Hall completes remarkable journey from Ibiza drug binge to world champion

By Mark Staniforth, Press Association

Stuart Hall completed his unlikely road to redemption by claiming the vacant IBF bantamweight title after a wild and woolly points win over South African Vusi Malinga at the FirstDirect Arena in Leeds.

His left eye swollen completely shut through the final four rounds, Hall took the fight unanimously 116-111, 117-110 (twice) on the three judges' cards after a thrilling, action-packed war which saw Malinga dumped to the canvas in round three.

It capped a remarkable story for the Darlington man, who only took up boxing at the age of 28 after by his own admission spending five years of his life engaged on a drink and drug-fuelled binge in Ibiza.

Champion: Stuart Hall is presented with his IBF bantamweight title belt after beating Vusi Malinga

Battered and bruised: Darlington man Hall took the fight with a unanimous points victory

In sealing his historic triumph the 33-year-old became the first north-east boxer to win a recognised version of a world title since Glenn McCrory - a prominent figure in his corner - won the IBF cruiserweight title in Durham in 1989.

Malinga, who claimed to be the nephew of former WBC super-middleweight champion Sugarboy Malinga, had been carried to the ring by one of his team-members but it was Hall who got going with much the cleaner work.

Hall had every reason not to be undaunted by his likely title shot, with Malinga the owner of an unremarkable 21-4-1 record including a defeat in a challenge for the same title against Leo Santa Cruz in June last year.

Hall himself was an unlikely world title contender, having lost a British title fight against former IBF champion Jamie McDonnell in September 2011, and been defeated again at domestic level by Lee Haskins in July 2012.

In control: Hall lands a left hand on Malinga's chin on the way to a unanimous points victory

Going down: Hall knocks South African Malinga to the canvas in the third round

Hall swarmed all over Malinga at the start of the second then landed a looping two-punch combination as the South African, edging forward behind a weak left jab, showed little inclination to get involved.

Hall had clearly claimed the early advantage and he emphatically built on that early in the third when a crunching right to the jaw dumped Malinga backwards onto the canvas before he clambered up with the count at eight.

With Malinga looking wobbly and bleeding from the nose, Hall rushed in to try to finish the job but proved a little over-eager and was caught by a pair of lefts coming in in what proved an action-packed round.

Malinga had a little more success in the fourth and fifth, a swinging right temporarily halting the Darlington man in his tracks, but the neat, focused Hall responded superbly, troubling Malinga again with another sharp right.

So dominant was Hall was it was hard to reconcile his performance against an unremarkable career record which until recently seemed destined to take him not much higher than domestic level.

Front foot: Hall, pictured here catching Malinga with a jab, was the aggressor throughout the fight

Battle: Hall showed signs of tiring midway through the fight but held on to claim the belt

Puffed up beneath the left eye, Hall did show the first signs of tiring through a busy sixth, and he shipped a lot more clean shots in the seventh but continued to ride them well and fire back with flurries of his own.

As the fight wore on Hall was walking into more shots and the damage around his left eye worsened significantly in the ninth, when he would surely have been better suited trying to stay away as Malinga sensed some hope.

But brave Hall saw the fight out by trading blows to the end, where the MC duly announced his incredible boxing resurrection to be complete.

Hall said: 'It feels unbelievable. I knocked him down but he came back at me. They're so much tougher at this level.

'I couldn't see anything out of my left eye for the final few rounds but I kept my focus and I always knew I was in front.'

Source:  www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-2527777/Late-starter-Stuart-Hall-beats-Vusi-Malinga-points-win-vacant-IBF-bantamweight-title.html

Stuart Hall beats Vusi Malinga to win the IBF Bantamweight title

Stuart Hall became the oldest British fighter to win a world title at the first attempt with a unanimous points win over South Africa's Vusi Malinga.

The 33-year-old floored Malinga with a right hand in round three but took punishment late on as he claimed the vacant IBF world bantamweight title.

"I was fighting with one eye but I just tried to use the jab and dig in," said Darlington's Hall, who joins Carl Froch, Scott Quigg and Ricky Burns as British world champions. "It's one of the best nights of my life."

He added: "I won the British title and I thought that was my world title.

"But I just dug in and took my chances. I know I've got a punch and I can hurt people, but this is just a dream come true."

Hall, who now has 16 wins from 19 fights, was handed his surprise shot at the title when fellow Englishman Jamie McDonnell was stripped of the belt for failing to agree to a defence against mandatory challenger Malinga.

Before the fight, he sought advice from Glenn McCrory, north-east England's last world champion, and walked to the ring with the former IBF world cruiserweight champion.

After an even opening round, Hall flew from his stool to land a succession of blows and pin Malinga against the ropes early in the second before landing a left-hook flush on his opponent.

He maintained his energy levels early in the third and floored Malinga with a right-hand to the jaw.

The blow drew roars from the home crowd and forced an eight count, but the southpaw recovered to prevent an early stoppage.

 Malinga, who has now gone the distance 18 times in his career, looked the stronger of the two through the middle rounds of the contest, landing his jab frequently and damaged the left eye of Hall.

"When he got up and came back at me, it shows he's different class," added Hall, who took the decision 117-110 on two scorecards and 116-111 on a third. "I just dug in and the crowd helped me.

"I couldn't see for the last two rounds because my eye was shut and he was targeting it. We told the referee it was okay but I couldn't see anything out of it. But I've done it and I've proved myself to all the doubters."

Hall went 12 rounds in his last two fights and showed grit to land a combination late in the 11th, as both men appeared fatigued.

His opponent, who has now lost five times in 27 fights, briefly seized the initiative with a heavy shot mid-way through the finale, but Hall boxed out the round to secure a memorable win.

Source: www.bbc.com/sport/0/boxing/25482121

Hall beats Malinga to take IBF bantamweight title

Associated Press

LEEDS, England — Stuart Hall claimed the vacant IBF bantamweight title early Sunday after a points win over Vusi Malinga of South Africa.

With his left eye swollen completely shut through the final four rounds, Hall took the fight unanimously 116-111, 117-110 (twice) on the three judges’ cards after a contest which saw Malinga dumped to the canvas in round three.

“It feels unbelievable,” Hall said. “I knocked him down but he came back at me. They’re so much tougher at this level.

“I couldn’t see anything out of my left eye for the final few rounds but I kept my focus and I always knew I was in front.”

It capped a remarkable story for the 33-year-old Hall, who only took up boxing at the age of 28 after spending five years of his life engaged on a drink and drug-fuelled binge in Ibiza.

Hall had every reason not to be undaunted by his likely title shot, with Malinga the owner of an unremarkable 21-4-1 record including a defeat in a challenge for the same title against Leo Santa Cruz in June last year.

Hall was an unlikely world title contender, having lost a British title fight against former IBF champion Jamie McDonnell in September 2011, and been defeated again at domestic level by Lee Haskins in July 2012.

Hall swarmed all over Malinga at the start of the second round, then landed a looping two-punch combination as the South African, edging forward behind a weak left jab, showed little inclination to get involved.

Hall had clearly claimed the early advantage and he emphatically built on that early in the third when a crunching right to the jaw dumped Malinga backward onto the canvas before he clambered up with the count at eight.

With Malinga looking wobbly and bleeding from the nose, Hall rushed in to try to finish the job but proved a little overeager and was caught by a pair of lefts coming in what proved an action-packed round.

Malinga had a little more success in the fourth and fifth, a swinging right temporarily halting Hall in his tracks.

But Hall responded superbly, troubling Malinga again with another sharp right.

So dominant was Hall it was hard to reconcile his performance against an unremarkable career record which until recently seemed destined to take him not much higher than domestic level.

Puffed up beneath the left eye, Hall did show the first signs of tiring through a busy sixth, and he shipped a lot more clean shots in the seventh but continued to ride them well and fire back with flurries of his own.

As the fight wore on Hall was walking into more shots and the damage around his left eye worsened significantly in the ninth, when he would surely have been better suited trying to stay away as Malinga sensed some hope.

But Hall saw the fight out by trading blows to the end.

Source: sports.inquirer.net/136665/hall-beats-malinga-to-take-ibf-bantamweight-title