Costello shines in seconds; Cunningham impress over distance

Thomas Costello needed just 130 seconds to post the stand-out performance in Wolverhampton.

The Birmingham light-middleweight, fighting on the BoxNation-televised undercard of Paul Rowson and Frank Warren's joint bill at the Civic Hall on Friday night [March 23], blew away over-matched Slovakian Lubomir Wejs in under a round and looks ready for harder assignments.

Though the opponent looked woefully inept, it was hard not to be impressed with the former top-rated amateur stylist - a former Junior ABA and Four Nations boss who seems to have been around forever but is still only 23. 

Costello turned over with Richie Woodhall five years ago but back-to-back stoppages in the previous nine months, after an absence of over a year prior to last June, suggests that his power is improving as his body fills out. 

The Brummie fights tall and even when a left to the body slammed home and swept the 35-contest Eastern European off his feet early on, Thomas [11st 4lbs 4oz] refused to rush his work. Instead, he picked his shots, waited for the opening to present itself again and, when it did, repeated the trick to force referee Rob Chalmers' intervention with 50 seconds remaining.

Though the 33-year-old didn't touch down on that occasion, he was doubled over in agony and the stoppage was undoubtedly the right one.

Trained in Chelmsley Wood by dad John, Costello has only one blemish on an eleven-fight ledger - a six-round draw with erratic Lee Noble. Friday night's one-sided dismissal was his fourth stoppage as a pro and, if he can make 11st, a Birmingham-Black Country Midlands Area title showdown with Jamie Ball would be welcomed.

For the record, that was only the second time that Wejs [11st 7lbs] had been taken out in the opening round.

Another West Midlander to impress both a television audience and those who'd paid to be at the packed-out Civic was Stafford super-middleweight Grant Cunningham [12st 4lbs 6oz], who dominated his four-rounder with always-game Lincolnshire brawler Ryan Clark.

Clark's toughness [only halted twice in 59] and activity [27 outings in 2011 alone] has won him a host of admirers and even secured him an International Masters title shot with Burton's Jonjo Finnegan, seated behind me at ringside, at Derby Country FC's ground later next month.

But though Ryan [12st 4lbs 8oz] offered trademark courage, 28-year-old Cunningham was simply too talented. The solid lead of the Errol Johnson-handled Staffordshire stylist had left Clark red-faced inside the opening 60 seconds - and continued to prize his guard open to leave him bloody-nosed at the bell.

After avoiding the looping overhand rights of Carl Greaves-trained Clark, Grant continued to spear through the jab in the rounds that followed, even rattling his Navenby-based opponent with a left to the body and double right hand upstairs in the third and a neatly-threaded left uppercut in the last.

Cunningham, now 3-0 (1), romped home a 40-36 winner for Mr Chalmers and is definitely one to watch out for.