George Rhodes eyes area title bid after winning return in Sunderland

A sizeable Scarborough contingent headed up to the Rainton Arena to see light-middleweight Rhodes take on Leicester’s George Rogers.

This was the first fight in 20 months for Rhodes and he was delighted to get off to a winning return.

He said: “My last fight was back in February 2020 just before the pandemic started so it was great to get back in action.

“I had been offered a few fights during the 20 months but due to injuries and other things they didn’t happen.”

Rhodes was happy with his 40 points to 36 victory against Rogers.

He added: “I caught him with a solid body shot early on and he seemed to stay on the outside from then on.

“I dictated the fight in the first two rounds, but then after a clash of heads in the third round I needed 10 stitches.

“I got cleaned up and kept it sensible for the rest of the bout and was awarded the 40-36 win by the judges.

“I would like to thank all the supporters who travelled up from Scarborough, spending their hard-earned money just three weeks before Christmas on a cold night up in Sunderland.

“I would also like to thank Westway Boxing Club and Bill Swales of BJ Fitness for their help as well.”

Rhodes, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Monday, has kept himself active after his win and is already eyeing his targets for 2022.

He said: “I would like to go for an area title in the future, the next fight will hopefully be in January of February while I wait for the head wound to heal.

“Since the fight on Friday I have been keeping myself active and ready as I look to prepare for the fights next year.

“It has been hard during the lockdown for boxers but the flipside is that now there seem to be a lot more shows and a lot more fans are wanting to come after months of behind closed door fights.”