Many within the sport and the media had voiced the opinion that Hunter versus Frankham was a bit of a mismatch.
Well, to a degree, you can understand that – they hadn’t seen Frankham in action yet.
However, as soon as the opening bell of this intriguing contest chimed and the action began they must have been choking on their words, as it clearly wasn’t.
Not in a million years could it be described that way. Both protagonists went for it full on for the entire duration of the contest, each showcased their impressive ringcraft and pugilist skills.
No it wasn’t a mismatch, it was a true gladiatorial style Battle Royale.
The opening round was all action from start to finish, and so closely fought that even the judges scorecards were split.
The two British judges, Jeff Hinds and Adrian Thorne, scored the round to Hunter whilst the Maltese judge Charlie Cardona scored in favour of Frankham.
The equally action-packed second round was also so closely fought that once again the judges’ scores were split, this time Jeff Hinds and Charlie Cardona scored the contest in favour of Frankham, whilst Adrian Thorne favoured Hunter.
Round three saw Frankham begin to wrestle a semblance of control and, as with the previous rounds, it was an all action and a very closely fought affair.
But without doubt Frankham was in the ascendency, as reflected by the judges scorecards, as Charlie Cardona and Adrian Thorne scored in favour of Frankham whilst Jeff Hinds scored the round a draw.
There was the same level of exquisite pugilistic fare initially in the fourth, with Frankham looking the stronger as the round progressed.
However, in the final seconds of the round, that all changed when Hunter corralled Frankham onto the ropes and let rip with a sensational left hook followed by a massive right uppercut to send Frankham crashing to the canvas.
Frankham was unsteadily rising to his feet, just as not only the final bell rang, but also as referee Roger Barnor waived the contest off.
Frankham initially objected to the fight being stopped, but seemed to then be resigned to accept the decision – rightly so as it was a seriously nasty knock down, which saw Frankham land awkwardly with his left leg tucked under him.
It was a great fight and, without doubt, the stock of both Michael Hunter and Eli Frankham should sky rocket.
These warriors were spectacular and the fight was of similar levels to that of the incredible Michael Katsidis versus Graham Earl from back in the day.
The boxing match took place at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London, on on Friday December 5.