Historic British bout between Ijaz Ahmed and Marcel Braithwaite in Dudley is drawn
Ijaz Ahmed and Marcel Braithwaite fought to a split draw in an incredible back-and-forth contest over 12 rounds on BCB’s March Mayhem at Dudley Town Hall.
The vacant British and Commonwealth super flyweight titles were on the line as both men looked to cement their place in the history books.
It was the first time a British title had been contested in Dudley for over three decades.
The iconic Lonsdale belt had been absent since Crawford Ashley defeated Roy Skelton for the light heavyweight title at the same venue in July 1991.
Birmingham’s Ahmed was denied victory in front of his family and friends, but the opening rounds were won convincingly by Braithwaite as he landed the cleaner, more eye-catching shots, and hurt Ahmed with a left hook midway through the third round.
But Ahmed was not to be denied and his relentless pressure started to pay dividends in the later rounds as the scouser tired.
‘Jazzy’ was controversially denied a knockdown in the eighth round after referee John Latham ruled that Braithwaite had slipped.
Both men continued to trade hard shots into the championship rounds and much to the dismay of both sets of supporters; judges Mark Lyson (114-115 Braithwaite), Kevin Parker (114-114) and Terry O’Connor (117-11 Ahmed) ruled the contest a split-draw.
