Ryan Garner secures the WBC interim title with a dominant points victory in front of his home crowd at St. Mary’s Stadium in Southampton
Super featherweight Ryan Garner returned to the ring last night in his hometown of Southampton for the first time in over nine years—and he did so with an impressive performance at St. Mary’s Football Stadium on England’s south coast.
Garner (20-0, 10 KOs), dressed in the red-and-white colors of his beloved Southampton Football Club, secured the WBC interim world title with a convincing unanimous decision victory over Italy’s Michael Magnesi. The event was another stadium event organized by Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions.
After twelve rounds of consistent forward pressure, a high work rate, and precise flurries of punches from the Southampton native, the three judges scored the fight 116-112, 119-109, and 118-110 in Garner’s favor. This puts the undefeated super featherweight in an excellent position for a potential world title fight against WBC world champion O’Shaquie Foster.
Magnesi (26-3, 13 KOs) has thus seen his three-fight winning streak come to an end. For the Italian, this was also his second loss on English soil, following his split-decision defeat to Anthony Cacace in 2022.
Garner started the fight right away from the center of the ring and dictated the action with aggressive forward pressure, a quick jab, and explosive combinations. In the ninth round, Magnesi was on the verge of an early defeat, but the Italian showed great resilience and tremendous fighting spirit to hold on until the final bell.
In the undercard of the event, light heavyweight Lewis Edmondson—who is also from Southampton—prevailed in a close bout against Lyndon Arthur.
Edmondson (12-1, 3 KOs) celebrated the biggest victory of his professional career so far over ten rounds and won by unanimous decision. The official scores were 96-94, 96-95, and 97-93.