Newark’s Chad Sugden was back in the ring last weekend on the card of XMAS BOX AT THE CIRCUS in Essex on Saturday 11 December.
After his previous two contests saw him compete live on Channel 5 and Sky Sports, with both of his opponents now in possession of WBA and WBC International titles and one of those contests ending in a draw against Craig Richards who is currently ranked 13 in the world, matching the Suggy’s Gym professional boxer proved very difficult in the run up to his return.
Fortunately for the Newark team, just a week before the show took place Cruiserweight Ossie Jervier’s original opponent on the Circus Tavern fight card tested positive and, after some hard negotiations, he agreed to box Chad but would only do so over four rounds.
After 16 months out of the ring and two major shoulder operations, it was clear this was going to be a calculated performance by Chad, who started assertively but cautiously, finding his distance and range in the first couple of rounds.
As always he showed his impressive footwork and, despite Ossie’s attempts to respond, took them both.
Although Ossie always comes and gives everyone he boxes a fight, Chad went up through the gears in the third round, landing some ferocious body and head shots and sending him reeling into the ropes on several occasions.
With Ossie now looking to avoid Chad’s onslaught at all costs, the Newarker had the crowd on their feet as he hunted his opponent and applied really intelligent pressure, landing more big, eye-catching shots in the fourth round while Ossie was clearly looking to hear the final bell.
With referee Mark Bates scoring the contest 40-36 in favour of Chad after that final bell, the win went to him by an emphatic margin against his naturally bigger opponent.
“Chad looked strong and technically good in there,” said his coach and father Dean Sugden after the contest. “I was really happy to see him come through without injuries; more importantly, his shoulders held up absolutely fine and now I would like to keep Chad busy.
“It goes without saying that I can’t thank his loyal fan base enough – without their support this would never have been possible. We took 150 great friends and family members down to Purfleet and gave them a fantastic reason to start celebrating Christmas early!”
“It was good to be back in the ring, even after such a long lay-off it felt like I’d never left and the fact that the shoulders felt good both during the bout and afterwards was an added bonus,” commented Chad.
“I also loved having all my fans, friends and family there, especially given the fact that my last fight was behind closed doors and tickets were so restricted for my draw against Craig Richards at York Hall. Everyone in Newark has always been really supportive of me and my brothers; Saturday night was proof positive of that support and I just can’t thank them enough.
“Now I can’t wait to go again and the sooner, the better so watch this space for news of the next one!”
Pictures by Samuel Alieu
SUGGY'S GYM 
Leave a comment