Sporting Digest: Boxing

David Starie was pushed all the way by London's Mark Baker before retaining his British and Commonwealth super-middleweight title in his home town, Ipswich, last night. Starie finished the bout with cuts around his left eye but took the referee's verdict by a 117-114 margin.

PROFESSIONAL SHOW (Corn Exchange, Ipswich): British & Commonwealth super- middleweight title: D Starie (Ipswich) holder bt M Baker (Sidcup) pts. WBA Continental featherweight title: P Ndou (SA) bt R Mingaleev (Ukr) ret 4. British bantamweight final eliminator: N Wilders (Castleford) bt A Lewis (Bury) rsf 6th. 6-rd heavyweight: G Kandelaki (Geor) bt Y Yelistratov (Ukr) ko 1st. 6- rd flyweight: J Evans (Portsmouth) bt M Reynolds (Sudbury) pts. 4-rd cruiserweight: S Baker (Walthamstow) bt A Coyle (Birmingham) pts. 4-rd middleweight: B Magee (Belfast) bt C Howarth (Bracknell) rsf 1st. 4-rd featherweight: D Lowry (Belfast) bt C Allen (Wolverhampton) pts. 4-rd lightweight: K Gogaladze (Geor) bt E Smith (Worcester) rsf 1. 4-rd light-middleweight: D Baptiste (Balham) bt W Asker (Bury St Edmunds) pts.