Croft twins extend unbeaten pro records
Welsh boxing twins Ioan and Garan Croft maintained their unbeaten professional records in Altrincham on Friday night as the pair celebrated their Matchroom debuts in style.
Fighting on the undercard of the Glenn Byrne and William Crolla bout, the 24-year-old pair both took unanimous points verdicts as a loud travelling band of fans from north Pembrokeshire made themselves heard throughout.
It was southpaw Ioan who opened the show in Altrincham, dominating Serbian fighter Novak Radulovic over eight rounds.
It was the first time the Cardigan ABC product has fought over that distance at professional level, and he rarely looked troubled.
Croft rocked his opponent in the fourth round but to his credit, the durable Radulovic avoided the deck, as he did in the fifth after a vicious body assault from the Welshman.
In the sixth Radulovic briefly rallied, but although the pace slowed in the closing stages Croft appeared in full control as he took every round on the judges' scorecards for his eighth pro victory.
Twin brother Garan soon followed suit in his super welterweight bout, although was given a much sterner test by England's Marco Simmonds.
Croft was by far superior in terms of his movement and footwork, but his offence was frequently met with ripostes from Simmonds, who managed to cut the 24-year-old above his eye.
However, it wasn't enough to stop Croft from going 6-0 by also taking a convincing 80-72 verdict, and six weeks after he signed them for Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn was ringside to witness the latest steps forward in the careers of both brothers.
