A CROWD of more than 100 witnessed the first preliminary fight of Southampton’s hardest man fighting tournament.

Exile Gym in Shirley played host to the fight, which saw Tyrone Cooper pit his wits against Sam Gale, writes MICHAEL CARR.

Both fighters came into the tournament as huge underdogs, neither of them as big as some of the other combatants. But they laid it all on the line in their bid to get through to the next stage of the tournament. Cooper, 18, from Bassett in Southampton, entered the arena wearing a blue superman T-shirt amid raucous cheers, while Sam Gale got a more subdued response from the fans.

The bout started with Cooper steaming out of the blocks and instantly landing a kick on Gale, who took it well on the chest. And Gale soon took charge of the contest and held Cooper in close quarters, working away with a steady stream of knee and kidney punches that winded Cooper.

Cooper battled bravely against his more experienced opponent, but Gale’s expertise proved decisive as he landed the more telling blows.

The bout was ended seven minutes in when Gale connected with a punishing knee to the head and Cooper decided he had enough and quit.

It wasn’t a classic encounter but it was enthralling nonetheless.

Tournament organiser Will Martin declared the first preliminary a “big success”. He said: “I think it went fantastically well. To see so many people come and support the fighters was incredible.”

The next preliminary bout takes place on June 8 on a kickboxing show called Storm in Aylesbury. It will see Richard Stacey fight against Karl Ward.