Joey Essex took on Portuguese influencer Numeiro as he made his boxing debut on the Misfits 22 card in Manchester on Saturday ngiht
Joey Essex WON his boxing debut after a gruelling slugfest with influencer Numeiro.
Essex, who is trained by his uncle Tony who guided Anthony Joshua in the early stages of his his career, rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex. He also appeared on Love Island but has long coveted a fight on influencer boxing promotion Misfits.
And after walking to the ring in Manchester accompanied by a singer and two violinists, Essex made a shaky start to the first round. But he burst into life with a right which connected to Numeiro’s jaw. But the Brit failed to capitalise on his success, stepping off and allowing his opponent to recover.
Both men came out swinging at the start of the second round but it was Essex who was landing., finally rousing the crowd from their slumber. But there was a danger he had punched himself out as Numeiro finished the session in the ascendency.
The third round had the arena on their feet – as well as former world champion Tony Bellew – as the two men slugged it out. Numeiro was given a standing count by the referee, effectively meaning he needed a knockout to win, as Essex showed remarkable stamina.
But it was he who was given a count at the start of the final session as Numeiro threatened a comeback. Both men showed remarkable chins for their novice level as the swung from their feet and traded in the centre of the ring.
Ultimately, the fight went the distance, and after a long wait, was given the nod by two of the three judges. Essex collapsed to the canvas in delight when the result was announced with Numeiro desolate.
Earlier in the night, Essex’s former TOWIE co-star and cousin Demi Sims won her debut fight, outpointing Nadeshi Hopkins. Also on the card, Amir Anderson impressed with another stoppage win, this time against Vitor Siqueira, while Carla Jade won every round to retain her lightweight title.
Rahim Pardesi put an end to his bitter rivalry with Amadeusz Ferrari after a week in which the Pole’s insults crossed the line. The fight didn’t live up to its billing but Pardesi finished it in the final round, catching his opponent with a right hand which dropped him to the canvas.
Chase DeMoor retained his heavyweight title with a bizarre stoppage of Natan Marcon. Marcon had thrown an egg at the champion during a face-off in the week which saw DeMoor threaten to pull out of his title defence. But he needed only four minutes to retain his belt when he cracked an uppercut on Marcon’s draw. The referee called on the doctor to have a look and then waved off the fight. A bloodied Marcon refused to accept the decision and attacked DeMoor before he was pulled off.
Tyson Fury’s former sparring partner Ty Mitchell recorded the biggest win of his career, outpointing world ranked American Sean Hemphill over 10 rounds. Mitchell, who was sentenced to seven years in prison in 2012 for the manslaughter of a student, moves to 4-2 with his two defeats coming in 2011.