Boxing News – June 27, 2019

Leu all edging Ward 76-75.

Blanchardstown super-lightweight

Darragh Foley pushed throughout his

vacant WBC International title fight with

Tyrone McKenna but the Lenadoon

character was too smart in the battle of

the southpaws.

The longer and quicker McKenna

was able to land straight shots on his

onrushing foe and tied up when needed

• which was too frequently for Team
  Foley.
  As the 10 rounds of the
  chief support progressed,
  Foley became increasingly
  ragged, diving in off
  balance and tripping and
  slipping to the canvas -
  one such instance in the
  eighth saw him cuffed
  by an innocuous right
  hook that led to Victor
  Loughlin issuing a count.
  In the end, Francisco Rosa
  scored it 97-93 while
  Nicolas Esnault and Mark Lyson both had
  it 98-91, all to McKenna.
  Lenadoon welter Paddy Gallagher
  reinvigorated his career with a third-
  round stoppage of Liam Wells. The fight
  never looked likely to go the scheduled
  eight, with Commonwealth Games
  gold medallist Gallagher breaking down
  the Rainham kickboxing convert and
  eventually having Wells out on his feet
  in the third, with John Lowey forced to
  jump in after 1-15.
  Sandy Row welter Lewis Crocker had
  Karim Aliliche down within seconds

of the opening bell following a clipping

left hook but ended up being given a

good test by the former French champ. It

was a step up for the KO merchant, who

claimed a 60-53 win for Hugh Russell.

Frank Warren’s touted middleweight

Caoimhin Agyarko was handed a

Belfast debut and a step-up which he

dealt with in entertaining fashion. The

Glen prospect, an aggressive counter-

puncher, was in an all-action encounter

with Stranraer’s Paul Allison and

emerged a 60-55 winner

with Mr Russell.

There was disaster for

Coalisland super-middle

Taylor McGoldrick,

who was stopped by

Estonian Gennadi

Stserbin. McGoldrick

had the visitor hurt in

the opening round of

their four but rushed

in and was caught on

the temple, falling hard

face first. McGoldrick managed to roll

over and sit up but Mr Russell correctly

stopped the count after five with 2-24 on

the clock.

Starting off, Newington super-welter

Owen O’Neill was given a scare by

Nicaraguan Geiboord Omier, who hurt

him with a right in round two, but the

novice recovered to claim a 39-37 win on

Mr Lowey’s card.

THE VERDICTWard and Conroy serve

up a sure-fire Fight of the Year

contender.

AN old Belfast story goes how, following
a blood-stained 1982 Ulster Hall Irish
title epic between Hugh Russell and Davy
Larmour, English referee Mike Jacobs
brought his crimson-covered shirt to his
local dry-cleaners. When returning to
the London establishment, Jacobs was
instructed to the police station where he
was questioned by the CID who believed
that, such was the amount of blood on
his shirt, Jacobs had been involved in a
murder.
Steve Gray may suffer similar problems
this week following a violent vacant
WBO European light-heavyweight
title fight between Steven Ward and
Liam Conroy at the same iconic venue
(promoted by MTK Global).
Newtownabbey’s Ward gushed from
a gash over his left eye which eventually
forced an end in the eighth, while the
scalp of his Barrow opponent streamed
from the opening round of a sure-fire
Fight of the Year contender.
Rarely does a bout swing as much as
this scheduled 10. Conroy pinned Ward
to the ropes in the second and looked
moments from a finish. The assault
resumed in the third as Ward remained
on unsteady legs, only for Conroy to
then be sent teetering in the closing
seconds.
The ensuing bright start in the fourth
from Ward was then undone as the
Commonwealth Games silver medallist
was sent down by a huge left hook.
Again, however, the pendulum swung
when, following a prolonged barrage
himself, Conroy was stunned at the close
of the fifth by the incredibly fit Ward,
who did major damage in the fifth and
sixth.
Conroy rallied in the seventh, getting
Ward back to the ropes and hurting
him severely but the fight would end
one round later as, following a third
inspection of his cut, deemed to be
from a clash of heads, Ward was ruled
unable to continue. Needing a technical
decision to crown a champion, a clinical
end contrasting the brutality, it was the
narrowest of unanimous decisions, with
Phil Edwards, Zoltan Enyedi, and Mihai

GOING TO WAR:

Conroy [left]

and Ward leave

it all in the ring

Photo: AMMG SPORTS/CHRIS SCOT T

ACTION

18 lBOXING NEWSlJUNE 27, 2019 http://www.boxingnewsonline.net

BELFAST

JUNE 21

RARELY

DOES A BOUT

SWING AS

MUCH AS THIS

SCHEDULED

10

★★★★★ MAIN EVENT

★★★★ UNDERCARD

★★★ ATMOSPHERE

FULL

RESULTS

Steven Ward (174lbs),

12-0 (4), w td 9 Liam

Conroy (174 1/2lbs),

17-5-1 (9); Tyrone

McKenna (

1/4lbs), 19-1-1 (6),

w pts 10 Darragh Foley

(139lbs), 17-4-1 (9);

Paddy Gallagher ( 151

1/4lbs), 16-5 (10),

w rsf 4 Liam Wells ( 151

1/2lbs), 5-1 (2); Lewis

Crocker (152 1/2lbs),

9-0 (6), w pts 6 Karim

Aliliche (149lbs),

11-9-2 (2); Caoimhin

Agyarko (161 1/2lbs),

4-0 (1), w pts 6 Paul

Allison (163lbs), 6-3-

(1); Gennadi Stserbin

(175lbs), 2-4 (2), w rsf

1 Taylor McGoldrick

(175 1/2lbs), 3-1 (1);

Owen O’Neill (160lbs),

2-0, w pts 4 Geiboord

Omier, 4-41-1 (3).

Joe O’Neill

RINGSIDE

Ward gets off the deck to

beat Conroy in a thriller

BLOODBATH