Craig Morris retains title after suffering bad cut
Craig Morris retained his IBO Continental welterweight title after his clash with Andy Keates ended in a technical draw.
The Ludlow boxer sustained a severe cut near to his right eye after an accidental third-round collision.
The ringside doctor was called for at the end of the round and he judged the damage too serious for the contest to continue.
As the bout had not reached its fourth round judges’ scores were not called and a technical draw was awarded, meaning Morris retained the title he won in December.
The 25-year-old billed the fight, set for the Frankie Gavin v Bethuel Ushona undercard in February but postponed after Gavin’s injury, as the biggest fight of his career.
But the BCB Promotions’ Now or Never show at the Genting Arena in Birmingham did not go the distance as Keates – from Leek in Staffordshire – clashed heads with south Shropshire star Morris.
Two-weight Midlands champion Keates will now chase a rematch.
Morris, with just one professional defeat to his name at the fists of Ryan Fields in a Midlands Area Title fight, claimed the belt by beating Swindon’s Ryan Martin in Leicester before Christmas.
