Boxing
Lyndon Arthur survives early knockdown to outpoint Bradley Rea amid Ricky Hatton tribute
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Lyndon Arthur survived a second-round knockdown to outpoint Bradley Rea at Manchester's Co-op Live, on an evening where the city paid tribute to the late Ricky Hatton.
'King Arthur' battled back from trouble twice to secure a 115-113, 115-112, and 114-114 majority decision that helps restore his place in a crowded light-heavyweight division.
Six months on from a trilogy loss to Anthony Yarde, the 34-year-old arguably needed a victory on home soil to ensure he remains among the major domestic contenders.
Yet he was made to work his way back from a tough first half, with the star calling on his failed WBA title fight experience against Dmitry Bivol to fire his gutsy revival.
For Rea, formerly trained by Hatton and seemingly close to a stoppage in the first half of the fight, defeat will be a bitter pill to swallow, but will surely fire a 2026 return.
With both men in respective club colors for their Manchester homecoming - Rea in City blue, Arthur in United red - there was never any doubt that this bout would catch fire.
Smart work with the jab from each corner set a rollicking first-round tempo, before the former sent the latter tumbling to the canvas in the second with a crunching left hook.
Arthur comfortably beat the count and restored equilibrium with a succession of combos in the third, but Rea seemingly wobbled him a second time in a freewheeling fourth.
A quieter fifth round saw the tempo slip, before a sixth fought at close-quarters saw the older man further disrupt his opponent's tempo with some impressive uppercuts.
Calling on his additional years of big-fight experience, Arthur appeared to further impose himself across the seventh and eighth, but Rea remained close with a sturdy chin.
However, additional smart combinations from the former helped build the gap in the ninth, before a hefty blow to the latter's nose seemed to finally stagger his composure.
Needing to rescue points in the championship rounds, Rea went on the attack once more - but Arthur's extra years on the clock shone through to get the job done.
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