Cillian Reardon delighted with six-round “transformation” following good first year

One of the good news stories of Irish boxing in 2019, Cillian Reardon [4(0)-0] continues to learn on the job and move up the ranks quickly.

The Stillorgan middleweight stepped up to six rounds on Saturday night at Good Counsel GAA Club in Drimnagh and scored his fourth hard-fought points win of the year.

The 30-year-old is being progressed briskly and hasn’t been handed easy fights.

On Saturday it was Bangor’s Casey Blair who bull-rushed him early and forced Reardon to the ropes, cutting him on the scalp and wobbling the Dubliner.

‘Killer Cillian’ however showed equal measures of grit and skill to box his way to an enjoyable 59-55 win.

Afterwards Reardon told Irish-Boxing.com that “I’m delighted with it, I’m glad I got him over six rounds, he made me work.”

“Four fights, two cancellations, it’s a good first year, I’m happy with it.”

“You threw too many forward passes, though,” interjects gym-mate Stevie Collins, jokingly referencing the constant rugby narrative that follows the Leinster Strength and Conditioning coach around.

The musclebound middleweight was given a good, hard fight on the ‘Celtic Clash 7’ bill with Blair, perhaps because the fight was in Ireland, offering a more aggressive approach than usual.

Increasing the distance at an early stage, Reardon was happy with his outing.

He noted how “in rounds five and six I felt like I hadn’t done six rounds before! But I felt good.”

“[Blair] was gassing a bit too, I caught him with some good body shots, but he was clever, he was able to find windows to rest and come back.”

“He had good power, he rang my bell in the third round,” admitted Reardon before expanding on the importance of fighting over the longer distance.

“I’m really happy with the transformation. Up to this fight, including every fight in the amateurs, I fought at the same range, mid-range, so it felt good to do what we said we were going to do rather than just going in and fighting. That was the plan.”

With a tough six now in the tank, Reardon’s team – coach Steven O’Rourke and managers Assassin Boxing – now have a decision to make on whether the Southsider will box in another six or jump up to eight and, poteninally, the BUI Celtic title.

While he is progression-keen himself, the eager-to-learn Reardon is leaving it all up to his team.

He outlined how “I’ll be back in the gym helping Roy [Sheahan], Victor [Rabei], and Stevie, they have fights coming up, but we haven’t really talked about [what’s next].”

“I think I proved, though, that I can get in and do six.”

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