MICHAEL Ayers added a second notch towards outright ownership of a
Lonsdale belt by stopping Birmingham's Karl Taylor in the eighth round
of their British lightweight title bout at Crystal Palace last night.
Ayers made constant use of his right hand, opening cuts over and under
Taylor's left eye before Derby referee Paul Thomas called a halt after
inspecting the injuries.
From round six, it had become only a matter of time before Ayers held
on to his crown, six weeks after having won it with another stoppage of
Preston's Paul Burke.
Now the plan is for Ayers to win the Lonsdale trophy in record time by
making a second successful defence at Potters Bar on May 23.
That would give Ayers the belt in just 95 days, eclipsing the existing
record of 160 days held by former featherweight champion Colin McMillan.
Ayers said: ''It's just started to sink that I am the British champion
and I can have a Lonsdale belt as my own property if I win my next
fight.
''I won the title only six weeks ago and it hasn't really had time to
sink in. With this victory, I am sure it will now.
* RICHIE Woodhall, the undefeated European and Commonwealth
middleweight champion, has been lined up for a summer showdown with WBC
super-middleweight champion Nigel Benn.
Promoters Frank Warren and Don King are said to be keen to stage the
fight, which would be Benn's first since his ill-fated meeting with
Gerald McClellan.
Woodhall, who won the European title by stopping Italian Silvio Branco
in his home town of Telford last month.
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