In a blockbuster night for Irish boxing, Pierce O’Leary (15-0) established himself as the next big hope for Ireland, with an engaging yet one-sided victory over ‘Super’ challenger Darragh Foley (22-6-1).
Both fighters seemed determined to put on a show in front of a home-crowd – and they delivered. After a tentative and illusive first round, O’Leary found his footing and launched hammering body shots that crippled Foley, forcing him to find a respite in any way he could; even if it meant wrestling O’Leary to the ground.
Foley would receive a warning for ducking too low whilst O’Leary would also receive one for pushing his head down. Quite frankly, this was the only moment in which O’Leary’s pressure was halted, as he would otherwise come forward and land titanic blows, particularly to the body.
Foley, however, never relented in heart and mental strength. Particularly in the later rounds, he would attempt to land some accurate and sharp punches, but to no avail. O’Leary demonstrated the worth of his nickname ‘Big Bang’, as all of his attacks seemed to take a toll on Foley, who managed to go the distance.
With the unanimous decision victory, this makes the fourth defence of the WBC International Super-Lightweight belt for O’Leary, who will be eager to increase the level of competition and will certainly be gunning for top-ten talent.
In the main event of the night, however, things did not go to plan for Irishman Conor Quinn (9-1-1), who failed in his bid for the vacant Commonwealth Boxing Council Flyweight title against ‘King’ Conner Kelsall (12-0-0).
Kelsall would grow in confidence from the opening bell, figuring out quite early on that Quinn was struggling to acclimate to his opponent. The two youngsters would buzz around the ring, with Kelsall outweighing Quinn in both action and activity.
It was domination from Kelsall, who had major success with long combinations and movement, whilst Quinn would struggle to hit; often just throwing at the gloves of his English foe.
Ultimately, with a split-decision, the scorecards suggested a fight that was much closer than what spectators had witnessed, despite the right man earning the gold.
The lightweight division also had a belt up for grabs; the Boxing Union of Ireland Celtic Lightweight title, which was successfully defended by title-holder James McGivern (9-0). His opponent, the Welshman known as ‘Brickfists’ Rashid Omar (6-1) was eviscerated by a left to the head, with the bout being waved immediately.
This was a statement performance from ‘The Natural’, who will be sure to go on to great things at British level, it seems.
Jack Turner (7-0) opened the Belfast Brawl with a challenging performance against 8-21-2 Darwing Martinez. The Nicaraguan journeyman was able to end the knockout streak of the promising Liverpudlian, although Turner demonstrated levels as he maintained consistency across the distance.
Steven Cairns (8-0) also proved that he is a name to follow in the grand scheme of Irish boxing, with ‘The Irish Takeover’ in full force as he would end the fight against Brazil’s Jonatas de Oliviera (6-11) in an astounding 56 seconds.
The ‘Posh Boy’ Colm Murphy (12-0) proved that he can rough it out as he scored a final round TKO over Glaswegian featherweight Jack Turner (6-2) to earn the Commonwealth Silver Featherweight title.
Despite the determined Turner, the doctors simply had to halt the bout – perhaps too late for the liking of many. From early on, Turner showed that his impairments made him unable to win.
Finally, violent young Cuban Jadier Herrera (15-0) extended his knockout ratio further with a complete destruction of Andres Navarette (11-2) over the course of the one round they shared together. Beautiful Cuban footwork and a killer instinct won him the bout with ease, as Navarette was caught too off-guard to continue.
Overall, Queensberry can be proud as their all-Irish affair proved to provide a successful and engaging night of boxing from Belfast.
Read the full article here
