, Dalton Smith, Piers Goodgen as well in that corner, good
03:52 gym.
03:53 Yeah he's picked his shots nice in that opening round, I can imagine he's obviously just trying
04:03 to get a feel of things, it's been a long time since he's been under them bright lights,
04:07 back with them small gloves on, I know the feeling, you can be in these many big fights,
04:14 championship fights but when you've been out the ring for so long, going back in and doing
04:19 it in real life, no matter who your opponent is, you're still going to have a little bit
04:24 of nerves there and I can imagine it'll just be a little bit of relief to get that first
04:29 round out of the way for the first one in a long time.
04:33 Well Harry Matthews very much is a fighter who goes on the road of course, 17 wins, 71
04:39 defeats, 6 draws but he has mixed in good company, he's had his successes as well but
04:46 you would say that he shouldn't be in the same class obviously as a Richards who wants
04:53 to get in the mix of world titles as soon as he can in that super middleweight division.
04:58 I think that is the plan for Richards, he's obviously can't go back straight in a big
05:06 title fight right away after his inactivity, so I think this tonight is perfect for him
05:13 going forward and I'm sure, I'd imagine his next fight is going to be for some sort of
05:18 title and get back in the mix exactly where he was.
05:26 Good snappy work again from Richards.
05:40 Well Matthews just tries a big overhand right but that's wider the mark and you can see
05:44 the reddened face of Matthews as it tells its own tale, it's not been a very comfortable
05:48 evening for him so far, this one's scheduled for 6 rounds.
06:04 You can see what Richards is doing here, he keeps touching that jab, keeps touching, touching,
06:08 it's like he's teasing Matthews to fall in, he's wanting to counter him, Matthews isn't
06:13 going, he isn't committing so he's then just going off on his touches now.
06:19 I know exactly what Richards is doing with them touches, he's really wanting Matthews
06:22 to commit to then counter punch him and that's where he really hurt him, but Matthews, experienced
06:27 fighter, been in with the best of fighters, he knows what's happening, he knows the traps
06:34 Lerone's trying to set and he's not falling for them so I feel like Lerone's just having
06:40 his own way, enjoying himself in there really to be honest, doing what he wants to do when
06:48 he wants.
06:55 It'll be interesting to talk to Lerone afterwards, should he come through this unscathed, to
07:07 see what the plan is now with Grant Smith in the corner and again he's held that British
07:12 title of course, it's now owned by Mark Heffron who will fight Zach Chelley soon, who of course
07:17 Lerone should have been doing battle with just before Christmas, but again it is all
07:23 one way traffic, there's not much coming back from Matthews to trouble Richards.
07:27 It was good work there from Lerone, he's letting his combination go, obviously Matthews want
07:32 to fire him back, but he's leaving his lead hand out there and he's blocking, he's blocking,
07:36 Matthews coming back when and then he's going in another attack, he's in total control,
07:41 which you would expect to be honest.
07:57 Good body work from Richards, I mean Matthews is durable, he always turns up in supreme
08:03 condition, works as a PT when he's not modelling and acting and training amateur fighters,
08:10 he's a busy guy, but a real credit the way he always turns up in such great shape, but
08:15 still some of that body work from Richards must be taking its toll.
08:19 Yeah, I feel like Matthews is just, he's not really got any option, he's going to be getting
08:26 punished for whatever he does in there, because if he falls into the trap he's really going
08:31 to get hurt by a sickening counter punch from Lerone, if he doesn't commit then Lerone's
08:36 just going to keep teeing off on him, so it's a hard night for him.
08:42 You can see him, what he's doing here, we touch him with that jab, he's trying to draw
08:44 him into countering him with that left hand, normally the left uppercut which is right
08:48 on cue there to the body, he's landing that shot nice.
08:56 He'll no doubt switch it upstairs as well, variation.
09:04 See it again going down to the body.
09:16 All very educated work from Lerone Richards, just picking those shots, even the little
09:23 touches to the body.
09:26 He's showing real class here Lerone, I can see he's in total control in first gear really,
09:36 but do you know where you would see Lerone's class here, if he was in with someone here
09:41 who was really wanting to win, because they would open up and they would fall into Lerone's
09:45 traps that he's setting, whereas Matthews is kind of in there just trying to survive,
09:49 so he's not committing or falling for the traps that Lerone is trying to set, so he's
09:54 almost just half playing with him really, without sounding disrespectful, that's what
09:59 he's basically doing, it's like target practice really for him.
10:03 Snappy fast hands from Richards.
10:06 Which again is, no disrespect to Matthews, we're talking about a British Commonwealth
10:11 European IBO Super Middleweight Champion, they shouldn't really be in the ring together,
10:16 but these situations happen and Lerone has found himself in a situation like this where
10:21 he needs a get back in the ring fight, and unfortunately tonight that is Harry Matthews.
10:30 Well Matthews just looks a little bit stunned there in the corner, as you say Richards was
10:35 teeing off and just looks a little bit unsteady and uncomfortable, and again Richards, well
10:41 there's plenty of spite behind these shots and it is pretty one way at the moment.
10:46 This will be a statement if he stops Matthews here, obviously levels above, but he's very
10:52 tough and durable and he's been in with some top fighters Harry Matthews has.
10:56 As he was stopped about 18 months ago by John Carpenter, it was a real shocker actually
11:02 in the first round, fairly inexperienced John Carpenter.
11:05 Yes, he's normally known for being very durable Matthews isn't he?
11:07 Absolutely, if you look at this long career, he's stopped 8 times but he's been in with
11:11 class acts.
11:12 He's starting to go through the gears now, he's really starting to take the shots and
11:17 we do really well to see this fight out Matthews actually to be honest.
11:24 In the corner he wanted to move, don't let Richards tee off, easier said than done, that
11:29 was a very dominant round from Lerone Richards and a very painful one to endure from the
11:35 Pocklington Rockets point of view, Harry Matthews.
11:39 So at the halfway stage of the fight it is all Lerone Richards, no doubt about that,
11:47 but as you say it could be a statement to be made.
11:59 Matthews still has enough in the tank to pull out the odd shot now and again, did beat Alou
12:06 Diallo last year, at the end of last year, he had a draw just a few weeks back against
12:12 Bradley Cousins, he's very active of course, so he can cause a prospect or two a bit of
12:18 problem.
12:19 And he's obviously going to want to see this fight out tonight, he'll do everything he
12:24 can to stay in there and go the distance here with Lerone because it's an achievement for
12:28 him and himself isn't it?
12:30 And obviously he's one of them that's going to be fighting every couple of weeks so he'll
12:35 not be wanting to get stopped and not be able to compete in his next fight that he's already
12:41 got scheduled in.
12:42 Yeah he's touching that jab down to the body now Lerone, trying to bring Harry Matthews
12:50 arms down and then start opening, making openings upstairs.
12:54 Good shot again to the body, oh and a good one too and Matthews goes down and looks at
13:11 the corner.
13:12 That was a lovely shot, he sunk it downstairs into the body, Matthews thought he was coming
13:17 back right again, he's landed to the head.
13:19 Switching his shots off, more than two minutes of the round to go and Richards goes to work
13:25 again.
13:26 Yeah Grant Smith in the corner is obviously wanting Lerone here to come out and make a
13:32 statement and get rid of Matthews, he's now up in the pace and starting to go through
13:37 the gears and trying to take Matthews out now.
13:41 Well Matthews really biting down on the gun shield now and just trying to sling something
13:45 back to thwart these attacks from Richards but it's easier said than done and the right
13:49 hook just puts him down and well I think the towel's going to come in, yes it does, the
13:54 towel has come in, good decision from the corner.
13:57 That was a painful experience for Harry Matthews to endure, an excellent statement from Lerone
14:03 Richards who well showed plenty of spite in there, got rid of the ring rust in the first
14:08 couple of rounds, really up the tempo, the shot selection was excellent, great work to
14:12 the body, the hooks to the head as well that we saw in the final round.
14:17 I think that was a perfect performance, first couple of rounds you could tell it was just
14:22 a bit of relief there to get back in that ring finally, work on the things he had been
14:26 working on in the gym and then he went through the gears and done what he needed to do and
14:31 got rid of Matthews which again is a statement and then you can see that Grant Smith was
14:37 happy with that and I can imagine he'll want to push on and get back into title contention
14:43 now he's levels above this level Lerone Richards and he showed that tonight, clinical good
14:49 performance.
14:51 I think before the knockdowns as well you could see that he was in a lot of discomfort
14:55 Harry Matthews and you don't see that very often with him, he knows how to fiddle his
14:58 way around when he has to and he just didn't have any answer to the attacks from Richards,
15:03 they were spiteful, they were incessant.
15:05 He had no option really Matthews because Lerone was trying to set up the counters,
15:13 Matthews kind of knew that so he wasn't committing to them, he wasn't committing to the traps
15:18 and then obviously he wasn't committing so then Lerone was just teeing off on him and
15:22 ended up taking him out so it was a hard night for Matthews, I feel for him that Lerone's
15:27 back now and I imagine he wants to push on and get back into the title fights.
15:32 Well thankfully anyway Harry Matthews is all smiles, he's a fantastic servant to the sport
15:37 and he will be out very soon no doubt about that but Lerone Richards is his night, he
15:40 is back, he's made a little bit of a statement here in Leicester tonight and we just want
15:45 to see more of him, I think that's what we take from this tonight, the super middleweight
15:51 division needs Lerone Richards right back in it.
15:56 Still to come here on Fight Night Live from Boxing Social in Leicester we have CJ Challenger
16:01 and Ruben Angulo in an eight rounder.
16:05 But so far well plenty of brilliant action here and Lerone Richards has put in a sterling
16:12 performance.
16:13 And the referee Peter McCormack will call both men to the centre of the ring very shortly.
16:29 Harry Matthews a bit of a rueful smile on his face.
16:36 Lerone is now in the centre of the ring so let's get the official results with our MC
16:40 Huss.
16:41 Ladies and gentlemen the official time one minute and 32 seconds around number four,
16:48 the winner by way of knockout Lerone 'Sniper the Boss' Richards.