Prosper sees off Rehman to retain his English title

Luton boxer Kay Prosper made history again as he successfully defended his English Super Lightweight title at the Dunstable Conference Centre on Saturday night.

Over 500 fight fans gathered to see an array of local talent on show in an event dubbed ‘The Foundation’, promoted by Joe Elfidh and Boxing Connected in conjunction with High Rize and once again it did not disappoint.

Former Hockwell Ring boxer Prosper was the headline act, facing Rochdale’s Bilal Rehman, who had promised to spoil the Luton man’s homecoming party at a tense press conference the previous afternoon.

At 6ft 2, Rehman towered over Prosper and used his range and distance to nullify his opponent in the early exchanges.

As Prosper began to get inside, Rehman used his considerable frame to tie up his opponent and thwart his attempts to take the fight to him.

This strategy began to lose pace as Prosper was able to find gaps and throw chopping body shots.

The middle rounds were difficult to score as the Lancashire fighter worked skilfully on the backfoot to show the neater work against the aggressive Prosper, who defended well throughout.

As the final rounds closed in, Prosper began to pull away as his opponent could no longer keep the fight at distance or hold to head off the attacks.

Prosper stalked his foe and landed the cleaner, more eye-catching shots late on, and his team did not hesitate in celebrating at the final bell as the judges called it 96-94, 97-93 and 97-95 in favour of the Luton fighter.

Speaking afterwards, Prosper said: “We brought the belt home and did the business.

“It was amazing having so many people here to watch that as he was a great opponent. I caught him with some big shots and he caught me to, so I had to put the pressure on later on.

“I have to say thank you to my coach Xavier Miller and all the team at IQ. He had a game plan and as soon as I listened to him, I took over.

“We as a team have so much more to show now.”