Fast Results from London: Cheeseman Upset; Cash and Okolie Score Fast KOs

Promoter Eddie Hearn showcased some of his up-and-comers on tonight’s show at London’s O2 Arena. The featured bouts were telecast on Sky Sports Arena in the UK and on DAZN elsewhere.

Hearn’s fighters won as expected with one big exception. In the main go, Ted Cheeseman (15-1) suffered his first pro defeat at the hands of Sergio Garcia, a 26-year-old Spaniard. Although Garcia, now 29-0, was also undefeated and was the defending European junior middleweight champion, the punters made Cheeseman a 5/2 favorite.

One can fairly say that Cheeseman (pictured on the right) was outclassed. The Spaniard, who set a fast pace, won by scores of 119-109 twice and a bizarre 115-114.

 In a middleweight contest slated for 12, Irish traveler Felix Cash 10-0 (7 KOs) wasted no time dismissing Rasheed Abolaji, taking him out with an uppercut in the opening round. A 37-year-old Nigerian, Abolaji (11-5-1) went down earlier in the round from the force of a jab.

 Light heavyweight Craig Richards (14-1, 8 KOs) had an unexpectedly easy go with Jake Ball (12-2), dominating Ball until the bout was stopped in the third frame. Ball was on the canvas in the first and second rounds and again in the third before the referee had seen enough.

 Six-foot-five cruiserweight Lawrence Okolie (11-0, 8) blew away hapless Tamas Lodi, a late sub, in the first round. Okolie, a former burger flipper at the Victoria Station McDonalds, represented England as a heavyweight in the 2016 Rio games. The most inexperienced U.K. boxer to ever fight in the Olympics, Okolie was eliminated in the second round by Cuban stalwart Erislandy Savon. Okolie will resume his pro career on March 23 against fellow Londoner Wadi Camacho (21-7).

Heavyweight Fabian Wardley advanced to 6-0 with his fifth knockout, blasting Morgan Dessaus out of the opening round. Wardley is a protégé of Dillian Whyte. Dessaux, a 36-year old Frenchman, falls to 5-5.

In a middleweight match slated for six, Scott Fitzgerald (12-0, 9 KOs) prepped for his March 30 match with Anthony Fowler with a second round stoppage of Bulgarian slug Radoslov Mitev (12-46-2).

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