Danny ‘The Real Deal’ Shannon wins on the road against unbeaten super-middleweight
Super-middleweight Danny ‘The Real Deal’ Shannon (3-6-1) defeated unbeaten Bedford boxer Michael Stephenson (1-1) 38-37 on points on July 29.
The 27-year-old from Chatham managed to floor the home fighter in the dying seconds of the opening round to get ahead on the scorecards.
Despite being on the back foot in the first-round, Shannon came out in the second segment with a renewed confidence and controlled the centre of the squared circle.
Stephenson managed to land a terrific overhand right in the third-round but failed to follow it up, opting to step off and stop throwing instead. He tried the same right hand again, but Shannon was wise to it and managed to counter the attack.
In the fourth and final round, Stephenson was lunging in and missing wildly, while Shannon held his hands low and brazenly beckoned him on. The home fighter had his back to the ropes for the entirety of the final three-minutes and was trapped in the corner on more than one occasion by the travelling opponent.
When the bell signaled the end of the contest, Shannon held his hands aloft while Stephenson just trudged to his corner. The opening round was scored 10-8 to Shannon and, although Stephenson likely won rounds two and three, the final round tipped the result in Shannon’s favour by a single point.
Confusion has since followed the event as both BoxRec and the BBBofC’s website has the result listed as a loss to Shannon, despite video evidence of the result being announced available to view on social media channels.
The 27-year-old Kent puncher was the first ever signing for JE Promotions back in 2014 after initially training with Joe Elfidh, but now that Elfidh is a successful promoter, he trains with Ray Askew and Sam Latham at the Invicta Gym in Sheerness.
Family life and work commitments prevented Shannon from boxing between 2015-2018, but he has now re-signed contracts with JE Promotions after a three-year hiatus with staunch ambitions to land a British Challenge belt this year, with plans to continue fighting on the road as well as home shows in Maidstone.
The former Southern Counties amateur champion initially managed to squeeze in eight fights in eight months between his pro debut in May 2014 to January 2015 against opposition with a combined record of 35-1-2.
After over 70 amateur fights and reaching three national finals, the ‘Upsetter’ debuted against then-unbeaten Aston ‘The Assassin’ Jolly (2-0) in his back yard at the Doncaster Dome, holding him to a draw.
He then went on to lose points decisions on the road to future Southern Area super-welterweight champion Ben Hall (1-0) – who’s last fight was with Carson Jones – and to recent International Challenge belt champion Qasim Niaz (4-0), who is now unbeaten in 11 bouts.
His first victory came in his fourth fight, four months after his debut, with a points win over John Hutchinson (5-1-2) in Birmingham’s Villa Park, who went on to fight for WBC Asian Continental middleweight title after going on a seven-fight winning streak following his loss to Shannon.
Another win came in the same month against unbeaten Joe Daly (2-0) via a third-round stoppage at the Hermitage Leisure Centre in Whitwick in September 2014.
Less than three months later, Shannon was on the other end of a stoppage decision to James Metcalf (7-0) at the Liverpool Olympia when the heavy-handed Liverpudlian, known as ‘Kid Shamrock’, broke Shannon’s jaw in the sixth and final round.
Shannon’s last fight before his sabbatical was in January 2015 against Kilrain Kelly (12-0), who ended the year as a World title contender.
His first fight back was in March this year against debutant Jamie Mitchell in Manchester and lost on a technical decision when cut in the third and penultimate round.
Now training out of the Invicta Gym and experiencing sparring with unbeaten middleweight Lenny Fuller, he claims to be a different fighter with renewed beliefs and hopes to contest for the British Challenge belt in his next home fight.
JE Promotions next show, titles ‘The Homecoming’ will be held at Mote Hall in Maidstone on October 6.
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