Deadly Eric Donovan destroys Mojica in UK debut

Lilywhite Lightning lit up the York Hall tonight.

Fighting away from home for the first time as a pro, Eric Donovan made his first foray onto the British scene with a dominant win in London.

The Kildare featherweight, the reigning Irish champion, obliterated game Nicaraguan Moises Mojica on the self-styled ‘Irish Invasion’ Hellraiser Boxing card in Bethnal Green, scoring a third round knockout and sending out a major statement of intent.

Returning to the ring following his perfect Irish title win over Stephen McAfee in March, Donovan was aiming to both test the waters and make a statement in Britain as he targets an away corner opportunity on a Matchroom or Queensberry show, or beyond, in the near future.

Mojica, of course, was never going to provide this sort of a challenge but the fight served an obvious purpose for the Athy southpaw who had to deal with a missed flight and new surroundings and still came out with an impressive win.

There were fast hands from the start, with Donovan catching the onrushing Mojica with left uppercuts to the body, the same shot that stopped McAfee in March, before unleashing combinations upstairs.

Roared on by a bocal pocket of fans, Donovan was content to trade and decked Mojica with a perfect right hook which ratcheted up the atmosphere.

Going into the third round, Donovan was in war mode, lashing in shots and punishing Mojica. The gallant Latino eventually fell with less than 20 to go and the fight was waved off to seal the perfect UK debut.

The win sees Donovan hit the 10-0 milestone, with six stoppages, while Mojica drops to 9(6)-8(3)-2

Next up, likely, will be an outing in September – although the hungry lilywhite would consider any and all offers for big away fights following tonight’s succesful first excursion, with Spain and European and EU champions Andoni Gago and Carlos Ramos both also respectively appealing.

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Also on the bill at the York Hall, Kerry light heavyweight Kevin Cronin outpointed Jevgenijs Andrejevs to claim his second pro win. The awkward Latvian southpaw sought to spoil and bend the rules while Cronin continuously trucked forward, knocking the frustrating Baltic boxer down with a barrage in the third en-route to a 40-35 points win.

Unfortunately, Cavan light middleweight Dominic Donegan [1(0)-0] was unable to build on his debut last month as scheduled opponent Kevin McCauley pulled out with a twisted ankle.

Finally, rounding off the ‘Invasion’, Waterford welter Rohan Daté [9(7)-0-1] obliterated Czech veteran Jan Balogh inside two of a scheduled eight to obtain Irish title eligibility.

Kildare Boxing is proudly supported by Liffey Crane Hire.

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)