THE indispensable ingredients of a great performance in the boxing ring are the fighters and their styles.

When English light-middleweight champion Andrew Facey pulled out "sick" from the defence of his title (for the fourth time) a couple of hours before the weigh-in of a championship clash in Widnes, Doncaster stylist Jason Rushton was brought in as a substitute for an eight round non-title bout against bitterly disappointed Langley lad Matthew Hall.

Rushton was at one time one of Frank Warren’s potential star prospects, and when he was pitted against the squat, square shouldered Collyhurst and Moston Academy fighter the spectators sat back in anticipation of a great fight - a boxer against a knockout puncher.

From the first bell Hall stalked his opponent non-stop, throwing beautifully placed short punches to Rushton’s mid section with telling effect.

The Yorkshire lad fired back, but Hall covered and blocked the blows meant for him.

Cheered on by his large section of fans Hall was bobbing and weaving his way inside, never taking a backward step.

Rushton used some good technical moves, but he was driven backwards as Hall moved forward relentlessly, always delivering solid hurtful combination punches which landed with the cracking noise of machine-gun bullets.

One cannot fault the courage of Rushton, he tried to punch it out toe-to-toe with Hall, but he came off second best.

In the third round Rushton was down for a count of eight after Hall had hit him with a short left hook followed by a chopping right cross. The spectators cheered loudly, and Hall continued to deliver his well-timed body attack throughout the six rounds the bout lasted.

Fight fans yelled for referee Mickey Vanne to stop the fight, as it became quite obvious the game Rushton was getting hurt.

In the sixth round Hall battered his opponent unmercifully before dropping him with a power-driven left hook to the side of the jaw. Rushton bravely pulled himself upwards as the count reached nine, but referee Vanne looked at him and stopped the fight.

This was a solid performance from the C and M boxer, and Sports Network officials were rubbing their hands in glee at the exciting way the Middleton lad had boxed. He was so impressive that he was booked to box in Atlantic City, USA, in February.

Brian Hughes, chief coach at Collyhurst and Moston, said: "Obviously Matthew was heartbroken when he heard Facey had pulled out of their championship encounter.  But being the professional he is he decided to box an eight rounder to keep himself active and not waste the eight hard weeks of training he had completed. He was in fantastic physical and mental condition, and for the six rounds this contest lasted he won each session with a lot to spare. His short punching was a sight to behold. We are still working on a couple of things with Matthew, and then he will be even better. As promoter Frank Warren said, the Americans will love his style of fighting. We are all proud of him at C and M. He is very loyal and a pleasure to be associated with."