Cruise control: Darren scores impressive stoppage win in Dublin
After two consecutive defeats to high-level opposition, Darren Cruise tonight was able to add to his win column at the National Stadium.
The Roscommon middleweight fought the unbeaten Ferenc Katona, something of an unknown quantity, on the FS Promotions/Hatton Promotions ‘The Future’ card and came away with a highly impressive stoppage win.
It was a maiden career knockout for Cruise who looked very sharp, jabbing purposely and showing some real venom.
Arguably the performance of the night, Cruise sent Katona stumbling backwards into the ropes with a straight right in the third round. Perhaps prematurely, the referee intervened, much to the chagrin of the Hungarian camp, although with Cruise ready to bounce, a more violent knockout seemed inevitable.
Cruise’s record now reads 7(1)-5(0), while Katona drops to 3(3)-1(1).
With the morale-boosting win in the bag, Cruise will look to continue his chase for crowd-pleasing domestic scraps, and on tonight’s display he would be a tough opponent for any Irish middleweight.
