Dancing to his Own Beat Rhys Owens
Rhys Owens went all silent disco as he registered his second win on the Devenish dance floor on Saturday night.
The Enniskillen fighter felt he got caught up in the atmosphere when securing a stoppage debut win in the autumn and made a conscious effort to drown out the crowd on Belfast’s Bragging Rights card last weekend.
It meant the 24-year-old was more classical music than heavy metal as he extended his unbeaten start to life in the pros.
Owen produced a mature, measured display against a durable Mexican opponent who forced him to stay patient and think his way through four competitive rounds. Gone were the debut-night nerves and the urge to entertain — replaced instead by control, composure, and clean punching.
“I stayed patient and played to my music instead of playing to the crowd’s music,” Owen told Irish-boxing.com after the fight. “I pulled the trigger on a few right hands — I did hurt him — but I just stayed patient.”
The young prospect was pleased with his discipline, particularly compared to his debut, when adrenaline and excitement got the better of him.
“In my first fight, I was kind of playing to the crowd a bit,” he admitted. “I dropped Nikolai in the first round and went after him recklessly at times. If I’m being ultra-critical, that’s something I wanted to fix — and I did tonight.”
His second professional outing saw him tested by a tricky, switch-hitting opponent who refused to give much away. The former amateur of note was made to adjust on the fly — something he handled with confidence.
“He was giving me nothing in the first round,” he said. “I kind of stood off him a bit and dropped my hands — Sean [my coach] shouted at me, and I got that out of my system quick. I landed plenty of flush right hands. He switched southpaw a few times, overextended with the left, and I stepped back and caught him with the right hook.
“He’s no mug,” he said. “He knows his way around the ring, and it was the perfect opponent for me at this stage.”
Now 2-0, Owen says he’s ready for whatever his team, which includes Jason Quigley and Jamie Conlan has planned next — but first, he’s looking forward to enjoying a long-overdue Christmas off.
“It’s the first time in four or five years I’ll have Christmas off,” he smiled. “As an amateur, I always had the Elites around December or January, so I never really got to relax. I’ll train away but enjoy the holidays — have a proper dinner this year without a turkey run!”
Still, don’t expect the Fermanagh fighter to switch off completely, it’s not just Turkey he wants to get stuck into. “Put them in front of me — journeymen, prospects, anybody,” he said. “If Jamie and Jason think it’s right, I’m happy enough. I’ll get stuck in.”
