Who is the new boy on the scene?
Sunday 7 December 2014 16:10, UK
Johnny Nelson believes Martin J Ward was taught a valuable lesson by narrowly earning a draw against Maxi Hughes.
Ward found himself on the canvas twice and while he still avoided defeat on the scorecards to maintain his undefeated record, Nelson believes too much was expected of the Brentwood banger.
Our Sky Sports expert also ran the rule over Jono Carroll - the Prizefighter winner - whose novice career was propelled into the spotlight with victories over veterans Michael Devine, Stephen Foster Jr and Gary Buckland.
Ward’s got the ability, it’s about the mind-set. Maybe this was a wake-up call for him. He was trying to make a statement and tried too hard.
"Martin J Ward still has a lot to do, a lot to learn, but he potentially could be good. It was one of those occasions where people got too excited, too early.
"Ward needs more time to learn his craft. He’s nowhere near the finished article.
"I agreed with the scoring, I thought it was a draw. But if it went to anyone, I would have lent towards Maxi Hughes.
"Hughes had the bigger rounds with his knockdowns but even if you take those away, did Ward out-box him? No he didn’t.
"Ward’s got the ability, it’s about the mind-set. Maybe this was a wake-up call for him. He was trying to make a statement and tried too hard."
"I was impressed with Jono Carroll, he’d only had three fights going into it. Going in against people who’d been there before, his attitude was very cool.
"He listened to instructions and had a lot of confidence, his style seemed to suit Prizefighter. It’s not the most exciting style but he managed to get past each opponent.
"I wasn’t familiar with Carroll before, but we went into Prizefighter wondering if we’d discover a new name on the scene. He is the new boy on the scene, his trainer Paschal Collins has done a cracking job with him. I thought his tactics worked perfectly.
"My instincts told me to back the guys that came out of the amateurs but common sense told me to pick Gary Buckland. I thought his style would be perfect for Prizefighter because he fights the same whether it’s 12 or three rounds.
"I actually thought Buckland might have won, I questioned the decision when he lost.
"It's always a great night at the Prizefighters. The first fight was action packed, a great start, and got everyone on their feet. Then we got a bit of class and panache from Michael Devine. I think the crowd were really happy with it."
