Huge Upset – Lee Reeves defeated in Newcastle
Lee Reeves suffered shock defeat in Newcastle tonight.
The talented Limerick prospect has impressed massively Stateside and in Canada in particular since turning over in late 2018.
The Lee Baxter promoted fighter was gifted a chance to show the skills he is renowned for to an audience closer to home.
However, what was meant to be something of an breakout night didn’t go as planned.
The 25-year-old was dropped and ultimately defeated by Artur Davydenko.
The tough journey man claimed his second career victory by a 38-37 margin on the referee’s score card.
Reeves, who was making his debut as an Ingle fighter, brought a large crowd with him and they supported him through a tough fight and they will no doubt stick with him.
The fighter, who has can boast Tyson Fury and Kell Brooke as fans, did battle admirably, showed heart, will argue he could have turned it around if it was a six rounder and will learn massively from the fight.
Reeves showed just why their is genuine excitement surrounding his career in the first round.
The Limerick native landed some well timed left hands early in the stanza, further tested the Ukrainians chin with a beautifully timed right hook and looked dominant.
Davydenko did show ambition and grit beyond what you see from the majority of journey men, but at that point it looked like Reeves may punish is ambition to the extent that he could become the first man to stop him.
Davydenko mixed it up in the second round. He wasn’t afraid to use roughhouse tactics hitting in the back of the head, throwing in the shoulder and firing in the clinch.
However, he showed a surprising skill set, getting up on his toes and letting combinations go. He also counter punched in part and leveled up the fight with a very impressive round.
The away fighter looked anything but a journeyman in the third. He began winning the battle of the southpaw jabs, switched stance and dropped the Limerick man with a right hand.
The knockdown looked quite sloppy and Reeves did argue he was more pushed to the canvas after taking a good shot.
Despite the protests Davydenko sensed blood and piled on the pressure. The home fighter showed real grit and took some better shots than the one that sent him to the canvas over the next minute and a half.
The 25-year-old also fired back on occasion, but went into the final stanza needing a fifth career knockout to continue his unbeaten start.
Reeves showed real heart and desire looking to turn things around in the last.
He pushed forward, worked the body well, landed some crisp left hands from range and up close and won the round wide.
Still, it wasn’t enough to swing things in his favour. He flirted with registering the knockdown that would have leveled things with a massive left in the last 30 seconds, but the Ukrainian, who on occasion looked more gatekeeper quality than journeyman, held firm.
Lee now slips to 5-1, with four knockouts to his name while his opponent improves to 2-5.
