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Nick Webb breathed life back into his career as he battered two-time world amateur bronze medallist Erik Pfeifer to defeat inside two rounds on the Povetkin-Whyte bill in Gibraltar in something of an upset.
Webb was once viewed as something of a prospect, but two stoppage defeats inside six months three years ago revied those ambitions, but he took this opportunity with both hands, sending the unbeaten German to the floor three times.
Pfeifer, who boxed at two Olympic Games, had not boxed since he was lined up as an opponent for Daniel Dubois last summer, an invitation that was seemingly withdrawn from him after it was announced. He was given this slot as the house fighter, after joining up with Dillian Whyte’s team, but if he took Webb lightly, it was a terrible mistake.
Webb started like an express train, charging across the ring at Pfeifer who was given no time to settle. He forced Pfeifer onto the back foot in the first round and landed a decent right too, but it was a huge right that landed at the start of the second round that was the beginning of the end for Pfeifer.
The German looked hurt, but tried to hold, but Webb stayed on top of him and then dropped him with a left hook. Pfeifer beat the count and tried to box his way back into things, but Webb kept punching away and a short right sent him back to the floor. Referee Ian John Lewis allowed him to continue, but it took only one more right to send him down again, the referee waving it off at 1:51 of the round.
“I feel on top of the world,” Webb, 33, said. “Tonight before we went in we had a talk – start fast, get him out of there, we don’t get paid for overtime.
“Everyone doubts me, but I have come here and made a statement. So, don’t doubt me no more. I want more belts, more titles, get me out. I always believed in my self and my team believed in me too.”
Youssef Khoumari, a London super-featherweight who is part of Dillian Whyte’s team, turned on a classy performance to stop Kane Baker in the fifth round of a scheduled ten-round show-opened in Gibraltar.
Baker spent the fight on the front foot, but even when he put Khoumari under pressure, it was Khoumari’s speed a punch variety that held sway. Khoumari put his stamp on the fight in the first round and, while Baker was always competitive, his success was limited.
Baker had his best moments in the second round, getting through with a good right hand, but when he stood in range, he often found himself in target range and Khoumari has good success landing the left to the body.
But Khoumari stepped up a gear in the third round, catching Baker on the way in repeatedly, as he landed to head and body. A solid right near the end of the ground looked to stiffen Baker’s legs as the bell came as welcome relief.
Baker kept coming forward through the fourth and fifth rounds, but Khoumari’s jab proved one obstacle and, if Baker made his way past that, he found himself pinned back by hooks. Late in the fifth round, one right hook made Baker dip at the knees and Khoumari poured on the pressure, forcing Baker back to the ropes and referee John Latham stopped the fight at 2:25 of round five.
Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 – covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.