Woe for Waldron but Ireland's first lady wins
It all went wrong on the night for the well supported “Ballyhaunis Express”, John Waldron, as the reigning Irish light-heavyweight king crashed to an unexpected sixth-round defeat to Andrejs Barabanovs.
The 31-year-old Latvian entered with a reasonable 4-1 (3 KO’s) record yet was expected to provide nothing more than a stiff workout for John. The visitor’s southpaw stance wreaked havoc as Waldron failed to adjust and found himself struggling badly by the midway point of this scheduled six-rounder. He shipped a couple of sharp counters in the second session and was wobbled, emerging with a cut left ear.
Despite showing slight improvements and a better jab at times Waldron just wasn’t at the races. A well-placed bodyshot went in and John crumpled to the canvas in the last round and rose disconsolately with a nosebleed and damaged pride. The John Waldron that bettered Jamie Power for the national belt earlier this year was sadly missing and Barabanovs slotted a replica body punch into Waldron’s gut and he fell again – Emile Tiedt called time at 1.59 with Waldron presumably well behind on points. He falls to 5-3 as a professional and a fight with Michael Sweeney is now out of the window.
When women’s boxing in Ireland is mentioned, one name usually springs immediately to mind. Tonight though was not about Katie Taylor (who was actually off in Hungary winning an EU gold medal) but the first Irish female boxer to turn professional. Super-bantamweight Christina McMahon, a personal fitness trainer from Carrickmacross, was the girl in question and she certainly showed signs that this was no gimmick.
I had slight reservations beforehand about what to expect, having endured some dire female offerings on television in the past. Far from the horror show I had anticipated, McMahon was a tidy boxer, with neat skills and the ability to step aside and pick the shots better than some of her male counterparts. Unfortunately opponent on the night, Ineta Lieknina, was decidedly average and from the early stages –her face reddening and bruised- looked like a girl who no longer wanted to be there. Covering up on the ropes the Bulgarian was almost inviting referee Emile Tiedt to step in and save her, but it wasn’t until the third-round of this scheduled four-twos that Tiedt pulled Lieknina out of the fight. Ms. McMahon said afterwards that she wanted to improve her fitness, stay busy and was looking forward to fighting on a regular basis. I certainly wouldn’t object to that.
When asked before the fight to describe his style, debutant Darren Cruise said that as an amateur people had likened him to Roy Jones. No pressure there then. As he feinted and shimmied around the ring I sort of understood what he meant and I’m sure opponent on the night James Tucker has come across more than a few pretenders in his career on the road.
Cruise was flashy, moved well and picked the occasional punch with real quality. Tucker used the second-round to implement a body assault of his own but was often missing his shots, while displaying more ambition than we are used to seeing from him. Cruise could probably slim down from super-middleweight to middleweight and he was tiring a little by the last session. In May, Belfast’s Brian Cusack fought Tucker on his debut and a Cruise vs. Cusack bout could be a tasty domestic scrap somewhere in the near future provided both remain on the winning track. Belfast referee Paul McCullagh gave Cruise the fight by a 39-37 margin.
Tucked away as the closing bout of the evening, one half of the McDonagh twins, JJ, saw his unbeaten record ripped in tatters as Belfastman Tommy Tolan brutally knocked him out in the third-round. Southpaw JJ had used his slick moves to dictate the very early going but Tolan was right back in it in the second-round and started to take over when a 1-2 combination laid McDonagh heavily on his back at 1.28 of the round. Referee McCullagh immediately dispensed with the count and the medical team rushed into the ring.
It was the type of chilling finish you rarely see and as McDonagh attempted to stretch his neck up – eyes rolling in the head - it made for worrying moments. Luckily he made it vertical and groggily slouched to a corner stool with the help of trainer Tom Ward. It was a harsh blow for his career prospects but that was the least of anybody’s worries at the time. Unheralded Tolan has been AWOL for a few years and returned in Limerick earlier this year losing to Michael Sweeney on points at cruiserweight. He looked in much better shape at super-middleweight and could yet force his way into the title mix.
