Macklin defeats Pintos in Dublin

After contesting just four sessions in 14 months, Matthew Macklin got the full ten-rounds, and more importantly the win, under his belt in a non-title bout with Rafael Sosa Pintos. The rugged Uruguayan was dropped twice over the course of the fight but showed stubborn resistance, refusing to crumble in Dublin’s National Stadium. Macklin (11st 7llb 6oz) was patient and precise, working Pintos with a spearing jab and some tasty shots around the guard as trainer Joe Gallagher instructed him every step of the way from ringside.

 

Negative Pintos (11st 6llb 6oz) was falling short with his responses and in the second round Macklin uncorked a right to the body that dropped Rafael heavily, causing him to scream with pain. Suddenly it seemed he would go the same way as previous victims' Amin Asikainen and Wayne Elcock, but a combination of Macklin’s insistence on boxing to instructions and Pintos’s toughness ensured it lasted the course.

 

Matthew was cut in the third and the injury will surely mean that a February mandatory defence of the EBU belt against Dmitriy Pirog will now be pushed back. I noted in the fourth that the end may be near as Pintos wilted again under body attacks. He stood between rounds and late in the fifth was caught by an overhand right that landed behind the ear, throwing him forward onto the canvas. He responded to the crowd’s calls for a finish by throwing back the leather and using the same ring smarts that have seen Rafael last the pace with Anthony Mundine and Khoren Gevor. The right uppercut came into play in the seventh and Pintos had a cut on the bridge of his nose by the next round as he blocked Macklin’s attempts to smash the guard open.

 

The visitor, aged 29 but looking older, was more offensive than I had expected in the ninth but did slip to the canvas following a suspected low blow, a sure sign of his fatigue. Matthew was also tiring by this point as the lack of rounds caught up with him. This experience and activity will be the perfect preparation for any step-up in levels that may occur in 2010 and only the cut (controlled expertly by Mick Williamson) will have a say in how soon he next fights.

 

 

Macklin was philosophical at the post-fight press conference: “I thought I boxed well, controlled the fight and won every round, including a couple of knockdowns. It was a much more convincing win than either Anthony Mundine or Khoren Gevor could achieve against him. The cut needs two or three stitches, nothing too serious.

 

“He had a very good defence so I was catching the elbows and forehead a lot; my knuckles are a bit sore and swollen as a result. That took a little bit away from my power and this caps the year off nicely, gaining experience that will hold me in good stead for next year. Anytime I landed clean his legs dipped but his cagey nature made it hard for me to get through.”

 

Returning early from a broken collarbone and inactive since July, Cavan’s EU champion Andy Murray had a tough time outscoring Ecuadorian wildcard Alex Bone over six rounds. Featuring in the televised part of the undercard, Murray (9st 13llb) was understandably sluggish and took too many head shots from his game foe, based in Spain. Murray suffered a bloody nose at the end of the first and his mop of hair was shaken up and down as flush left hooks and right hands landed regularly from Bone. Murray was upright and lacking the movement and fluidity that had propelled him into the EBU rankings.

 

By the third, Bone (9st 11 ½ llb) was tiring and ref David Irving warned him for holding. Better rolling of the head and flurries from the outside frustrated the visitor as Andy found his rhythm. A bloody nose and some left hooks to the body started sapping Bone's energy as trainer John Breen called to Murray that his opponent was blowing himself out. Surprisingly, Bone caught a second wind in the sixth and landed some more meaty hooks before taking a huge left hand himself in centre ring. I scored it 59-57 to Murray while Irving saw it similar at 58-56. The scores failed to tell the full story and Murray is looking to keep busyand stay injury free in 2010.

 

 

 

“He’s a lot better, and stronger, than his record [now 4-7-1] suggests”, said Murray (left), sporting the battle scars of a wild affair. “I knew he could give me a tough fight but I got the win and it showed that the layoff affected me in there. The collarbone hurt a bit in the fifth round but you just get on with it – I’ll get it checked out.

 

“We shall see what Brian Peters has lined up for me next and get myself into shape with more time in the gym and the ring. Not too much relaxing over Christmas because I’ve already taken enough time off. Overall, another six rounds under my belt and it’s good to be back.”

Paul Hyland had already beaten Eugene Heagney on points last December. In their rematch –this time the Irish super-bantamweight title was on the line- Hyland (8st 9 ½ llb) showed undoubted improvements when smashing his foe to defeat inside three one-sided rounds. 26-year-old Heagney, born in Dublin but based as a pro in Huddersfield, just couldn’t evade Hyland’s stinging right hands. Hyland adopted a cross-armed defence from the opener and used the jab to full effect as Eugene stayed one step behind. By the second session, the challenger’s static head shipped three consecutive right’s causing a wobble of the legs.

 

Eugene’s left hand was far too low and he was afraid to throw first for fear of being countered. Paul’s right hand followed a flush left hook and down went the brave Michael Marsden-trained fighter. Patient Hyland picked his shots and was planting blows at will when David Irving jumped in. The time was given as 2.45 of the third round.

 

“I felt so comfortable, relaxed and picked my shots," Paul explained post-fight. "I studied the last fight we had and noticed that Eugene always dropped his left shoulder after throwing the jab and it paid off for me to throw the right hand. If Bernard Dunne comes back he’ll want a title shot maybe and I’ve got an EU title fight in February and I’m aiming for the European in the long term.

 

“Last time I dropped down to bantamweight to fight Heagney but this was my weight tonight, my ring and my belt. I have no problems travelling to Italy; if that’s where the belt is then that’s where I’ll go,"” added Hyland (below).

 

 

Super-middleweight Anthony Fitzgerald set aside the disappointment of an aborted title fight with Lee Murtagh to comprehensively outpoint Mansfield hard man Matt Scriven over eight rounds. As the bout progressed, technically improved Anthony started hurting Scriven (11st 12 ½ llb) who suffered a bloody nose and absorbed plenty of shots but kept throwing back to keep Micky Vann at bay. Fitzgerald (11st 4 ½ llb) pumped out a strong jab from the start and used his height and reach; the only blemish of the night was a point deduction in the second round for punching on the break (he had been warned). The right hand slapped fiercely into Scriven’s open torso and by the fourth he sported blood on the right cheek as uppercuts began landing.

 

For Scriven it became purely a matter of survival and a cut on the forehead did not help his cause. This worsened in the last round and two corner inspections promised to force an early finish. Despite Fitzgerald’s dominance he had to settle for a wide 79-72 verdict from referee Vann and I scored exactly the same. Improved skills and defence mean Fitzgerald is certainly ready to step-up in class and the Murtagh bout should still happen.

 

“I’m thrilled with that performance and Scriven was one tough guy,” admitted Anthony as he left the ring. “I have to give it to him. I caught him with the left hook and hit him with some big shots, thinking he would go but he kept coming back.

 

“I thought the stoppage was going to come. I was ready for a ten-rounder against Lee Murtagh but unfortunately he hurt his knee so Brian and Tomas [Rohan, matchmaker] tried their best and got me Matt instead so I’m grateful for that. My trainers Phil, Joe and Jimmy are putting an awful lot of work into me and I’m improving with every fight. I’ll take a day or two off and then back into the gym training for my next fight which will hopefully be in February for the Irish title.”

 

One of the more interesting characters on the Irish scene, Gavin ‘The Pimpernel’ Prunty, got the job done in the first round when hapless Bulgarian Kaloyan Kyuchukov crumbled after 38 seconds. Prunty (10st 3 ½ llb) had lost on his debut before winning his second contest and was aiming to turn his record around with a home win. He did just so, flying across the ring and stunning Kyuchukov (10st 3 ½ llb) with a right hand to the head and a follow-up to the body. Down went the visitor, never looking like beating Emile Tiedt’s toll and a delighted Prunty was back on the trail. It was too short to gauge any future potential, but the man with Irish martyr Padraig Pearse tattooed on his shoulder blade, certainly pleased his fan club.

 

Fresh from his debut in Belfast recently, JJ McDonagh took just 2.48 seconds to thump the resistance out of German import Mario Lupp. Early barrages from the southpaw had Lupp (12st) down twice and blinking heavily before Micky Vann jumped in as the away man struggled to cope with intense pressure. McDonagh clearly has skills but needs to refrain from hitting the opponent when down (something he also did in his last contest) or he could find himself in trouble. Referee Vann gave several words of advice as he left the ring and JJ, who at 12st 2 ½ llb could slim down a weight or two, appeared to take it on board. He could be one to watch.

 

Dundalk lightweight Michael Kelly has been missing in action lately after suffering a hand injury yet returned to stop journeyman Peter Feher in the opening round. Kelly, a good former amateur, admitted afterwards that he needs to keep active and is chasing a bout with Oisin Fagan (who was in the arena and also wants the fight). In this scheduled 6x3’s a solid left hook to the ribcage had the Slovakian down on the canvas and when he refused to budge, referee David Irving issued a count. Just as he was about to finish the count, Feher’s cornerman, with comical timing, yelled ‘ten’ and lobbed in the towel at 1.56. Kelly, with John Breen and Eamonn Magee in his corner, weighed 9st 12llb with Feher slightly lighter at 9st 10llb.

 

The Breen/Magee duo also train Omagh ticket seller Damian Taggart and he improved to 4-1 with a six-round points win over Wladimir Borov. Taggart (9st 8 ½ llb) has slimmed down a couple of weights and looks all the better for it. Never a natural boxer, he threw a reliable 1-2 combination for most of the night and had good success, while the leaky defence continues to blight his chances of progression. Luckily, survivor Borov (9st 8llb) lacked any great ambition and some meaty jabs aside, he was happy to go the distance and fight again next week. Damian is still rather mechanical but has introduced a good left hook to the body into his arsenal; when he doubled that punch, followed by a right uppercut, later in the bout he was impressive.

 

Borov’s left eye swelled gradually from the second as Taggart suffered a cut scalp in the third and was nailed hard in the fourth by a right hook as referee Emile Tiedt warned John Breen for shouting instructions. Tiring Taggart worked hard in the last round and came through 60-54 on the ref’s card while I totalled 59-55, giving Borov the fifth.