James Tennyson warms up for Irish title fight with Titanic tussle

James Tennyson returned to super featherweight tonight with a competitive points victory in Belfast – however a cut sustained in the final round raises doubts over his Irish title fight with Deco Geraghty next month.

His first fight back since his British 126lbs title loss to Ryan Walsh, and a subsequent minor car crash, ‘The Assassin’ overcame game Nicaraguan late replacement Raphael Castillo on the off-camera undercard of the Boxnation ‘Homecoming’ card.

The 23 year old Belfast man came out firing at the Titanic Exhibition Centre, landing big shots early on with his signature uppercut looking dangerous. Vastly overpowered, Castillo had begun to cling on by the half-way point of the opener, but saw out the round.

Tennyson resumed his barrage on the Central American, who seemed on permanent wobbly legs, in the second round. However, for the final minute, Castillo would go toe-to-toe with the Belfast man – with Tennyson always on top and hurting ‘El Jaguar’ in the closing seconds.

Castillo’s game display would continue into the third, with the Nicaraguan trading with Tennyson and absorbing the voluminous amount of leather that the  Kronk man landed

Amazingly, the fourth round of the fight was the closest of the contest, with Castillo throwing more than his fair share. Worryingly, Tennyson sustained a cut to the side of his left eye which looks to require stiches.

While it looked unlikely at the start, the fight went to the scorecards, which were duly taken by Tennyson by a score of 40:36.

The win sees Tennyson improve his record to 17(13)-2(2), while Castillo falls to 14(6)-27(11)-3.

Next up, should the cut prove not to be a problem, is an Irish 130lbs title fight with Declan Geraghty next month at a date and venue to-be-confirmed, where Tennyson will look to reclaim the green belt he won back in 2013.