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Regan Buckley defeats Carl McDonald after National Stadium WAR


It delivered.

Regan Buckley and Carl McDonald went to war tonight in Dublin in a epic six-round super bantamweight bout,

The chief support bout on the ‘Celtic Clash 3: Building Champions’ card, the all-Irish scrap had the National Stadium bouncing after 18 minutes of ebb-and-flow action.

In the end it was the physically stronger and busier Buckley who grabbed the win, outworking and outlanding the brave McDonald whose stock has risen exponentially after this bout.

An outstanding opening saw both trade from the off, with Buley the aggressor but McDonald was having great success with the left hook on the inside early. Buckley grew into the round. The Bray youngster then land a big left hand that buckled the knees of McDonald momentarily

Hostilities resumed in the second, with both landing heavy shots, however Buckley was again busier and seemed to have more meat on his shots.

The pair were trading hooks with abandon in the third, with both landing – but Buckley looked to be the physically stronger of the pair and was starting to dictate the action somewhat.

McDonald began the fourth off the jab and was boxing well, before Buckley brought the fight to the ropes and unloaded with heavy looking bodyshots. McDonald dug deep well and was having spurts of success from the outside, but the Bray tank was relentless, and let off one particularly impressive seven or eight punch combo in the closing thirty seconds.

Both entered the fifth for the first time and the pace inevitably slowed. ‘The Cobra’ McDonald again had some nice work on the outside, but it was being out-done by continuing combinations of ‘The Rocket’ Buckley.

The two small men had to go to the trenches in the furious final round, McDonald rallied admirably, but Buckley continued to land heavy shot after heavy shot up until the bell, with the pair trading for the final ten and bringing the crowd to their feet.

Going to the card Buckley was given the nod on a 59-55 scoreline, five rounds to one and now moves to 2(0)-0, while McDonald drops to 2(0)-1(0) but can certainly hold his head high.

gym trition

frayne carpentry

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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