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Composed and Calculated Pierce O’Leary Stops Siar Ozgul

It wasn’t quite as spectacular a stoppage as his June KO of the Year contender but it was an equally impressive inside-the-distance win nonetheless.

Pierce O’Leary systematically broke down former Southern Area Champion Siar Ozgul to claim a step-up stoppage win at York Hall tonight.

The welterweight prospect was cool, calm and extremely calculated against an opponent many earmarked as potentially dangerous over eight rounds.

O’Leary mixed patience, poise, and power to dominate and eventually score a seventh-round stoppage win. Granted the manner of the stoppage didn’t literally get people out of their seats ala the left hook that floored Jan Marsalek last time out but the performance will make people sit up in the metaphorical sense and take note.

The Hackney based fighter didn’t come into the fight in form and was beaten by Paddy Donovan last time out, but he still represented a sizable step up for the London trained prospect. Ozgul is always a treat, has challenged for and won titles and has also gone the distance with the likes of Viktor Postol, Anthony Yigit, Sean McComb and Samuel Antwi.

So to dominate and take him out in just your eight fight is a mini statement of sorts.

O’Leary found his range early and controlled the first six minutes. The Dublin Docklands graduate looked assured, strong and technically superior to the Turk.

Ozgul tried to apply more pressure in the third but O’Leary still managed to win the round clear with some smart intelligent combinations.

O’Leary put the Hackney based fighter on the seat of his pants in the fourth thanks to a long left uppercut. The knockdown came early in the round but the Irish welter didn’t go for the kill, staying composed, noting the seasoned pro was more rattled than badly hurt.

O’Leary continued to dominate in the fifth but Ozgul reminded him he was in a fight, opening a cut over the right eye of the prospect.

The Dubliner had the panache versus power balance down by round six, making his opponent miss and pay with some thudding shots. By that stage, the 21-year-old’s bodywork looked to be really taking effect and stoppage looked on the cards.

Possibly sensing an early night was on the card O’Leary moved through the gears in the seventh. He increased the velocity and the ferocity of his shots eventually forcing the referee to step in and wave the fight off.

The win see’s O’Leary improve to 8-0 while Ozgul slips to 15-7.

Picture credit MTK Global.

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