Classic Irish Boxing June 2007: Fagan Spadafora fight report
March 16, 2007 Tomas Rohan
He came, he saw and he very almost conquered. Oisin Fagan almost ripped up the script at the Soaring Eagle Casino in Mount Pleasant, Michigan last Friday night with former World Champion Paul Spadafora only just piping the Dubliner to a split decision win.
Fagan was brought in by promoters to be the fall guy for Spadafora, the stereotypical “tough Irish kid” who would make their man look good en route to reclaiming a world title later this year. Instead Fagan came oh so close to handing the 31-year-old “Pittsburgh Kid” the first defeat of his 41 fight career.
Spadafora’s outside the ring problems in recent years have been well documented and Fagan gave him all the trouble he could handle between the ropes on Friday night.. The three judges were split with Gary Merritt scoring a too wide 98 – 91 in Spadafora’s favour while Bill Paige also had Spadafora a inner by a margin of 97 – 93. Judge Jack Richards however had Fagan the winner via a score of 96 – 95.
Fagan made a strong start to the bout troubling the normally slick Spadafora with his busy, high-pressure style. The “Pittsburgh Kid” was deducted a point in the 8th for a low blow but came back with a strong ninth round before the two slugged it out again in the final round.
Fagan also refuted a report, which stated that he had received 20 stitches to close a cut over his left eye. “That’s rubbish. I read that and I don’t know where that came from. I needed 4 stitches and the doctor was able to patch me up straight after the fight.”
After allowing some time for his eye to heal Fagan hopes to be back in the ring as soon as possible and back into big fights. “I’m disappointed that I didn’t get the decision but I still think my performance has opened some doors for me. I’ve set my sights on a world title fight and I really think that can become a reality in the next year or two.”
