In the fights before Christmas, Giorgio Visioli produced a cracker as he captured the vacant English Lightweight Championship in a hard-fought points win over Joe Howarth at Indigo at The O2 in London.
The judges unanimously scored it wide in Visioli’s favour with the cards 100-91, 98-92 and 97-93.
But Visioli was made to work for his win against Howarth, trained and managed by British Heavyweight icon Dave Allen – and he paid homage to Howarth immediately after the fight.
Speaking after his win, a proud Visioli said: “I’m delighted with the win. It was a great experience. Thank you to Eddie Hearn, Frank Smith and Matchroom Boxing for the opportunity to headline here in London.
“I had to work hard for it. Joe was relentless and I had to stay switched on. But I need these types of tests. Joe came here tonight to win for sure.
“It’s hard to keep up that pace for 10 rounds but I did the job. It’s the first of many titles and we will push on in 2026 after a bit of a rest.”
Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith saluted Visioli and says his English title win is the first of many more belts to follow in the future.
Speaking to Jamie Ward, Smith said: “It was a brilliant performance from Giorgio tonight. We really believe in him – he’s going all the way to the top.
“Credit to Joe Howarth. He fought really well. But it’s Giorgio’s night. He’ll want to get back in the gym and he’ll want to improve. But that was a great first headline fight here in London and we expect a bright future ahead for him.”
In the co-main, ‘The Gentleman’ John Hedges put in a comprehensive performance to retain his English Cruiserweight Championship with a unanimous points victory against Ellis Zorro.
Leli Buttigieg signed off for the year by stretching his unbeaten record to 11-0 with a dominating points win over Victor Ionascu.
Taylor Bevan remains undefeated too after a brilliant sixth round stoppage over Mickey Ellison, after his team threw in the towel.
Connor Mitchell celebrated a fantastic first outing as ’The Hammer’ – son of UK cult boxing hero Kevin Mitchell – introduced himself to the professional scene with a brilliant third round stoppage over Argentina’s Fernando Joaquin Valdez.
The incredible Tiah-Mai Ayton closed out her debut year in 2025 with her fourth consecutive knockout as she had Brazil’s Ana Karla Vaz De Moares down in round one and three, in which she was victorious.
Adam Maca was destructive once again too, with his fourth successive stoppage as he needed just two rounds to dispatch Brandon Gallardo Vargas.
William Crolla bounced back with a winning return as the Mancunian fighter – and brother of former World Champion, Anthony Crolla – stopped Harley Hodgetts after putting him down twice in the third round.
Maisey-Rose Courtney, with close friend Molly McCann supporting her, outpointed a game Sara Orszagi as Alexey Shendrik overcame Christophe Mbori Endanga in the opening bout of the night.
