Rodbourne's Brunnen upsets Bennett (From Swindon Advertiser)

Rodbourne's Brunnen upsets Bennett

6:00am Tuesday 3rd July 2012 in Boxing By Andy Warren

RODBOURNE MMA fighter Alex Brunnen silenced a hostile crowd as he stopped footballer Matt Bennett in the third round of the pair’s fight at Swindon MECA on Saturday night.

The Highworth Town player had the backing of large sections of the 1,300-strong crowd at the second Swindon Fightclub white collar show, but suffered a disappointing defeat despite knocking down Brunnen in the opening round.

Brunnen rode the storm and out-boxed his opponent in the second round, and forced the referee to stop the fight in the third and final session after a flurry of heavy shots.

Brunnen was always confident of securing the victory, but told the Advertiser his passion will always be MMA.

“It was a great feeling to win the fight, and I went in confident because I always do, and I managed to hit him more than he hit me,” he said.

“This was my first proper boxing match, but I have a fair amount of experience in the ring because of my MMA, and that is what I am used to.

“I will always see the boxing as a bit of fun because I take MMA seriously, but if someone calls me out for another boxing match I would love to go back in there again.”

The 10-fight card at the MECA started with a bang when Lewis Dublin knocked out Toby Craughwell inside the first round, while Keith Wesley also stopped Darren Jones early on in the second bout of the evening.

Taylor Gill and David Batner pushed each other all the way before the latter claimed a points victory in a tight fight, while Lee Hedges kept up his impressive unbeaten run by winning against Dave Porter.

Hedges had built himself a reputation as a showman during his two previous career fights, and although he extended his winning run to three, the Swindon fighter thought he had lost when the final bell sounded.

“I was confident going into the fight, but he boxed really well and I thought I might have lost it,” he said.

“But I got the decision and I am very happy to have won, because the crowd is always great to me.

“I am not sure if I will do it again though, but if everyone wants me to fight then I am sure my arm can be twisted.”

Jonnie Stokes beat Adie Hearn in the first round of their contest, before Edoardo Tatangelo, who won the main event of the first Fightclub show, beat Jamie Horn on points having put his opponent on the floor during the second round.

The penultimate fight of the evening saw Craig Leadbeater stop Hurvin Morgan inside 40 seconds, as he showed the packed house what he is capable of.

The Ultimate Non-Professional Boxing heavyweight title was on the line for the main event between Phil Williams and Dave Gregory, with trained boxer Williams coming out on top against a man who comes from a cage fighting background.