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Haskins sees off Hall challenge
- Updated: September 10, 2016
Lee Haskins held on to his IBF bantamweight world title with a unanimous decision over foe Stuart Hall in what turned out to be a war of attrition.
The Bristol fighter made the stronger start on Saturday but as the fight went on, most of the O2 Arena crowd knew it was heading to the judges, although few of them could have expected such a one-sided scorecard.
Haskins (34-3-KO14) kept hold of the belt Hall used to hold, but the 115-113, 117-111, 116-112 scoring was wider than many thought after a fight of two halves, with the champion starting well only for his challenger to come back in the latter period.
The blue bantamweight touch paper was lit four years ago when they first met but with age and experience and the small matter of a world title on the line in this rematch, neither came charging out in the first.
A typically cautious start saw them trade single shots, but soon Haskins left down the pipe and Hall’s right …
