Paul Loonam Digs Deep to Beat Myles Casey and Mine Title Gold
Paul Loonam had to dig deep to mine title gold at the National Stadium on Saturday night.
One of the stars of the JB Promotions stable claimed the BUI Celtic super bantamweight title with a majority points win over Myles Casey.
The Offaly fighter didn’t have things all his own way as Limerick’s Casey presented a strong case for victory.
While Casey did the starlet a massive favour by bringing attention to the fight with some weigh-in antics, he certainly wasn’t in a charitable mood come fight time and put in a relentless performance.
However, the younger of the two National Elite title winners showed he had the guts to go with his guile to secure a first career strap.
Loonam’s class and quality won him stanzas throughout another all-action and atmospheric all-Irish fight, but there were times were he had to bite on his gum shield and battle.
Indeed, it is those moments his team will be most impressed with – and those moments that will stand to the prospect, who had also shown a temperament for the occasion with how he dealt with a heated weigh-in, further down the line.
Casey’s team were disappointed post the result, they felt they had done enough to win. However, the Limerick man’s stock can only rise post such a performance.
Loonam started the fight with a real spring in his step. ‘The Boxer’ boxed, showing real pedigree on the back foot. However, Casey has a pedigree of his own and marred it with a real purpose, marching forward and enjoying was success of his own.
By the halfway mark some ringside had it 3-1 to Loonam while others had two rounds apiece. By that stage all that was clear was that one fighter would be best served to stamp real authority on entertaining proceedings.
Loonam looked to sit down on his shots more in the fifth, possibly in a bid to keep the Limerick man at bay. It meant for more eye-catching shots, but the Treaty puncher was still intent on causing trouble, never took a backward step, showing the kind of aggression some judges love.
Casey had some of his biggest moments in the next session as the Offaly man’s feet slowed slightly. The long looping left to the gut landed more regularly, and any time his foe stood static, he let his hands go.
Still, there was enough from the younger man for some to suggest he did enough to take the 10 points on offer for the round.
Impressively, the Leinster side of the all-Irish fight had the fitness ot get up on his toes in the sixth, although Casey looked happy to admire his dancing. The JB Promotions prospect may have been better served standing, fighting in a bid to discourage the constant pressure.
That tactical change seemed to come in the seventh round of a massively entertaining fight, and Loonam’s skills saw him enjoy some success. However, Casey was still coming, and just when it looked like the Unit 3 fighter might get on top, some southpaw lefts did damage and evened the session up.
So close was the fight that both would have been told to go and win the last round. Both certainly heeded the advice, and although tired produced moments of class. Loonam hit and moved brilliantly in patches, while Casey hunted him down successfully and rocked his head back with his left hand on other occasions.
All anyone could agree on after the final bell was it was an extremely hard-to-call fight that entertained. In the end, it went the way of Loonam and he is now champion in a weight that has the likes of Irish champion Ruadhan Farrell, Geard Hughes and Matty Boreland.
