MASON CARTWRIGHT will be looking to get back in the big fights after securing his second win on the bounce.

The Ellesmere Port man suffered defeat for the first time back in May 2018 and, after a period of inactivity, returned in March with a win.

Cartwright, trained in Liverpool at No Limits Gym, built on that victory, outpointing Lithuanian visitor Edvinas Puplauskas over eight rounds on referee Jamie Kirkpatrick’s scorecard.

The fight began promisingly for the 26-year-old as he knocked down Puplauskas in the opening round with a left hook to the head.

But Puplauskas, from Kretinga, regrouped and had his own spells of success. The team of Cartwright were imploring their man to avoid smothering his work and instead put his shots together in combinations rather than just throwing single shots. His win came courtesy of a 79-73 scorecard.

The headliner at the Eventim Olympia was supported by nine bouts – eight over four rounds and one over six – and the biggest shock of the evening came in the cruiserweight division as hometown man James Farrell lost his unbeaten record against Kent Kauppinen.

Kaupinnen, an MMA fighter who is set for action under the Bellator banner in the near future, had to win the fight to avoid having his licence withdrawn by the British Boxing Board of Control – and win it he did.

The man from Swadlincote in Derbyshire caught Farrell early in the first round and dropped him. Referee Kirkpatrick gave the mandatory eight count and allowed Farrell to continue, but Kauppinen sensed a finish, jumped on him and the end was called at 1-32 of the first round.

Nathan Bennett kept up his flawless ledger with a frustrating yet routine points win over Bognor Regis’ Carl Turney. The super-lightweight, from Liverpool, was in something of a scrappy affair but was guided to a victory by George Vaughan and Derry Mathews – who enjoyed a sweet between rounds courtesy of the officials –  in the corner. Referee Kirkpatrick scored 40-36.

Kirkpatrick also took charge of a four-rounder involving super-bantamweight Sean Cairns, while Mark Lyson was in charge of Nathan Quarless’ latest assignment.

Cruiserweight Quarless, 23, shared one round with the man from Klaipeda, Lithuania’s Dmitrij Kalinovskij and was scored the 40-37 winner on referee Lyson’s card, while Cairns – who went into the fight on the back of back-to-back defeats against Brett Fidoe and ex-Commonwealth Games gold medallist Sean McGoldrick – won a 40-36 shutout against Hull’s Luke Fash.

Shawn Hughes was in an entertaining scrap against Liverpool-based Lithuanian Genadij Krajevskij. Krajevskij, who has yet to win since turning professional, was throwing plenty against “The Hammer”, who is from Kirkby in Liverpool and came out on top by 40-37 on Lyson’s scorecard to advance his record.

Meanwhile, Joe Kavanagh brought a few fans to his first outing as a paid fighter. The youngster, from Liverpool, recently signed a managerial deal with Steve Wood after turning professional and a vociferous crowd was ringside to cheer him on as he got through his first four rounds against Swindon’s Joe Beeden.

Kavanagh, delighted to have put the first one behind him after the final bell, was awarded the contest on referee Mark Lyson’s scorecard by 40-36.

Failsworth-trained Liverpudlian Lee Whelan impressed for the second time as a pro since turning over back in March. The man who is mentored by Anthony Farnell looked pretty faultless against Warminster’s angular and awkward Paul Cummings en route to a 40-36 win on referee Kirkpatrick’s card.

And Lyson oversaw a pair of four-rounders between Brian Phillips and Liam Richards, plus new VIP signing Courtney Chadwick and Michael Horabin.

Liverpool man Phillips added to his record with a successful 40-37 points win over Wiltshire’s Richards, while Warrington’s Chadwick posted a 40-36 decision against bloodied Cheshire man Horabin.

The Verdict Cartwright will now seek bigger things.

FULL RESULTS
Mason Cartwright (149lbs), 15-1-1 (5), w pts 8 Edvinas Puplauskas (150lbs), 5-25 (4); Shawn Hughes (180lbs), 2-0, w pts 4 Genadij Krajevskij (176lbs), 0-6; Sean Cairns (129lbs), 4-2, w pts 4 Luke Fash (129lbs), 2-47-2; Joe Kavanagh (136lbs), 1-0, w pts 4 Joe Beeden (135lbs), 2-63-1 (1); Kent Kauppinen (202lbs), 5-14 (3), w rsf 1 James Farrell (202lbs), 7-1 (5); Nathan Quarless (200lbs), 5-0, w pts 4 Dmitrij Kalinovskij (202lbs), 13-54-4 (5); Nathan Bennett (144lbs), 7-0 (1), w pts 4 Carl Turney (148lbs), 0-6; Brian Phillips (135lbs), 6-1 (2), w pts 4 Liam Richards (139lbs), 12-58; Lee Whelan (149lbs), 2-0, w pts 4 Paul Cummings (154lbs), 1-33; Courtney Chadwick (142lbs), 5-0, w pts 4 Michael Horabin (138lbs), 2-11.