Patience the virtue for Ballingall

The 18-year-old impressed in a comprehensive points win over Qasim Hussain in London on Saturday.

Ballingall recorded a 40-35 points success over four rounds at the York Hall in Bethnal Green.

Ballingall’s performance against an awkward opponent earned him plenty of plaudits.

He was happy to bide his time, with Hussain – who he beat in May – desperate to hold whenever possible.

The featherweight, who gave away a whopping 10lb in weight with his opponent a late replacement, stuck to the task, though, and got the job done in professional style.

Trainer and father, Michael Ballingall, was pleased with what he saw from the talent.

But he feels he has to not expect things to happen too quickly in the paid ranks.

Ballingall Snr said: ‘It was a typical fight Lucas will face at this stage of his career.

‘We were thankful for Qasim stepping in at the last minute, but he made things awkward for him.

‘Where they’d boxed before, Qasim knew what to expect. He was shocked by Lucas’ power before so this time he wanted to hold on for dear life.

‘We told Lucas not to get angry about it, let the ref break them up and then go about his work.

‘If Qasim came to have a fight he would have got stopped.

‘Lucas is being described by people as a top prospect and a lot of people have been impressed with him.

‘But he’s only had two fights and is a young lad. Lucas wants to fight everyone but there’s still a long way to go.

‘He needs to bide his time and people will get to know him soon enough.

‘If he dedicates himself to the gym and gets experience his quality will shine through.’

Meanwhile, Biola Kudus was also an impressive winner as he delivered a 40-37 points win over Latvian Stansilavs Makarenko.

The performance was hailed as the most refined of his career by Kudus’ team.

The cruiserweight was in with an opponent with a losing record, but Makarenko came to fight and threw dangerous shots all night.

Kudus stuck to his boxing and kept the contest long behind his jab.

Makrenko earned a share of the last round as the 29-year-old eased off.

But the Leigh Park talent was pleased with his work – and knows there is a lot more to come.

Kudus said: ‘It went really well.

‘Speaking to my trainer, Barry Smith, he felt it was the best I’ve boxed.

‘Tony Oakey came up to watch the show and all he said was positive.

‘I’m improving as a fighter and showing good progression.

‘He came to have a scrap and was throwing big bombs.

‘I stayed behind my jab and controlled the rounds.

‘He came on strong in the fourth round.

‘But I was blocking shots and I felt comfortable.

‘I’ve been a pro for 10 months now and have boxed four times.

‘I’m hoping to get out in London again now in November.

‘One thing is for sure – there’s a lot more to come from me.’