Talented trio impress King’s Hall crowd
12 June 2010 – Steve Wellings
Barry McGuigan told us earlier this week that the six-round scrap between his charge Carl Frampton and Sloughs Ian Bailey could be fight of the night. Bailey was never allowed in for long enough to make it that way, as Frampton battered his way to stake a claim as performer of the night.
The Tigers Bay native powered to 6-0 as a professional, moving through the full repertoire of shots, moves and skills, much to the defiance of his resilient challenger. Ripped to the body, Carl danced around the ring, left hand bobbing beside his waist, stylistically similar to former Irish hero Bernard Dunne.
The right hand thudded off Baileys head with sickening regularity, making Ian afraid to throw for fear of the return fire. Turning southpaw briefly and flicking the head back and forth to avoid the shots, Frampton looked like a man moving swiftly towards title class.
McGuigan was waxing lyrical backstage. I was delighted and the crowd was great, that just reinforces my opinion of Carls abilities, Barry lauded.
Carl has great head movement, his defence is a little leaky at times, but those are all learning things which can be improved. He has the total package and the learning experience was great tonight.
You need to learn that you cant knock everyone out and that happened to me when I fought Peter Eubank, it taught me to use my head and use my boxing skills to win a fight.
The money is always in the last shot of a classy combination and those things come with time and are learned during top quality sparring, said McGuigan.
It was a big reception tonight and I will be promoting in the autumn in Belfast.
Andy Murray is due out in Cork on June 26 and the Cavan lightweight limbered up for that assignment by pummelling Jon Baguley into a second-round stoppage defeat.
Murray rolled inside to slot his shots through the guard of tough-guy Baguley, who soaked up plenty of leather from Kevin OHara in the Odyssey last November. While he lasted the six-round distance on that occasion he could not reach that landmark this time, wilting from a fervent body assault until ref Paul McCullagh called time at 2.41 of the second stanza.
Murray was upbeat post-fight: I was told before to work on the body, I landed one in the first-round and Ive got a durable opponent out of the way.
I stayed tight, he didnt open up too much which allowed me to get close and Im quite fit and able to throw a lot of punches. Like any young fighter, I like to stay busy and Im loving every minute of it; the regular fights mean Im developing into a good pro and working hard in the gym, he commented.
Well see what happens with John Murray but Andy is ranked highly by the EBU and we just need a bit more seasoning before that fight, added promoter Brian Peters.
Whether its John Murray or not in the opposite corner, Andy will be fighting for the European title come the end of the year, confirmed Peters.
Flyweight hope Jamie Conlan had to wait for his chance to impress, going on last for the walk-out bout, but managed to knock the wind out of Delroy Spencers sails without fully denting the journeymans resolve.
Conlan used his rangy jab and overhand rights to the keep Del honest and it wasnt until the final session that some well placed body shots started to get the Walsall man blowing a little harder. Spencer doesnt win too many these days but gives prospects a good workout over the four-round distance. 23-year-old Conlan is now seeking a step-up in class, with Usman Ahmeds name getting a mention.
I hoped I could hit with him a good bodyshot and he would go, smiled Jamie as he exited the ring.
I wasnt frustrated about getting on last; Im as laid back as they come and was gloved up waiting for the bill to catch up. Delroy knows all the tricks and Ive learned a bit in there tonight. John Breen was impressed so Im happy, added Conlan.
