Rhodes and Horner box clever in Barnsley

Rhodes eased to his third pro victory against debutant Liam Wright, while Bridlington-based Westway man beat Ibrar Riyaz as he tasted professional boxing for the first time.

Rhodes edged out Wright, who couldn’t match the Scarborough man’s accurate jab and hand speed when unloading with combinations.

Rhodes didn’t have things all his own way throughout the four rounds, Wright landing with a couple of half-decent shots after Rhodes had unloaded himself.

When boxing clever behind his jab, Rhodes looked much the superior man in the ring against the novice from Sheffield.At times the former Westway man looked to unload in search of an early finish and began to look ragged and a messy second round ensued.

Rhodes got back into the groove of things in the third and had his man in trouble in his corner as he landed several quick blows to head and body.

Wright survived a big left hand at the end of the penultimate round to take it into the fourth and final three-minute session.

The debutant came out looking for the one-punch knockout that would get him back into the contest, but Rhodes pushed his man back with some clever combinations to body and head, utilising his sharp left jab and following it up with the left hook.

Rhodes was at his most impressive in the fourth round and completed a solid night’s work to take all four rounds on the referee’s scorecard for a 40-36 win.

Horner was in no mood to mess around in his first pro outing as he quickly looked to establish himself in the paid ranks.

Handed a very tough assignment on his pro debut, Horner had to show all the skills in the book against a game and noticably heavier opponent.

Riyaz, nicknamed Smokin’, wasn’t in the mood to babysit Horner through his professional debut and was on the front foot throughout the four exciting rounds as the Brid man had to show superb composure and defensive skills to stave off Riyaz’s threat.

In the second round Horner found himself under pressure on the ropes, but seemed to enjoy the pressure as he invited Riyaz in for more before sliding away from danger and popping off a couple of neat counter shots of his own.

Horner was constantly making Riyaz miss then firing back with stinging shots, and this continued into the third round.

After a patient start Horner unloaded again and yet again managed to keep Riyaz at bay with superb head movement.

Rather than going looking for the knockout the crowd were baying for in the last round, Horner stuck to the gameplan and landed with some solid straight rights and also a stiff uppercut.

Despite landing with decent combinations, Riyaz came back once again, showing grit and determination decent being much more sluggish than Horner an dthe pair traded blows in a slugfest of a final minute as both refused to concede ground.

Horner took all four rounds on the scorecare and can be pleased with his firt pro outing after being handed a very tough first assignment in the paid ranks.

Don’t miss Thursday’s Scarborough News for more from Rhodes and Horner.