Crowd pleasers

2 February 2009 – By Padraig Hoare

Fans in attendance at the DolPhil Promotions on Friday night were not only treated to the fight of the year between Robbie Long and Anthony Fitzgerald – they also witnessed the cream of Irish boxing prospects continue their rise up the ladder.

Headliner Ian Tims scored a shutout against the game Jevgenijs Stamburskis, with the Dublin cruiserweight putting on a boxing clinic to school his Latvian counterpart.

His jab was perfect from start to finish as he arguably produced the best performance of his six-fight career. In truth, he will have learned little from such an overwhelmed opponent but trainer Phil Sutcliffe will have been pleased at the methodical demolition.

The writing was on the wall in the first round as Timsey pushed Stamburskis back with ease, jabbing at will. The Latvians nose was bleeding from the sustained yet controlled assault, and the pattern continued over the next five rounds.

Tims, who looks as intimidating as Iron Mike Tyson, may just lack the pop in his punch to reach the highest levels, but will surely be a match for anyone in Britain and Ireland as he continues his progress. He moves to 6-0 (1 KO), while his opponent drops to 5-19.

Lightweight Stephen Ormond again showed why he is so heavily touted in boxing circles as he jabbed and hooked his way to a shutout over the game debutant, Jevgenivs Kirillovs. It was difficult for The Demon to pin down the elusive Latvian, and he took a while to find his rhythm.

Ormond had been waiting around in hospital until 3am that morning as a precaution over his medical. Everything was fine with the three-time national champion, but he admitted afterwards that it had disrupted his preparation for the fight.

When he began to find his man, Ormond displayed quick hands, good fluid movement and some cracking left hooks. Impulsive at times, he looked far better when he slowed it down and concentrated on what he does best. Kirillovs was happy to box on the counter, and frustrated Ormond during spells of the contest. Slowing down the action in the third and fourth, Ormond let his hands go and landed with the left jab and right hand cross to great effect. Over the four threes, Ormond showed more than enough class to show he will be a match for anyone in Europe within two years. The Demon moves to 2-0.

Mayo light-heavyweight John Waldron recovered from his debut loss to veteran Ciaran Healy with a victory over the brave James Tucker (1-14), who had Glenn McCrory in his corner.

They travelled from Mayo to support their man, and he did enough to send them home happy. Understandably cautious after his debut went the wrong way, Waldron preferred to box safely rather than take unnecessary risks. He jabbed well at times but definitely needs to move his head more as he takes on better opposition. Tucker was able to land with a few counter right hands in the third, but Waldron started to settle down into his rhythm in the fourth. In the final three minutes, he landed flush with some cracking uppercuts and combinations – a mooted fight with Limericks Jamie Power will be an excellent contest on this evidence.

Finally, superstardom awaits for Cuban sensation Luis Garcia if he stays on the right track. Gary Hydes super-middleweight was not as sensational as he was two weeks ago in Cork, but still managed to dispose of his Hungarian opponent Daniel Regi in two rounds.

Garcia looked heavier around the middle than he did two weeks ago, meaning the effects of his lightning reflexes were somewhat diminished. It would be churlish to criticise too much, however – a sluggish Garcia is still infinitely better than most super-middleweights prospects out there.

He again showed the full arsenal of weaponry in his dismantling of Regi. A corkscrew uppercut a la Naseem Hamed was particularly pleasing in the middle of the opening round. He took his foot off the gas for the rest of the opener, before putting his opponent on the canvas at the beginning of the next.

The fight was over when referee Emile Tiedt called off the action at 2.13 of the second. A beautiful body and head combination had Regi crumpled on the floor and he was not getting up. Garcia moves to 3-0 (3 KO).

Manager Gary Hyde said the team would again up the level of competition for their next outing in Newcastle on February 28.

We are talking to Albert Sosnowki for Mike Perez, which would be a real statement of intent. Sosnowski is coming off a career-best win over Danny Williams and is ranked 21st by Boxrec. He has 44 wins with only two defeats,” he said.

“Despite that record, I think Mike would win the fight and would win it well. Were not afraid of anyone – Mike Perez is the real deal.

Luis will be in action also, hopefully against Tomas Adamek from the Czech Republic. He is 12-1-1 and will again provide Luis with a credible test. Luis has all the tools – the Newcastle crowd are going to see for themselves what Glenn McCrory has been saying.