Hide back with a bang

13 April 2012

Herbie Hide quickly punched his way through the ring rust to make a triumphant return in Liverpool.  

After 25 months out of action, the man known as the 'Dancing Destroyer' in his pomp predictably had too many steps and moves for Russia's Alexei Osokin in the Olympia ballroom.

Hide stopped the Russian halfway through the third round, but Osokin at least proved popular with the crowd for his fighting and attempts at the Ali shuffle before the inevitable ending.

It was simply no sweat for former WBO champion Hide on the night which had been reserved for Audley Harrison, only for the Olympic champion to pull out with a damaged rib.

Hide has not fought since losing his WBO crown to the Ukrainian Vitali Klitschko at the London Arena in June 1999.

Since then, he has bulked up to 16st 7lb - his heaviest fighting weight - but he looked well-chiselled on his comeback night.

Hide, 30 next month, had too many punches unanswered in the opening round, landing with one particularly solid left hook and Osokin was down briefly from a left-right combination in the final seconds of the opening round.

The Norwich fighter did almost as he pleased in the opening session and had Osokin down twice in the second, once with a drilling right to the body.

The Russian went down once more in the third, but from a low blow and Hide was warned by referee Micky Vann.

When Osokin was under fire in a neutral corner in the third, Vann called a halt and Hide was victorious again.

Osokin had shown durability in his previous visit to Britain, taking John McDermott and Mathew Ellis the distance, but Hide was simply too big and experienced.

He said: "Believe me, I will win back my title. I'm a much more mature fighter now.

"I've had two years out of the ring and I've done a lot of thinking and I have a much more positive approach.

"The way the heavyweight scene has changed in the last months there are certainly opportunities for me."

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