Boxing: Home boys look good

THE RELATIONSHIP between promoters Munro-Hyland Brothers and the Norfolk-based World Boxing Union was further strengthened on Saturday's Shea Neary undercard when two other Liverpool fighters from the stable were victorious in championship matches sanctioned by the fast-rising "fifth" sanctioning body, writes Glyn Leach.

In the chief supporting bout of the evening, Peter Culshaw stopped South Africa's self-proclaimed "Little Tyson", Mzukisi Marali, in the seventh round to win the vacant WBU flyweight title. Earlier, Alex Moon had outpointed another South African, Khayalethu Booi, to take the vacant WBU Continental featherweight title.

Culshaw was a class above the commendably aggressive, if limited, Marali, who is said to be only the fourth-best flyweight in South Africa. But the local boy, who at 17 became one of the youngest ABA champions ever, showed that he has grown considerably from the fighter who was stopped by Adi Lewis 13 months ago.

Moon, meanwhile, still needs to mature before he can be moved onto the world stage proper. He was always in control against the lanky and somewhat tentative Booi, but in winning by scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 116-111 he did not press the advantage as much as he might have.