Lewis Crocker marches on unbeaten
WBO #10 Lewis Crocker (14-0, 8KOs) successfully defended his WBO European welterweight title with an impressive seventh-round victory over Armenian Artem Haroyan (17-3-1, 9KOs) at the Ulster Hall on Firday, November 5.
The Belfast fighter provided the fireworks on Guy Fawkes Night when he dropped his Spanish-based opponent in the sixth round with a left-hook and finished him with a strong body shot in the seventh.
28-year-old Haroyan had fought bravely throughout but was counted out 47 seconds into the seventh round.
The win in his home city took 'The Croc's' career record to 14-0.
The 24-year-old was fighting in Belfast for the first time since last February, as the main attraction on an undercard of local talent, with Padraig McCrory defeating Celso Neves and Sean McComb beating Ronnie Clark.
Crocker was on the front foot and dictating the pace of the fight early on, landing a number of strong body shots and good exchanges during the opening rounds.
While Crocker was always on top, Haroyan refused to make it easy for him and continually found a good response each time the taller fighter put him under pressure.
Patience was key for the Belfast man, though, and it paid off when a clean left hook from him in round six saw Haroyan go down before getting up after a count of eight.
Crocker's win was looking inevitable from that stage and he finished the job in the following round with a good combination to the body which delivered the victory.
"That was electric to have fans back in my home city, that was what dreams are made of," Crocker told iFL TV after the fight.
"I'm buzzing. I had to be patient but I felt great and my fitness was brilliant. I feel that if anyone is going to go toe-to-toe with me then they are going to get beaten."
Crocker is ranked in the top 10 in the world by the WBO and will be in line for some big fights next year.
Padraig McCrory vs Celso Neves
Padraig McCrory (13-0, 7KOs) says he wants to push on with some "big fights" after dismantling Swiss middleweight champion Celso Neves (8-2-1, 2KOs) at the Ulster Hall.
McCrory once again demonstrated his power by stopping Neves inside two rounds to successfully defend his WBC International Silver super-middleweight title in front of a raucous Belfast crowd.
He floored the Portuguese fighter with a counter left hook, and after Neves made the count McCrory landed another two heavy blows to send his opponent to the canvas before referee Ian John Lewis waved the contest off.
It was 'The Hammer's' seventh stoppage victory and extends his unbeaten record to 13 fights.
Asked what he wants next, McCrory told iFLTV: "Whatever Jamie Conlan and MTK want. I want big fights.
"I am 33 and I won't be about for much longer."
McCrory admitted Neves surprised him in the first round, the visiting fighter catching the home favourite with some big shots during the opening three minutes.
"I think Neves came and fought a way I have never seen him fight before," McCrory said.
"He is usually a slick counter puncher. He stuck it on me and I found it challenging, but the instructions were to get my hands up and start to throw with him – and it worked.
"My corner told me I was probably down the first round, and thanks to Dee (Walsh) we changed tactics and it worked. I have power to put anyone out.
"This crowd drove me on to get the stoppage. I wanted to put a show on. They got a good first round and then they got a good knockout.
"Who wouldn't enjoy this experience? I fought at the Feile 10-11 weeks ago, but the Ulster Hall is a cauldron and it is so enjoyable to fight here."
Sean McComb vs Ronnie Clark
Lightweight Sean McComb (13-1, 5KOs) continued his comeback from defeat to Gavin Gwynne last February, where he failed to capture the Commonwealth lightweight title, with an eight-round points win over Ronnie Clark (21-6-2, 10KOs).
As expected, 'The Shark' came out fast, throwing jabs from his southpaw stance and had the home fighter backtracking and against the ropes in the opening minutes.
The action was fast-paced throughout and it was a fantastic shootout to watch between two different styles, as Dundee's Clark waded forward aggressively and Belfast's 'Public Nuisance' boxing cleverly on the backfoot.
Undercard
James McGivern (4-0), 23 from Belfast, defeated Russian Rustem Fatkhullin (8-12, 3KOs) 60-54 in a six-round lightweight contest. The Irish southpaw has won all four six-rounders of his career so far and is yet to lose a single round.
Another lightweight on the card, Cain Lewis (1-0-1), didn't quite get things his own way but he rallied back from two first-round knockdowns to draw 37-37 against unbeaten Spaniard Juan Yin (4-0-2).
Super-welterweight Paul Ryan (2-0, 1KO) dealt with Spain's Damian Esquisabel (4-7) in no time at all, blasting the 29-year-old from Santander away in just 47 seconds. It's the Dubliner's first KO of his career.
Another unbeaten super-welterweight was in action, Daniel Keating (5-0, 3KOs), who stepped up against Kent's Jack Ewbank (4-2), knocking the heavily tattoed 31-year-old down in the opening round to win 40-35 on points.
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