THERE was no shortage of drama at the SSE Arena on Saturday night but disappointment for three of the local favourites.
Owen O’Neill and Fearghus Quinn were both stopped in the early rounds of their contests while battling Tyrone McKenna lost his rematch to rival Mohamed Mimoune in an all-action main event. Andy Watters reports…
Welterweight: Tyrone McKenna lost to Mohamed Mimoune KO5
WARRIOR McKenna wanted a challenge to mark his comeback and Mimoune provided it. The Frenchman’s style was all wrong from the Belfast fighter who began by looking for a left hand over his fellow southpaw’s lead. He landed it midway through the round and, although he had to take one himself, he got his jab going to seal the opener which ended with some verbals between the rivals.
Mimoune is an awkward customer and he gave very little away behind a tight guard, forcing McKenna to take chances. The Belfast fighter was patient – not always his game – and speared out the jab over an even second.
By the start of the third, Mimoune had a nasty cut over the left eye from a clash of heads. The swelling must have affected his vision but he stepped up the pace and went after McKenna who countered furiously but took some punishment from the Frenchman.
The mayhem McKenna thrives on broke out in the fourth. He was pinned on the ropes and caught with a low blow. He took a few seconds to recover but not long enough because a left hook to the ribs sent him down for an eight count.
He got back on his feet and beckoned Mimoune to come again – which he did – and the pair of them took turns to batter each other until the end of a round.
They went back at it in the fifth and a famous McKenna win looked a real possibility until another Mimoune bodyshot ended the fun. A right hand nailed McKenna in the mid-section and he went down again and punched the canvas in frustration as referee Hugh Russell began his count.
“One, two, three…”
The Mighty Celt tried but couldn’t clamber back to his feet and Russell waved it off leaving him with back-to-back losses.
“The gameplan was to make things awkward – keep it on the jab and, when he stepped in, hit him with the left hand,” he said.
“That’s was working brilliant and I was cruising it until he started opening up the body a bit more. He was hurting me and he knew just to target that because that was where he was getting the success.
“He’s not a big puncher – I could have took his power all day long – is just that my body is… shite. I’ve been blessed with one of the best chin’s in the game but I’ve also been punished with one of the worst body’s in the game. I always get hurt in sparring with body shots, over the years I never get dropped with head shots, it always body shots. He capitalised on it.”
As McKenna said, the fight was “entertaining while it lasted” but he has decisions to make after losing. In December he briefly retired after losing to Lewis Crocker but this time the 34-year-old showman will weigh-up his options.
“I gave the crowd their money’s worth as I always do,” he said.
“I loved the fight – while it was going on it was brilliant, I just wish I could have continued but there’s nothing you can do when you’re hurt like that. No matter how much the crowd roared, I couldn’t get up.
“I jumped the gun last time and retired a bit early, I’ll see what the craic is… Maybe I’ll do a few more sit-ups? Maybe I’ll start working on my body a bit more and come back. If I’d had a better body I would have won that fight.
“I’ll be back, don’t worry about that.”
Middleweight: Fearghus Quinn lost to Aston Brown KO2
A SHOCK loss for Quinn who had the better of it in the first and hurt Brown with a couple of bodyshots. Everything changed when they traded blows early in the second. Brown nailed Quinn with a right hand and instead of taking a step back the Armagh native opted to fight fire with fire.
Another ferocious backhand caught him flush on the jaw as he looked to counter and it sent him to the canvas for the first time in his professional career. He tried to get back on his feet but referee Hugh Russell waved it off after reaching the count of ‘two’.
Super-welterweight: Caoimhin Agyarko bt Bahador Karani Pts 80-72
COMPOSED and technically excellent, Agyarko came through a storm against the physically bigger late replacement Karani.
Manchester-based Iranian Karani decided to get on the front foot from the outset and he kept the pressure on Agyarko throughout a competitive opener which ended with the Belfast man slipping his jab and coming up with a crisp right hand.
Karani shrugged off a thumping bodyshot early in the second but Agyarko stayed downstairs and two right hands midway through the round took some of the zip out of his opponent’s legs.
Karani kept coming though. Agyarko peppered him with straight left hands through his guard and danced this way and that to smash vicious hooks into his ribs.
By the end of the fifth it seemed that Karani might be running out of gas but he refused to sit down between rounds and continued to push Agyarko hard.
‘Black Thunder’ was always in control and he stepped up the pace in the eighth (the final round) to seal a shutout points win.
Welterweight: Owen O’Neill bt Dylan Moran TKO R1
STUNNED silence followed the first defeat of O’Neill’s career. He hardly landed a blow after Moran caught him flush with a left hook to the head.
Moran, sensing blood, followed it up and O’Neill lurched back onto the ropes. Another left hand from Moran, who looked into terrific shape, smashed into the side of O’Neill’s head and referee Eamon Magill made the correct decision when he quickly moved in to save him from further punishment. It was all over after 19 seconds.
Featherweight: Jack O’Neill bt Jake Pollard 40-36
DEBUTANT O’Neill enjoyed a warm welcome from the SSE crowd. He established his jab from the start and then used his long levers to crack a series of right hooks to Pollard’s head and body.
With 75-fights behind him, journeyman Pollard – a tough first opponent for Ginley brothers’ trained O’Neill - absorbed the pressure but a left hook to the ribs did hurt him and the round ended with switch-hitting O’Neill doubling up to head and body. The promising youngster continued his good work until the final bell to seal a shutout points win.
Undercard results from Saturday night:
Super-featherweight: Teo Alin bt Engel Gomez pts 40-36
Middleweight: Gary Arthurs bt Edgar Romero pts 40-36
Welterweight: Dean Gonzalez Furlong bt Paul Scaife pts 40-36
Middleweight: Cathal McLaughlin bt Martin Shaw pts 40-36
Middleweight: John Boyd bt Jordan Grannum pts 40-36
Featherweight: Matthew Boreland bt Erick Omar Lopez 40-36