Fields gives it his all, but is beaten for title

Ben Fields…halted in the ninth by Jack Rafferty

BEN Fields fought with customary grit and bravery, but was unable to conjure another Cinderella story at Liverpool Olympia last night (Saturday).

With the Commonwealth light-welterweight silver belt on the line, Digbeth’s Fields was stopped in the ninth by unbeaten Jack Rafferty. Referee Ron Kearney calling a halt at one minute 22 seconds as Ben, under heavy pressure, took punches without reply.

Rafferty, who peeled off his 21st straight win, dropped Fields in the sixth with a left to the body, that was deemed low and after that concentrated on the mid-section.

Another left downstairs hurt 33-year-old Fields in the ninth and a left to the head dropped him heavily.

He got up, but was being driven back under a relentless attack when Mr Kearney stepped in.

Ben’s toughness and refusal to be subdued made the scheduled 10 rounder exciting. Until the end, he refused to be subdued and had pockets of success. Rafferty was dragged into deep waters, deeper than he’d been before.

In the fifth, Ben picked up the pace and forced Rafferty to cover up. The winner was given the toughest test of his career.

Ben’s manager Jon Pegg summed it up succinctly: “He gave it everything he had, you could not ask for more. You can’t give more than Ben gave.

“He went there to win. There were times when he could’ve gone into a shell, but he didn’t. That was the kid’s (Rafferty’s) test and he passed the test, others wouldn’t.

“Ben fought for the Commonwealth silver title last night. If someone had told him that at the beginning of his career, he would’ve probably laughed.”

After the battle, Manchester’s Rafferty paid tribute to his opponent’s courage. The 27-year-old said: “I knew Ben was tough but I didn’t know he was like that.

“I hit him with some solid shots and he hit me with some. It was a competitive bout and I had to stick to my guns. There wasn’t a second I thought I could get him out of there. I had to work for that. I dug deep, stuck in there, listened to what my trainer said and I’ve done it.”