Telford boxer Mark Lloyd took a step closer to a shot at a British title with a convincing win against gritty Andrew Alan Lowe to lift the vacant Midlands welterweight title.Lowe’s corner threw in the towel midway through the eighth round after a flurry of Lloyd shots knocked him off balance.
Lowe, full of hustle and bustle and endless energy, may have continued but the bout was clearly swinging in the favour of plumber-by-day Lloyd.
In a strong welterweight division Lloyd is still a few fights away from a serious shout at a British belt, but this was the perfect response to his first career defeat last time out.
Lloyd started steady and organised and cut Lowe’s left eye in the second.
After seven consecutive wins, Lowe was clearly keen to make a big impression and was full of energy, but Lloyd showed all the early class.
An injection of pace from Lowe in the third caught Lloyd with a few decent blows but other shots were well off target, expending energy all the time.
It was a non-stop toe-to-to brawl but Lowe, having never gone further than six rounds, began to fade at the beginning of the seventh.
It wasn’t pretty, not technically brilliant, but very entertaining and Lloyd’s home supporters loved it.
Then Lloyd connected with a perfect right hook, followed it up with a burst of punches and it was all over.
“I would’ve gone ten rounds toe-to-toe like that, that’s my style,” said Lloyd afterwards.
“That’s my game. I need to be physical. I’m not the sharpest, I’m 32, nearly 33, so I like to get stuck in there.
“I want a British title. A few more fights and I’ll be ready.”
Meanwhile the main event of the night saw Darren McDermott’s British middleweight title challenge end acrimoniously as he lost to West Midlands rival Wayne Elcock due to a controversial second-round cut.
The Dudley 29-year-old, in front of a partisan Black Country crowd, began the fight impressively and won the first round against the champion from Birmingham.
However, a clash of heads prompted by an Elcock foray left McDermott with a nasty cut under the left eye early in the second round.
And an immediate consultation with the ringside doctor saw the fight waved off with Elcock retaining his belt - to howls of derision from the crowd.
“I didn’t even get out of second gear,” Elcock said.
“I’m not happy, of course I’m not. Darren was very game but I hadn’t even started. It was over before it began. I’m disappointed to win that way, but a win is a win. That’s boxing.”
McDermott said: “I don’t think the doctor even gave me a chance.
“I feel I was robbed. I’ll take it on the chin and bounce back.”
By Sean Wozencroft
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