Fagan angry with stoppage

15 February 2010 – By Oisin Fagan and Mick Devine

First of all, a big congrats to Andy. He’s a very nice lad and one that I hope will do Irish boxing proud.

However, being very honest, this decision has really upset me. Just because I went into this fight as the underdog against the new Golden-boy of Irish boxing, shouldnt make things inconceivable and unobtainable for me.

I looked at this as a challenge and one such challenge that if I fought my hardest, Id come out with the win, but they didn’t give me that chance and stopped me before I could break him down and drag him into a war.

If you watch footage, youll see that I wasnt hurt in the slightest at all during the fight and I was continuing to throw punches up until the very end. I wasnt in trouble at any given time – its plain and simple to see. In fact, our gameplan was to up-it-a-gear in the seventh round.

And since I am typically a 12-round fighter, Im disgusted I was not given the chance to implement my gameplan. With that, Andy, wasnt given the chance to challenge himself and take me on where I am at my most comfortable – in the latter stages of the fight where champions are forged, so I feel bad for Andy, as it could have been a great learning curve for him.

Im at a loss, because up until now, Id only been stopped twice in 32 fights- once, for breaking my leg (left fibula) against Khan.

The other time was at the start of my career when an accidental head-butt caved in my cheekbone and nose, breaking four bones in my face, resulting in the ref stopping the fight (citing too much blood). So, to stop this fight in front of my friends, family and the whole country on national TV, for absolutely no reason whatsoever, is one of the worst experiences Ive ever been faced with. It’s really upsetting.