DARLINGTON’S Steven Cooper opened the Relentless Promotions/Matchroom Fightpass show at the Gateshead Leisure Centre on Saturday night with an impressive victory, writes Peter Mann.

The light heavyweight, having only his second professional outing, gave an assured performance to take his tally in the pro game to two wins from two outings, and seemed a lot more at ease with himself.

In opposition to Joe Brailsford, ‘Cooper-man’ gained the upper hand early on and never relinquished it, upping the tempo in the second and making his opponent look rather laboured.

By the end of the bout, a bloodied Brailsford left empty-handed as Cooper claimed the win.

“I was bit calmer this time out,” said the Darlington fighter. “I was rather nervous for my debut but here the only problem was not being able to do anything with him because everything I caught him with he just kept coming back at me so it will take someone tough to put him down. 

“For me, though, I’m just glad to get those nerves shaken away and I’ll get better as I progress.”

Promoter Steve Wraith was also enthused by the workmanlike performance which Cooper put in. He said: “I’ve been there for both of Cooper’s fights and he’s doing well.

“It was a good, solid performance and was the perfect start to the show, he both entertained and impressed because overall it was a mixed bag of results and that’s what the fans like to see, I don’t think they want five or six home wins every show.”

With Jeff Saunders’ proposed professional debut having been pulled because of a paperwork glitch (it looks like he’ll now debut on Geordie Roar in April) the show became a five-fight piece.

After Cooper had glided to victory, the returning Paul O’Hagan fell short as both a leg injury and a third-round stoppage against Tony Cruise curtailed his night.

Following the interval, the unbeaten Basi Razaq took to the ring and, although he left still undefeated, both he and his corner were deflated at the shock draw in which he received.

It was an admittedly tough assignment for the Tynesider as he battled through four hard rounds with journeyman William Warburton - very few have been in there and stopped him.

Teesside’s Cameroon Olympian, Abdon Cesar, showed class and poise as he eased to a four-round success against late replacement Jack Heath and, with the Saunders late withdrawal, it was left to Andrew Buchanan to steal the show.

Backed by a vociferous support, ‘El Cannon’ took the bout to his opponent, Mark Till, at the head of the bill, and the duo battled glove to glove for six rounds. Buchanan showed how much of a class act he is with a 60-54 victory.

The next step for the West Denton super middleweight will surely be a warm-up for an English title shot later in the year.