Eales far too slippery for outclassed Dale

Ashlee Eales celebrates victory in the Planet Ice dressing room

NUMBING Nuneaton puncher Ashlee Eales said before his clash with Dale Arrowsmith that he needed a distance fight, he needed to get the rounds in.

If that was his objective, the 29-year-old achieved it at Planet Ice, Solihull, on Saturday night. Eales seemed content to remain in third gear on his way to a landslide 60-54 decision.

But watching from ringside, I felt there was another objective – testing the hand broken in Ashley’s last contest seven months ago. To that end, the tall southpaw frequently switch-hit and the booming shots that have despatched previous opponents were missing.

Eales (11st 9oz) won at a canter and that doesn’t make for a memorable spectacle.

He could do as he pleased against Arrowsmith, from Hyde, Lancashire – a man who has won five of 90 contests (three draws).

Hands low, Eales, who possess a grace gained from his days as a dancer, brought blood spilling from Dale’s nose in the second, and whipped-in eye-catching uppercuts.

Such was his total dominance, Ashley propped his elbow on the ropes in the third as if scanning the landscape around him. Even against the hemp, he was too much for Arrowsmith (10st 13lbs 9oz).

By the fourth, the northerner was looking marked up and a big right to the body added to the growing misery.

In the fifth, Eales casually wheeled away and took a walk around the ring. Make that a stroll.

Eales, now unbeaten in eight, calls himself the Real Deal and has the skill set to go far. The man could well put Nuneaton on the boxing map.

He’s a man with a lot to say for himself, but certainly didn’t need to raise his voice against Arrowsmith.