Belfast Heartbreak as Padraig McCrory Suffers Stoppage Defeat
Belfast’s heart broke as Padraig McCrory suffered defeat at the SSE Arena tonight.
The St James’ favourite never looked himself, couldn’t get going, and was eventually bested by Craig Richards on the Point of Pride card.
‘The Spider’ caught the former IBO champion in his web and eventually put him out of his misery in the eighth round.
The bout was billed as a win-or-done affair, and the manner of the performance, as well as the fact ‘The Hammer’ has been firing with retirement, suggests it might be the last time we see him in the ring.
If that is the case it will be a sad way for Belfast to see their hero bow out, but they will remember the big wins and big nights by a fighter who continually defied the odds.
The first was a tentative affair, which Richards probably stole by landing a few shots in the last 30 seconds.
Scoring shots were few and far between over the next three minutes, but Richards was pushing Irish boxing’s working class hero onto the back foot. An occurrence that may have won the Englishman the round.
‘The Hammer’ upped the tempo in the third, as he turned southpaw in a bid to take away Richards’s jab. It led to a more open round, and the 36-year-old was trying to dip and rip on the inside. However, the consensus ringside was it was another round for the Crystal Palace boxer.
The fourth followed a similar pattern with neither grabbing control or grabbing the fight by the scruff of the neck.
The Londoner followed orders to up the tempo in the fifth and looked ready to take over. It got to the stage where McCrory’s always loud following was quietened until their man landed a big right hand as the round came to a close.
To his credit, Richards took it and landed a punch of his own on the bell. The
The St James hero attempted to push ‘The Spider’ back early in the seventh in a bid to steal the momentum, but the English fighter responded well and began to look dangerous.
A left hook landed by McCrory temporarily did wobble Richards legs, but he finished the round looking for a stoppage.
Dee Walsh appeared concerned when his fighter and friend returned to the corner and appeared as if a fighter who is an inspiration to so many was given one last round.
At 36 and up at light heavyweight, it seemed a step too far for one of Irish Boxing’s real Mr Nice Guys, and rather than turn it around, McCrory was pulled out after a body shot sent him to the canvas.
