George Hennon secures second KO in a row
Super-lightweight prospect George Hennon (8-1, 2KO) sizzled in his first fight of the year at the York Hall, Bethnal Green, on Saturday, March 18.
The talented youngster from Snodland, Kent, was sandwiched in between two Southern Area championship contests on a stacked 10-fight Goodwin Boxing card.
28-year-old Hennon had to follow a barnstormer of a Southern Area super-bantamweight title fight between Piotr Mirga and Ryan Walker, which delivered drama from start to finish, with Mirga emerging the deserved winner. Walker was rocked and downed in the opening round and hurt several times during the contest, but the knockout never came and the pair saw out the thriller by trading non-stop to the final bell.
A hard act to follow, but Hennon came and delivered that desired knockout the fight fans were all so hungry for after being teased for the last 10 rounds.
Trained by George O’Mahoney in Aylesford, Hennon endured a last-minute change of opponent to Bulgarian welterweight Ilyan Markov (6-24-2, 3KO).
In his last seven fights between March 2022 to March 2023, Markov had lost all seven bouts but was never stopped, against competition with a combined total of 40-2. His last two stoppage defeats, which came back-to-back in his only two fights during 2021, were to middleweights Nathan Heaney and Ryan Kelly.
Last year, Hennon fought three times, starting with back-to-back shutout points wins over four-rounds, culminating in his first stoppage victory in November. That debut TKO triumph was something he was eager to build upon.
Signed to Goodwin Boxing, the former scaffolder started the opening round composed yet sharp. He was tapping away at the gloves of his counterpart, landing his jab and finding his range. He was ultra reactive to anything coming back at him and didn’t get too greedy to start the contest with, staying patient and poised. During that opener, he started with his jab but soon began to vary his shots wider, letting his right hand go, then landed a lovely left hook to the body followed up with another left hook to the head.
In the second stanza, he visibly came out in a higher gear, pressing the action a little closer than he did in the first, clearly equipped with a set game plan where he is turning it up a notch after every round. Again, Hennon was using his persistent jab to navigate his way into range where he would unleash hooks to body and head in three and four-punch combos, which looked hurtful enough to be taking their toll even this early on in the six-round contest.
In the third, the same pattern followed. Hennon roared out of the corner and took the fight to Markov in close range, turning the heat up even further. Hennon was forcing such a high pace, Markov could do nothing else other than back up and tuck up, where he found himself continually trapped on the ropes. The Bulgarian started to clinch for the first time in the fight, desperately needing to hold on for respite, but Hennon stuck to him like glue, sensing vulnerability, and slammed in left and right hooks and uppercuts relentlessly.
Then came a stunning six-punch combo starting with a one-two, followed by a left hook, flush right uppercut, left hook, right hand to down Markov about midway through the third round. The Bulgarian boxer was visibly able to continue but decided against it, staying down on the canvas and allowing the referee to count him out, clearly opting to decline another three rounds at that impossible pace and avoiding any further punishment.
It was the powerful backhand uppercut that landed so cleanly through the guard to snap Markov’s head back that was the catalyst for the eye-catching knockdown.
Post-fight, Hennon shared the confidence he had in his flawless game plan, “I knew the high pressure would get him out of there. He had quite long arms and tucks up quite nicely, so we didn’t want to start hunting to the body too early, so I took my time.
“I did set quite a high pace and George [O’Mahoney] said to me in the corner that he thought I could take him out in that next round. When he was down, he wasn’t out, but he definitely could have carried on, but I just think it was the pressure and I don’t think he fancied another three rounds of it.
“It was a good fight while it lasted, now it’s on to the next one.”
Hennon plans to challenge for the Southern Area super-lightweight title this year, which was retained by the reigning champion Denis Denikajev in the main event fight that took place straight after George’s win. The unbeaten champ from Barking defeated Tom Ansell on points to retain his belt and remain unbeaten.
Hennon is hoping for a shot at his title next and managed to watch a little of his fight afterwards, “I do know Denis is tough, strong, busy, and durable. From what little I saw, he boxed well, he did look good, but if he wants to defend it again and we get that shot, it’ll be a great fight. Whether it’s him, we’ll see what happens, but hopefully that shot comes sooner rather than later.”
If that title opportunity doesn’t present itself next, then George revealed what he would hope for instead, “Just to keep busy and fight someone with ambition like myself.”
The popular athlete from Snodland was audibly the most supported fighter on the night, which is something he appreciates highly, “I sold about 160 tickets and you could probably hear all 160 of them! You can’t actually put into words how nice and what a feeling it is. It just goes to show how amazing my support is.”
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Article sponsored by HÖRFA
