Bayo Belived – New BUI Champ Knew he’d Upset the Odds
Freshly crowned BUI Celtic champion Bayo Alabi always knew Queensberry and the bookies had it wrong.
The JB Promotions man took the apparent risk of going abroad to fight a promotionally backed undefeated local favourite in his backyard last weekend and gained ultimate reward, taking the prettiest title on the circuit home to bed with him after an impressive performance last.
It was a flip-the-script moment that propelled the Dubliner into a leading featherweight role domestically and to a lesser extent across the Irish sea after just six fights. It’s also an outcome Alabi was confident would materialize.
The Dubliner knows Queensberry brought him over to Glasgow to lose to Marcus Sutherland and has been made aware of how long the odds for an away win were by many delighted punters who backed him. However, he claims he always knew he’d have too much for the 21-year-old now 10-1 Scot.
“Marcus was the favourite, I was meant to come here to lose, but me and the team knew I was coming here to tear up the script,” the Unit 3 man said after the win.
“No disrespect to Marcus, but I just knew I was going to be different gravy compared to him. We weren’t on the same level and it was clear to see that. Once he got in the ring with me, you could see there was a massive difference in levels.”
The 29-year-old was relatively comfortable over eight rounds on the Nathaniel Collins v Cristobal Lorente DAZN broadcast undercard.
The judges scored the fight 79-74, 78-74, 78-74 in his favour. The Tallaght native says the victory had roots in his unique style as well as the gym company he keeps.
“I’m very hard to figure out, anyone that’s been in the ring will tell you that with me,”he added. “I’m in a gym with Gary Cully, Kelsey Leonard, Aodhán Byrne, and then I’ve been in the ring with some of the top, top level pros and amateurs in Ireland, and in the world.”
The win is the second away-from-home title win for Dubliner Jay Byrne’s stable after Belfast’s Hijjah McMahon beat Jack Richardson to win the same strap up at welterweight last month.
The JB Promotions boss, who as a fighter wasn’t averse to taking risks on big shows abroad and also held the BUI Celtic strap, seems to have found an avenue to get his fighters to earn a good purse and inject serious momentum into their careers by accepting fights on big British cards.
Alabi’s options have certainly increased courtesy of his title win. Before traveling to Scotland, there was talk of fights with Cian Doyle and Teo Alin. Those bouts remain good home options, but British featherweights will now have an eye on the Westside BC graduate and he may get more chances to travel.
