By Nathan Orr

Jon-Lewis Dickinson, 15-3 (4 KOs) slumped to a second consecutive defeat after suffering a narrow point’s decision loss to Courtney Fry, now 18-6 (6) at Gateshead Leisure Centre on Saturday night.

Dickinson got caught cold in the opening round, and was forced to get off the canvas twice in order to rally a comeback.  By the time Dickinson got back into the fight, it was too little and too late to have an effect on the final scorecard of 95-94 in favour of Fry.

After suffering a knockout loss back in June against Ovill McKenzie, Dickinson hoped that a victory would propel him back up the echelons of the cruiserweight division.  However with Fry refusing to follow the script, the 28-year-old will have to reflect carefully on the direction of his career.

Fry showed intentions to upset from the first bell by sending Dickinson crashing to the canvas twice in the first round.  The former Olympian ambushed the home favourite on the ropes with right hooks and thudding body shots to nearly force an early stoppage.

Dickinson came under attack again in the fifth, as a right hand scrambled the Birtley boxer’s brains to send him stumbling across the ring.  The former British champion displayed his experience by holding off Fry’s oncoming onslaught.

Despite enduring punishing early rounds, Dickinson showed great heart and determination to force his way back into the fight by the sixth. 

Fry’s engine began to tire as the closing stanzas passed, but a point deduction for holding in the seventh proved to be a crushing blow for Dickinson’s hopes of a comeback.

Despite winning the final three rounds, Dickinson’s early troubles cost him dearly as his Liverpudlian opponent edged him by a point on the judge’s scorecard.

Dickinson has had a successful career to date, which has included a Prizefighter victory, lifting the English title and holding the Lonsdale belt outright.  However after suffering back-to-back defeats, he will have to go back to the drawing board and carefully plot what the future holds.

On the undercard, Lee Mould, 5-0 (0) came back from behind to come out on top in the North East welterweight derby against Craig Dixon, 12-0 no KOs.

“The Mackem Mexican” got off to the worst start imaginable, narrowly surviving the opening stanza after enduring the toughest round of his professional career.  However, Mould fought back against the odds in an all action affair to win 96-95 on the judge’s scorecard.

Following Anthony Nelson’s English title victory last month, Mould’s victory means that trainer Mal Gates will be adding another belt to the collection at Harton and Westoe gym.

The Sunderland boxer was forced to dig deep from the opening bell as Dixon landed flush right hands that sent Mould into survival mode.  But as the early rounds progressed, Mould slowly turned his survival into a comeback; as he began to adopt the role of the aggressor in the fight.

After several stinging right hands in the fifth, the “Birtley bullet” spat out his gumshield on a number of occasions, which perhaps showed that Dixon was struggling to cope with the tempo of the fight.

Relentless pressure continued from Mould in round six, although Dixon was still firing back with his own ammunition in the form of counter punches.

As the championship rounds progressed, both fighters were eager to stake their claim as the “best welterweight in the north east” and consequently the crowd were rewarded with a thrilling toe-to-toe battle to end the contest.

Despite Mould walking away with a 97-96 point’s victory, it was extremely difficult to split the two boxers throughout.  Dixon may have suffered the first defeat of his career, but it’s undeniable that he has more than enough talent to fight again at this level.

Rhys Pagan, 11-2 (2 KOs), pulled off the first upset of the night, taking the British Masters title in Lewis Scott’s, 5-0, (4) own backyard.

In his professional career, Scott has been plagued with shoulder injuries, and unfortunately for the home fighter the injury raised its ugly head once again, as a dislocated shoulder meant he was left in no position to continue in the fourth round.

The loss will prove devastating for the Newbiggin boxer, as Mark Clauzel and the rest of Ringstar promotions had high hopes for the unbeaten prospect.

The light-middleweight contest started with both fighters going toe to toe.  In the opening round Scott showed off his newfound strength by pushing the Scotsman to the ropes and unleashing peppering body shots.

Although the Newbiggin boxer found success on the front foot, Pagan made the 21 year old think twice by landing effective counter punches in the second.

The tide began to turn in the third, as Pagan started to cut off the ring and take control.  Pagan continued to capitalise in the fourth, and closed the show with a body shot that left Scott unable to reach his feet at the end of the ten count. Upon the announcement of results, it became apparent that moments before the stoppage Scott dislocated his shoulder—which explains the boxer’s incapability to continue.

Scott will hope that he can come back from such a devastating loss, but concerns will remain rife about the condition of the light-middleweight’s shoulder for future contests.

Scott’s stablemate, Basi Razaq, 2-0, (2) continued to make an impressive start to his professional career with a third round stoppage victory over Tomas Samusas, 1-5-1.

Razaq controlled the fight from start to finish, using a piercing jab to put the Lithuanian on the backfoot from the first bell.

In the second, Samusas went into survival mode and was punished for doing, he was sent to the canvas by a right hook.

Razaq closed an impressive night’s work at the 1min 48 sec in the third round. Samusas’ corner threw in the towel after a stinging bodyshot sent the Lithuanian wincing to the canvas in pain.

After a year long absence Andrew Buchanan, now 7-1-1 (2) failed to get back to winning ways, being held to a draw by Alistair Warren, 8-8-3 (4 early).

Within the first 20 seconds, “El Cannon” got off to a blistering start, knocking Warren down with a left hook.

However the rest of the contest proved to be a tough, bloodied affair with Warren picking up a nasty cut in the third. Both fighters traded toe to toe for the remainder of the fight, but as the final bell sounded the referee could not split the two with a score of 57-57.

Further down the undercard, Darlington light-heavyweight Steve Cooper made a successful start to his professional career, defeating Joe Brailsford, 0-2, in a 40-36 point’s decision victory.