Boxing: Haye makes light of tough opponent

David Haye had the most difficult task but he easily beat Pakistan's world ranked Shaukat Ali in the first bout of the heavyweight division in front of a poor crowd at the Wythenshaw Forum last night.

Haye forced Ali to take standing counts in rounds one and two before the referee intervened in round three to stop the surprisingly one-sided affair. Haye will now rest until Tuesday before his next fight.

"There is always a lot of pressure before the first fight but pressure is something I like," Haye said. "I knew Ali's record but that just motivated me more and I was determined to look good." Ali had been beaten a Russian, a Kazakhstani and a Uzbekistani in his previous three fights.

The defending commonwealth light-heavyweight champion, Courtney Fry, out-pointed the little known but exceptionally strong Bertrand Tietsia, of Cameroon, to move closer to repeating his win at Kuala Lumpur four years ago.

It was a look of relief on Fry's face because at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and the world championships in Belfast last year he lost in the opening series of competition. Last night he boxed sensibly and at times exceptionally. "I was disappointed at the Olympics and in Belfast and I was determined not to make the same mistake again. I am far more relaxed now that the first one is over," Fry said.

England's opening night trio was completed by Sunderland's make shift super-heavyweight, David Dolan, who simply punched far too hard for Gerry Butler, of the Bahamas, and the referee intervened after two eight counts in round two. Dolan has only fought at super-heavyweight once, having won the domestic title at heavyweight for the last three years.

Also in the super-heavy weight division, the Welshman Kevin Evans was too experienced for Northern Ireland's Cathal McConagle and won clearly on points, 24-9. Evans, who won a bronze medal at heavyweight during the 1999 world championships in Houston is possibly the favourite to win super-heavy-weight gold.

Darren Edwards does not look like a fighter but he easily beat Botswana's Khumiso Ikgopoleing in the bantamweight class. Edwards, 21, may not look like the butcher he is by trade but when he is in the ring there is no doubting that he has enough strength and enough skills to go a very long way in this tournament. Ikgopoleing took a standing count in round three and round four and lost on points 24-8 and looked bemused by his opponent's deceptive power.

Last year Edwards won the inaugural Four-Nations tournament but when he travelled to the World Championships in Belfast he was a flop, but his early exit there has been good for him. "I was bitterly disappointed with the way I boxed in Belfast and I knew that I had to improve on that or quit,'' he said.