LIVE UPDATES – All of the Lights
Joe Ward returns to his boxing home tonight.
The Moate BC graduate competes at the venue in which he made his name on top of Elite Promotions All of the Lights card.
Ward will be looking to extend an unbeaten record at first purpose-built boxing stadium in the world that dates back nearly 20 years and since he was just 11.
The light heavyweight talent faces Ukraine’s Dmytro Fedas in a contest scheduled for eight rounds.
Liam Walsh provides chief support as he fights Bela Istvan Orban in a bout being billed as the final clash of his apprenticeship.
Jason Harty mans the away corner in a venue where he enjoyed plenty of Irish amateur title success against Elite’s unbeaten American Quanderis Arnold in what promises to be fight of the night.
There is plenty of interest around Podge Collins son of Roddy Collins, nephew to world champion Steve Collins and Pascal Collins and cousin to BUI Celtic title challenger Stevie Collins, as he makes his debut on the bill. The Celtic Warrior Gym fighter trades leather with Gianluca Di Florio
Glen Lynch also debuts when battles Richard Brant, while Paddy Walsh faces the ever game and sometimes dangerous Reynaldo Cajina.
Cian Reddy makes his Irish pro debut as he competes for a second time as a pro and his IGB managerial mate Myles Casey is in a similar position. They fight Richard Helm and Caine Singh respectively.
Irish-Boxing.com will be filing live reports from each fight below.
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Joe Ward v Dmytro Fedas
THE night ended with an outstanding performance from Joe Ward, who was completely dominant over Fedas, before the Ukrainian retired at the end of the sixth.
While Dmytro was tough and took a lot of punishment, he was just levels below Ward. “I felt like I was in second gear. I didn’t really get out of it,” the winner said in the ring afterwards.
Indeed he looked composed and comfortable all fight, while he took his time to break down Fedas.
Ward began positively, landing some hard shots into the midriff of Fedas within the first minute, establishing his dominance. Later in the round he unloaded a series of punishing shots, and the first three minutes ended with Ward clearly in the ascendancy.
He continued to look like he was fighting at his ease, and landed some fine shots in the second, including a hard left to the Ukrainian’s head in the closing seconds.
In the third he would punish both head and body, as he continued to take the rounds rather easily, although there was no sign of a stoppage being imminent.
Dmytro continued to take punishment and his face was increasingly marked as the minutes went on, with Ward setting the pace and landing quality shots seemingly at will.
In what turned out to be the final round Ward landed some very good left hands, and the cumulative effect of 18 minutes of punishment told, as the Ukrainian and his team opted to call it a day.
A punishing, impressive display from Ward then, who moves to 12-1.
Interviewed in the ring afterwards, he said he wants to move on to bigger fights soon. “I want to take on the top guys in the world. I’m here to fight any of them,” said Ward. “Any of the English guys, Joshua Buatsi, Lyndon Arthur, any of the top guys that are up there that wants to take on the challenge to fight me, I’m willing t do it, today, tomorrow, whenever.”
Liam Walsh v Bela Istvan Orban
THE Walsh victory was formally sealed in the second minute of the second round, but the outcome wasn’t in doubt for some time before that.
Walsh came out fast and he put down Orban early on, with a powerful body shot. He kept up the pressure throughout and the Hungarian was down three more times before the end of the round.
There was only one way it was going, and 98 seconds into the second, referee Padraig Ó Reachtagáin called it.
A very easy victory then and a good night for the Walsh brothers.
Following the fight a presentation was made in the ring to Tony Davitt. “Tony, you truly are an Irish boxing legend. Thank you for all you do, from Irish boxing” said Eric Donovan making the presentation.
Quanderis Arnold v Jason Harty
QUANDERIS Arnold came to Dublin full of confidence but will leave a more humble man, after being outboxed by Limerick’s Jason Harty.
Harty was the 60-54 victor and that was in no way flattering to him, as he seemed to figure out his opponent quickly and to dominate him almost completely.
From very early on there was only one winner, with Harty looking composed and dominant, while Arnold had very little to offer.
There was a very lively start, both trying to make a dent in their opponent. However as the round went on it looked like Arnold’s only plan was to land a big overhand right and Harty was wise to it. His jab was very effective and as the round went on he began to land some fine right hands.
He continued to dominate in the second, looking more and more confident, whereas Arnold was clearly floundering and didn’t seem to have any real idea how to turn things around.
The American did manage to land a good backhand early in the third, but the momentum was still with Harty, whose jab was very effective. He also landed some very good body shots and put serious pressure on Arnold.
In the fourth he continued to target the American’s body, while the jab remained very consistent. Four rounds to the good, it was his fight to lose.
And that never looked in any way likely in the final two stanzas. Arnold did make some progress in the fifth and landed a couple of good right hands, but Harty finished the round well, while he remained on top in the final round.
A great display from Harty then, with a really impressive victory recorded over a highly regarded and previously unbeaten opponent.
Paddy Walsh v Reynaldo Cajina
PADDY Walsh gave a decent performance on his way to a fifth professional victory, dominating the wily Reynaldo Cajina and winning 39-37.
Walsh showed how he wanted to approach the fight from the instant it started, moving forward and putting pressure on Cajina. Cajina sought to tie him up repeatedly, but Walsh was very much on top and landed a great right hand in the dying moments of the round.
The Kerry man landed another very good right in the second and was again the dominant force. While he was on top he was quite cautious and didn’t leave anything to chance.
The third saw a change of approach from his experienced Nicauraguan opponent. Whereas up until then he had sought to move backwards frequently, he was far more minded to come forward, and this was probably the round that he was winner of. A fine right hand from Cajina was probably the most eye catching shot of the three minutes.
Yet Walsh was clearly the superior force and he landed a decent right hand of his own in the final stanza, before deservedly being named the winner despite dropping a round.
He has little time to rest on his laurels, as he fights again in Leicester on Saturday week, when he will seek to move to 6-0.
Cian Reddy v Richard Helm
LAOIS welterweight Cian Reddy moved to 2-0 with a handy victory over Rochdale’s Richard Helm.
It was a very assured performance from Reddy, who was put under very little pressure, while he dominated each round, showed a very good jab, and consistently punished his opponent’s body.
From the outset he was in complete control, far ahead of Helm, who had just one win in his 40 previous fights. The Reddy jab was very effective, while his footwork was very good.
In both the second and third rounds he landed some fine shots to the visitor’s body, although it never really looked like a stoppage was on the cards. To his credit Helm did catch Reddy with quite a good shot during the third, but Reddy really took it in his stride and normal service was immediately restored.
Reddy was very comfortable in the final round and can be happy with his night’s work, as he strolled to a 40-36 victory.
Glen Lynch v Richard Brant
JUST as in the previous bout, the debutant Glen Lynch scored a first round knockout. However unlike the previous fight, the defeated fighter Richard Brant quit in rather odd circumstnaces, firstly spitting out the gum shield to take a break, and then deciding he had enough.
While it is a debut win for the Crumlin BC graduate, he would surely have rather it come in different circumstances.
During the short duration of the fight he had repeatedly punished the Brant body, and that may have been what prompted the Slovakian’s decision to call it a day so early on.
Lynch looked to be in great shape and he now has a debut victory, even if the manner in which the fight ended was disappointing.
Podge Collins v Gianluca Di Florio
THE professional debut of Podge Collins was a very brief affair, as he scored a first round knock out. Collins, a nephew of Steve and Packie and son of the inimitable Roddy, arrived to the ring to cheers from his sizeable following, and then dominated the brief fight.
Early on he put Di Florio down with a straight right hand, while he took his time before dropping the Italian once again. The writing was on the wall and Emile Tiedt waved it off.
An ideal start then to the professional career of the 24 year old cruiserweight, who did everything that could be expected of him on his debut.
Myles Casey v Caine Singh
THE action has opened with a superb bout between Limerick’s Myles Casey and the English fighter Caine Singh, which has finished in a 57-57 draw.
From the first bell it was an all action contest, with both men fully focused on attack, with little focus on preventing what was coming back at them.
There were two halves to the first round, with Casey beginning well, before Singh turned it around with a single shot that derailed Casey entirely, and left him under severe pressure until the bell.
The second round was a closer affair, and again both men were entirely focused on what success their own attacks could bring.
After the pressure he had been under Casey had found his feet and took the third round. He was showing superior movement early in the fourth, and it looked like his boxing could see him triumph, but Singh dominated in the latter stages of what was a very close stanza.
Singh was back on top in the fifth, with a succession of punches to both body and head leaving Casey visibly wilting. The final round was quite attritional, both men continually looking to attack, and perhaps the most memorable shot was a big left hook from the away fighter.
The English fighter had won at least two rounds very clearly and there were several other close ones, so despite Casey and his corner’s apparent confidence, it looked like it would go the way of the visitor.
However it was adjuged to be a 57-57 draw, and it is likely that Casey was at least somewhat relieved to avoid a second defeat of his pro career.
This was a really enjoyable, all action fight, more than whetting the appetite for the contests yet to come.
