Rhys Edwards seemed to win a short-notice assignment in every way buy the eyes of the three judges.
Peter McGrail overcame a gruesome cut to claim a ten-round, unanimous decision over the previously unbeaten Welshman. Scores were 96-95, 96-94 and 96-94 for McGrail in their spirited junior featherweight affair.
Edwards answered the call earlier in the week to replace Dennis McCann, who tested positive for multiple banned substances.
McGrail was 53 weeks removed from his lone career defeat, a shocking knockout loss to Ja'Rico O'Quinn last Dec. 16 in Glendale, Arizona.
The Liverpudlian southpaw was dealt more adversity this week with the opponent change and then in the ring. A clash of heads in round three left McGrail with a bad cut above and just outside his right eye.
Edwards didn't make a point to target the wound. Rather, he focused on his body attack where he enjoyed the most success.
McGrail was at his best when able to feint Edwards and come back with straight left hands. His footwork was still on point, not slowed by Edwards' right hands downstairs.
Edwards was urged by his corner to focus more on volume and less on pinpoint accuracy, for fear that he wouldn't get credit on the judges' scorecards.
The advice was heeded in the final three rounds, as Edwards landed the more substantive blows. McGrail came back with a straight left hand in the tenth and then scored to the body following a left upstairs by Edwards.
McGrail advanced to 11-1 (6 KOs) with his second straight victory. Edwards (16-1, 4 KOs) suffered his first career defeat, though he returns to Wales with his stock significantly raised.
A pair of Oleksandr Usyk stablemates lodged separate ten round wins.
Daniel Lapin effortlessly outpointed Dylan Colin in their battle of unbeaten lightweight heavyweights. Scores were 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91 for Lapin (11-0, 4 KOs), a 27-year-old Poland born Ukrainian southpaw.
The bout was largely a jabbing contest. It was fully controlled by Lapin, who scored a first-round knockout on the May 18 undercard of Usyk's RING/undisputed heavyweight championship win over Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) at this very venue.
There was never the threat of an early night in this contest. France's Colin (14-1, 4 KOs) had brief pockets of success but was significantly outworked over the long haul.
Andrii Novytskyi went the ten-round distance for the second straight time. It resulted in his sixth win of 2024, a unanimous decision over a game Edgar Ramirez.
Scores were 100-90, 100-90 and 98-92 for Ukraine's Novytski (14-0, 10 KOs).
The 6'6" Novytskyi made use of his 4 1/2" height advantage and kept Ramirez (10-2-1, 4 KOs) at the end of his jab for most of the fight. He also enjoyed frequent success with long right hands and left hooks, though the granite chinned Ramirez took the shots well.
Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs), Lapin and Novytski are all managed by Egis Klimas.
Mohammed Alakel ended his rookie year exactly as it began—with a clean sweep on all three scorecards. The locally based lightweight defeated Colombia's Joshua Ocampo via six-round unanimous decision.
All three judges scored the contest 60-53 in favor of Alakel (2-0, 0 KOs), a Riyadh-bred boxer who floored Ocampo (8-34-5, 6 KOs) with a right hand in round two. He proceeded to box his way to victory behind his jab and long right hand, just as he did in his Oct. 12 pro debut in this very venue.
Headlining the show, Ukraine's Usyk defends The Ring heavyweight championship and unified WBA, WBC and WBO titles against England's Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs). The bout is a rematch to their May 18 thriller, won by Usyk via split decision to produce the first undisputed heavyweight champion in 25 years.
Jake Donovan is part of the U.S. team for The Ring. Follow Jake on X and Instagram.