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Devine Inspiration – ‘Chunky’ has exciting Dublin debut win

Irish title-chasing lightweight Michael Devine had a tough win last night at the National Stadium against unbeaten late replacement Vitalijs Usovs.

Fighting in Ireland for the first time, the Luton-born boxer of Wexford heritage was involved in something of a fire-fight early on, but used his boxing skills to pull away in the third and fourth rounds against a very game opponent.

An unorthodox, aggressive, opponent with a background in MMA, Usovs landed early on Devine who needed no invitation to go toe-to-toe. With the first two rounds probably too close for comfort, Devine went more on the back foot for the second half of the fight, using his superior footwork and ensuring his eventual points (39:37) victory.

The win sees ‘Chunky’ improves his ledger to 14(4)-5(2)-1. Usovs, whose team disagreed with the result, drops to 3(3)-1(0)

Devine hopes to return to Ireland in the coming months to fight for the Irish title, and following their respective performances tonight, a bout with Paul Hyland Jr is one which massively appeals.

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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