On a tough night for Irish boxing, Pierce O’Leary (15-0) established himself as Ireland’s next big hope, with a close but one-sided victory over ‘Super’ challenger Darragh Foley (22-6-1).
Both fighters seemed determined to put on a show in front of the home crowd – and they went silent. After a trying and tricky first round, O’Leary found his footing and fired off a striking body shot that crippled Foley, forcing him to find rest any way he could; even if it meant fighting O’Leary on the floor.
Foley would get a warning for going down too far while O’Leary would get one for pushing his head down. Frankly, this was the only time that O’Leary let up on the pressure, as he would come up and hit a titanic, mostly to the body.
Foley, however, never gave up on heart and mind power. Especially in the later rounds, he was trying to land accurate and sharp punches, but to no avail. O’Leary proved the value of his ‘Big Bang’ nickname, as all of his attacks seemed to take a heavy toll on Foley, who was able to go the distance.
With the unanimous decision victory, this makes the fourth defense of the WBC International Super-Lightweight belt for O’Leary, who will be eager to raise the level of competition and will certainly be fighting for a top ten talent.
In the main event of the night, things did not go well for Irishman, Conor Quinn (9-1-1), who was unsuccessful in his bid for the vacant Commonwealth Boxing Council Flyweight title against ‘The King’ Conner Kelsall (12-) 0-0).
Kelsall will grow in confidence from the opening bell, discovering early on that Quinn was struggling to get used to his opponent. The two youngsters would buzz around the ring, Kelsall outdoing Quinn in both action and work.
It was dominance from Kelsall, who had great success with long combinations and moves, while Quinn tried to hit; usually just throwing gloves at his English enemy.
In the end, by split decision, the scorecards suggested a fight that was much closer than the viewers had seen, without the right man getting the gold.
The lightweight division also had a belt up for grabs; Boxing Union of Ireland Celtic Lightweight title, successfully defended by reigning James McGivern (9-0). His opponent, the Welshman known as ‘Brickfist’ Rashid Omar (6-1) was taken out with a left to the head, and the fight quickly swung.
This was a statement from ‘The Natural’, who will be able to move on to great things at the British level, it seems.
Jack Turner (7-0) opened the Belfast Brawl with a challenging performance against 8-21-2 Darwing Martinez. The trip to Nicaragua managed to end the promising Liverpudlian’s knockout, although Turner showed class as he remained consistent throughout the distance.
Steven Cairns (8-0) has once again proved that he is a name to follow in the grand scheme of Irish boxing, with ‘The Irish Takeover’ full of energy as he finishes the fight against Brazil’s Jonatas de Oliviera (6-11) in. 56 amazing seconds.
‘Posh Boy’ Colm Murphy (12-0) proved he can bully you as he scored a last round TKO over Glaswegian featherweight Jack Turner (6-2) to win the Commonwealth Silver Featherweight title.
Despite Turner’s determination, the doctors simply stopped the game – perhaps too late for many to like. From the beginning, Turner showed that his disability prevented him from winning.
Finally, the aggressive young Cuban, Jadier Herrera (15-0) extended his dominant streak by destroying Andres Navarette (11-2) in the same round they shared. The Cuban’s good footwork and killer instinct easily defeated him, as Navarette was caught too off guard to continue.
All in all, Queensberry can be proud as their Irish news has shown that they provide a successful and engaging night of boxing from Belfast.
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