Freak cut stops Reece in his tracks against Rea
The 20-year-old was seeking to avenge a split decision loss to England’s Bradley Rea in September.
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Hide AdFarnhill, who is on his nation’s radar having impressed coaches at England Boxing’s Elite Men’s 75kg+ Open Talent Day, had performed well in the opening stanza at the 147 Club in Manchester only for the referee to intervene midway through the contest.
The amateur pugilist sustained a freak injury on his cheek which caused swelling underneath his right eye and the bout was brought to a halt, allowing the Ricky Hatton trained fighter to progress in the competition.
“Unfortunately he suffered a cut in the second round so the fight had to be stopped,” said coach Andy Howcroft. “He was boxing really well, it was close, but I thought he did enough to take the first round.
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Hide Ad“However, they only got through about 10 seconds of the second round. He was cut on his cheek, it was like a paper cut as if he’d been caught by the velcro on his opponent’s gloves. He was taken to hospital as a precaution but he was fine.
“Bradley beat him last time on a split decision and I thought Reece had improved a lot since then. He looked comfortable so I was gutted for him.
“He didn’t rush in, slipped shots well, threw feints and his movement was good. They both had good spells in the fight and landed good shots.
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Hide Ad“Reece said that he had felt really good in there so he was disappointed with the outcome. There was a massive improvement.”
Farnhill, who was prescribed with the mandatory 28-day recovery period, will now train towards the club’s show at Burnley Mechanics in February and the Senior Elites in April.