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SportsTranscript
00:00 I expect. Kieran McCann to oversee proceedings as we get underway on this terrific night. Rising
00:14 stars all around set to shine on TNT Sports on this Saturday night. No shortage of talent on show
00:21 later from Anthony Yard, Sam Notes, Tommy Fletcher and that middleweight humdinger at the top of the
00:27 bill tonight between Hamza Shiraz and Liam Williams. And somewhere in the mix tonight,
00:33 Richie, one of these two men wants to make a big step forward. Do you see Abdullah as the
00:40 favourite starting out? I think he is, yes. I think his best win was actually in his last contest
00:45 against Mark Leach, who was obviously the former British super bantamweight champion. That was a
00:50 good win for Abdullah. But he's in against a tricky guy here tonight, Kez Ashfrak. Worked with Kez up
00:56 at GB, very skilful southpaw. So the problem for Abdullah tonight will be actually to close that
01:03 gap down and get to Ashfrak, who like I say, if he can maintain the gap, Ashfrak is very skilful.
01:08 So it's up to Abdullah now to get on that front foot and actually close that gap down. It'll be
01:13 interesting this. A little bit of feeling between them in the build-up and I think one of the issues
01:27 Rich will be, which of the two settles down to work in the more professional manner. And we are
01:33 beginning to look upon them in that light I think. When I started looking at this show this week, I
01:39 said to myself, well that's a cracking matchup between two young kids at roughly the same
01:42 level. Then I looked again and here they both are, 30 years of age and it begins to feel like the
01:47 moment when one of them is going to start to fall by the wayside I think. Yeah and one's going to
01:51 come through. Spot on Paul. I think Ashfrak just started slightly better. The pace is suiting him
02:00 a little bit better because he's slowing it down. The key for Abdullah, he's got to quicken those
02:05 feet up and make things awkward for Ashfrak by applying lots of pressure. If Ashfrak slows it
02:11 down and maintains that gap, then he dictates things with the jab and his hook is a great shot
02:17 as well. You've had your eye on his talent for many years, I know that, because once upon a time
02:22 he was one of the hot metal prospect for the 2016 Olympic Games, Kes Ashfrak. It has not been a
02:28 straight road since then but he garnered no end of adulation and just about every amateur title
02:35 that means something in this country. That I think is why you had your hopes up Richie. Yeah, he was
02:39 a very skillful lad actually for GB and he won lots of medals for us. He was beaten a couple of
02:45 times by Michael Conlon of Ireland in a couple of good fights. Michael Conlon just had his measure
02:51 really and sussed Ashfrak out. But nevertheless, Kes Ashfrak is a skillful operator and Abdullah
02:57 is finding that out here and that's why I think the pace of this contest is crucial for both boxers
03:03 and Abdullah, he's got to quicken it up early on. Abdullah very keen to tell everybody who would
03:11 listen that he has prepared for the best of Ashfrak. There is that common form line if you like, the win
03:19 over Mark Leach for Abdullah. He thinks that's credit in the bank but it's been a good start by Ashfrak.
03:24 One, two, three, fight!
03:26 [Music]
03:28 [Applause]
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04:01 [Music]
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04:05 [Music]
04:07 [Applause]
04:09 [Music]
04:11 [Applause]
04:13 Welcome back everybody, just listening into the Masood Abdullah corner, Steve Broughton.
04:17 Maybe just reminding Masood Abdullah that this is a real live one tonight, because Ashfrak has made a good start.
04:25 And just a sense in the corner, Richie, for me that they believe that Masood Abdullah had not made the very best of starts.
04:34 I think you're right Paul, I think that they sense that and it's a little bit scrappy isn't it?
04:40 It's the orthodox southpaw situation where the front feet keep crossing and getting entangled.
04:47 But I think Ashfrak just had the slightly better of that opening round, controlled that pace with that jab and he hooks off his jab as well very well.
04:54 And that's why there's got to be lots of head movement from Abdullah, doubling up the attacks and sustaining the pressure.
05:01 You've got to deny him that space and that time Ashfrak, that's what you've got to do against him.
05:06 That right hand thrown through the arc and a nice reply by Ashfrak down the middle.
05:14 As Richie says, southpaw against orthodox, but it should not be an excuse at all for Abdullah tonight, Rich, because the last three now have been southpaws for him.
05:24 That's right, I mean against Mark Leach, Mark Leach can box very well as a southpaw and that was a good win against him.
05:33 So like I said, he's got to get on that front foot, double that jab up a little bit more and close that gap.
05:39 There's that right hand, see Ashfrak's got to stay off the ropes, he's got to stay in ring space.
05:44 And so he's got full control of his movement when he goes back onto the ropes, then his feet will come square and then he becomes much more open and vulnerable.
05:52 So he's got to, like I say, box in the ring space for Ashfrak.
05:56 One of these nights it's all got to come right at the same moment, the synchronicity of that, that's what Kesha Ashfrak has lacked as a pro.
06:04 Up and down, his defeat to Leach over 10, way back in 2020 when the world was a slightly different place of course, but very recently against Liam Dillon.
06:17 And it's not really my business to say this, but what was he doing at Super Featherweight?
06:22 Exactly, the wrong way there, again bad ring position here for Ashfrak, he's got to move off that or bring his left uppercut into play.
06:31 See those feet come square, like I said before, he's a little bit more vulnerable.
06:35 There's that left uppercut, wasn't too far away, but Abdullah, he's had a better round here because he's realised that he's got to close that gap down, so he's got on that front foot.
06:45 But that's nice boxing there from Ashfrak.
06:48 The right hand looks to be a potent weapon for Masoud Abdullah however.
07:04 Just off the pace a little bit as Steve Broughton was hoping that Masoud Abdullah would do in this second round.
07:11 And maybe starting to fight at a pace and a tempo which is giving Ashfrak reason for concern.
07:18 Getting a bit scrappy isn't he, suddenly?
07:21 Yeah, it is getting a little bit scrappy.
07:24 The referee's not too pleased here with Abdullah.
07:32 This is similar in his amateur days at Kez Ashfrak, occasionally he's got to be a little bit more robust and keep the opponents off with those long hard straight shots.
07:44 He's a little bit vulnerable on the inside and he gets thrown about a little bit here and there.
07:48 So he's got to maintain the gap and the way you do that is good movement with the feet, but hit hard with straight shots and maintain that gap.
07:56 [Applause]
07:59 Hmm, million dollar Whopper contest. I can top that.
08:15 I can top that.
08:16 Hey, you can top that!
08:18 You bet!
08:19 Really? Avocado, bacon, hollandaise.
08:22 Hollandaise?
08:23 Pickles and sport pepper.
08:25 What?
08:26 Corn chips!
08:28 Brisket and bark.
08:30 I can top that.
08:31 Bacon, egg and cheese Whopper.
08:32 Pizza Whopper.
08:33 Creating your Whopper, your way, could win you a million bucks.
08:38 So he intends to prove once more, big Tommy Fletcher arriving for duty later tonight.
08:44 Loving life as an emerging talent, so explosive.
08:49 Looking to keep a winning run going.
08:52 We've got a taller roof here at the Copper Box, which certainly helps when he's on the show as well.
08:57 So tall for the weight, isn't he? He's a talent.
09:00 There's a little nick on the bridge of the nose of Kes Ashvakritch as we start the third round.
09:08 A sense that Abdullah was starting to find him and starting, not to ragdoll him as such, but just to push him around a little bit and show who the boss really is.
09:16 Yes, that's given him confidence that second round. It was a much better performance from Abdullah.
09:22 Ashvak now has got to start bringing his left uppercut into play here, Paul.
09:27 When Abdullah closes that gap down and then gets more into it, there it is there.
09:30 So he's got to improve his accuracy, but that's the shot that he's got to concentrate on.
09:34 Measure the gap with the hook, sorry, with the jab and then bring that left uppercut into play.
09:40 Ragdolls him to the floor this time, but it's not a telling off. There was a good telling off in the last round from Kieran McCann.
09:46 For those who want to see Kes Ashvak prosper in this fight, I would say he still has those quick hands that used to dazzle at Team GB, doesn't he, Richie?
09:55 Yes, he's a very skillful operator. Just occasionally in this contest, he's holding his feet and he's just finding himself in the wrong position.
10:03 He's back onto the ropes and that's when he's got to move.
10:08 And Abdullah, oh that's a good shot by Les Richie.
10:11 That quick right hand and Abdullah still on rather shaky ground here.
10:16 Kes Ashvak seeks to pour it on.
10:19 A turning point potentially in the contest, but in the mind of Kes Ashvak, what will that do for his belief that he can score a big victory at just the right time in his career tonight?
10:30 Yes, peach of a punch, wasn't it? Straight left hand, he brought him onto it. Abdullah still coming forward. I don't think he's fully recovered from it.
10:38 That was a good shot from Ashvak, but Abdullah fair play to him, he's coming back.
10:42 This is how we hope that they would trade tonight. There's a certain element of personal rivalry involved in this.
10:49 Nobody wants to give a bit of ground or lose a little bit of face. Now that can be a very good thing or a very bad thing.
10:54 And we're about to find out.
10:58 Little by little it seems as though Abdullah is beginning to recover his senses and his strength in his legs.
11:04 I think he has, yes.
11:05 For a good 20 seconds after that shot though he wasn't recovered.
11:09 It took him a bit of time, but now he's on that front foot again, finishing the round stronger actually.
11:14 Ashvak again looks a little bit ragged, got to get his back, box him back together.
11:18 That was a good body shot there and another one.
11:25 Replying in kind, but he's a knockdown behind in this round.
11:28 Ashvak right in the Abdullah corner.
11:35 That's not going to earn a point.
11:38 The blame is shared equally. I was just fearful for a moment for Abdullah's sake that he was going to get more than a telling off from Kieran McCann.
11:50 Yes, I think Kieran McCann is having a word with both boxers. Wants them to clean that up a little bit.
11:57 But a little bit tired at the end of the round here, Ashvak looks.
12:01 Look at that wide stance of Ashvak's Richie, setting himself as though he wants to throw that big right hand again.
12:06 Tried it there.
12:11 Masood just ducked underneath it.
12:14 Well the plot thickens here and what an intriguing opener it's developing into.
12:18 I had hopes that it would do this Rich, but I wasn't sure exactly what Ashvak had left to be very honest.
12:24 I think we've had a few answers there.
12:25 Yes, super shot wasn't it? Straight left hand brought him onto it.
12:29 And this is where he just couldn't get his accuracy together with the shots that followed.
12:35 But there's a little clip in right hook also.
12:38 Let's have a look, there's the left hand, there's the right hook.
12:41 And Abdullah was in all sorts of trouble, so it was a great little combination there.
12:47 Steve Broughton trying to assess the damage.
12:51 The one important ingredient in that corner then Richie was how calm Steve Broughton was.
13:14 Because he's not been asked many questions in his whole career Masood Abdullah.
13:18 And suddenly he's about to find out a few more answers.
13:22 Yes, good coaching in the corner, nice and calm wasn't it?
13:26 Very precise with his instructions.
13:28 And he keeps targeting the body now Abdullah, right hand to the body.
13:35 So he feels that Ashvak's a bit suspect downstairs.
13:38 This right hand, but he's got to get into that position.
13:41 And it's avoiding the left hand from Ashvak as he's coming forward is his problem.
13:46 But the momentum seems to be back with him Paul on that front foot.
13:50 Abdullah trying to set himself in the centre of the ring.
13:57 These flashy little moments on his toes Richie are the memories I have from the pre-Olympic days in 2014/15.
14:07 When I know you thought of him as a, not a cert for a medal for Great Britain at the 2016 Olympics.
14:13 But one of your best opportunities.
14:15 It just never happened for him and that's been the problem through his career all too often.
14:19 He's allowed contests to slip away because when he's up on his toes and he's moving like this.
14:25 Look this is beautiful boxing from him, but it's keeping the opponent off.
14:29 And then I think what happens also with Kaz Ashvak, he drifts mentally and then goes back onto the ropes.
14:35 And then he's in a bad position and he's inviting the pressure.
14:38 When he's boxing in ring space, he hits and he moves. He's very good indeed.
14:42 That's intriguing because more likely than not you're going to get away with it over the short trip in the amateurs.
14:47 But this is something very different indeed as all boxing fans would know.
14:51 Nonetheless a sense of order restored by Masoud Abdullah.
14:56 He's tightened it up a little bit, straightened it up.
14:58 Worked from the centre of the ring a bit more intelligently in this round.
15:01 And that means that Ashvak's doing a lot more yardage to keep on going on the outside.
15:06 But heeding Richie's advice, not going into the corner.
15:12 Didn't stop the right hand coming from over the top, Abdullah.
15:15 See Abdullah sort of sussed Ashvak out now.
15:20 Look now he's pinning him onto the ropes into the corner.
15:23 It's a bit of a hammer. It's not going to count as a knockdown that Richie.
15:26 No.
15:29 A little bit off balance maybe.
15:32 Abdullah certainly didn't agree with it.
15:34 Plenty in the crowd didn't actually.
15:36 But you can see the pattern of the fight now.
15:39 Abdullah gaining confidence coming forward.
15:42 Ashvak has got to concentrate on his...
15:43 He's got to get off those ropes.
15:45 That's where you invite the pressure.
15:47 Doesn't want to be there.
15:49 One or two signs of wear and tear around the face of Ashvak as well.
15:53 But a sense perhaps that Abdullah's slightly the heavier handed of the two.
15:57 But the nice timing in the uppercut.
16:00 A little glimpse of the skill set of Ashvak.
16:03 He's still in the contest.
16:04 There's much still in it.
16:06 That was a quality shot from Ashvak there.
16:08 That lead uppercut. Lovely punch indeed.
16:25 Isn't that the new 100 or a grand ticket in that pile of laundry?
16:28 A thousand bucks down the drain.
16:30 Hey, laundry guy.
16:32 Ticket. Ticket.
16:34 Get the ticket.
16:35 Well, that was almost a load of trouble.
16:38 Keep on scratching.
16:40 The Stanley Cup final on ABC and ESPN+.
16:44 On ESPN+.
16:53 There's that right hand over the top there from Abdullah.
17:00 As Ashvak just drifting mentally there.
17:02 Just going back onto the ropes.
17:04 Look into the corner here.
17:05 Then takes a shot and another one.
17:07 Doesn't need to be there, but good work from Abdullah on that front foot.
17:10 And they took every available second in that Kes Ashvak corner there.
17:15 Lee Beard is the number one corner man tonight.
17:18 Just trying to keep that focus.
17:21 And Kieran McCann again asked both of them just to be a little more tidy
17:26 and more respectful of each other.
17:29 It's all about concentration here.
17:33 Abdullah got to keep obviously doubling up the attacks,
17:36 sustaining the pressure and continuing with the attacks
17:39 and trying to push Ashvak back to the ropes.
17:42 That's where he's vulnerable for Ashvak.
17:44 He's got a boxing ring space.
17:45 Hit a move.
17:46 See again, back on the ropes.
17:48 It's a bad place to be.
17:50 There's a bit of work in the corner for Ray Doyle to do actually on Ashvak.
17:57 Will the pressure start to build?
17:59 And Richie, is it a case to a degree with Ashvak of it building inside his head
18:03 as the round goes on?
18:05 He's given a fair display of his abilities.
18:08 Perhaps some of his best work in recent times.
18:11 But Abdullah seems to be marching onto him.
18:14 There is a count this time.
18:19 There is a count.
18:20 Well, he tends to go to the canvas very easily, Kes Ashvak.
18:25 He's not robust enough in this contest.
18:28 The referee has decided that's a count.
18:33 That may make him stay on his feet a little bit longer
18:36 because this will be a 10-8 round for him.
18:39 He was greeted by some ironic cheers.
18:42 Many felt that the previous one was.
18:43 And the pressure is definitely starting to build now on Ashvak
18:46 who had his moments earlier on, but he seems to be welting here.
18:50 Masoud Abdullah is getting well on top.
18:52 He tightened up his game.
18:54 Perhaps found another gear.
18:56 And it started to show he was right on the end of that right.
18:59 Ashvak quickly up on his feet.
19:02 Bounced up.
19:03 Maybe a lot of it actually missed Richie.
19:05 It seemed at the outer extent of the right fist, didn't it?
19:08 Yeah.
19:09 From Abdullah.
19:10 He seems to be so exhausted, Ashvak.
19:12 Abdullah senses it.
19:14 Oh, that's a clean one.
19:16 The towel comes in and the job is done.
19:18 And a little bit of spike pre-fight is seen, I'm afraid, at the end of it again.
19:24 The personal element to it remained right to the finish.
19:28 A clean finish.
19:29 A very, very good win for Masoud Abdullah
19:32 who came through some treacherous early territory tonight
19:37 to really put on a show, on this big show at the Copper Box.
19:41 And Kesh Ashvak up and down throughout his career in the bigger picture.
19:47 Up and down in the ring here tonight, which kind of reflects everything,
19:50 I'm afraid, that has played out over the last few years.
19:53 So the big step forward is taken by Masoud Abdullah.
19:57 One step after another in this fine young man's life
20:02 from the most forbidding of backgrounds.
20:06 A family of refugees who had to walk across Europe
20:10 to find refuge in the United Kingdom.
20:13 The first night of his life in a new country here
20:16 was spent in a jail cell with his family.
20:20 And he has made the most remarkable journey since.
20:24 Yeah, tremendous work here from Abdullah, really senses the victory.
20:27 And eventually the towel comes in.
20:29 But before that, some real good work on that front foot
20:32 with the pressure, with the right hand especially.
20:34 There seemed to be a pattern in most of the rounds.
20:36 Kesh Ashvak, for the first minute of the round, seemed to be in control.
20:40 But as the round went on, it was Masoud Abdullah
20:43 who gained the confidence and pushed on that front foot,
20:45 got him into the corners, got him onto the ropes and did his best work.
20:48 That's a good win against a skilful operator in Kesh Ashvak.
20:52 So well done, Masoud Abdullah.
20:54 That strength on that front foot really has paid dividends tonight.
20:57 Ashvak looks like all is well. I'm happy to report that.
21:04 But the big headline from this featherweight contest tonight,
21:08 again, he is 30, but in boxing terms, a very young 30.
21:11 He's very young to professional boxing.
21:13 It is only his 10th pro fight, but it is 10 straight wins for Masoud Abdullah.
21:18 Seven by stoppage.
21:19 Of course, the jewel in the Queensbury crown at the moment,
21:23 Nicky Ball, I described him, Richie, as perhaps the fastest rising young talent
21:26 in British boxing right at this moment.
21:28 He's certainly in the argument. He's got a world title shot.
21:31 They've got Nathaniel Collins on the books as well.
21:34 Great new signing potentially, British and Commonwealth champion.
21:37 And suddenly, Masoud Abdullah comes into the frame
21:41 for the bigger jobs which lie ahead.
21:43 Ladies and gentlemen, here is the official time.
21:54 Two minutes, two seconds of round number five.
21:58 Your winner by way of technical knockout,
22:01 still undefeated and Commonwealth silver featherweight champion,
22:08 Masoud Abdullah.
22:16 So talk about a man who has overcome the odds.
22:20 the way that he's got the ball.