Niall Kennedy held to New Hampshire draw | Moylette marches on

Ray Moylette marched on but Niall Kennedy suffered the first slip of his career last night in America.

The Celtic Warriors pair were both in action on a Murphys Boxing card in New Hampshire where Wexford heavyweight Kennedy was held to a draw by Joel Caudle while Mayo lightweight Moylette dominated Daniel Sostre.

Kennedy can consider himself somewhat unlucky having looked to have done enough after being drawn into a war with slugger Caudle at the Bank of America Pavilion in Gilford.

‘Boom Boom Baz’ made a sharp start and, by the second round, was unleashing nice combos to the head and body, countering the aggressive Caudle well.

Kennedy continued to put in some quality work to the body in the third but shipped two big right hands at the close of the round, a warning sign.

The Gorey Garda hit the floor at the start of the fourth, being shoved down but falling heavily. No count was administered but the incident ruffled Kennedy who had to then withstand a barrage from the invigorated Caudle.

Following a cagey start to the fifth, Caudle hit home with a big uppercut and a salvo in the final thirty – while Kennedy kept busy, popping off shots throughout.

Kennedy controlled the start of the sixth off the back of his jab but was then dragged into something of a slugfest, with Caudle landing what looked to be the heavier blows.

Going into the final two rounds, Kennedy needed a strong finish and he duly obliged, keeping his distance and drawing the sting out of Caudle in the seventh before landing a big hook on the bell and saluting the crowd.

Caudle came out firing in the eighth, landing multiple heavy shots early before Kennedy quickly took over, dominating proceedings to the final bell as the game American held on.

Headed to the cards, there was little certainty over the result. Kennedy was given the nod 76-74 with one judge but two 76-76 scorelines saw the bout declared a majority draw.

Irish-Boxing.com scored the bout 78-75 in favour of Kennedy.

The drawn verdict sees the first blotch on the Irishman’s so-far perfect record, with Kennedy dropping to 11(7)-0-1. The game Caudle moves to 7(5)-1(0)-2 following an entertaining clash which would lend itself well to an immediate rematch.

Tough fight and def not my best performance but i live to fight another day and will learn from this thank u so much for all the support il get back to ye all tomo #teamkennedy #mj

— Niall Kennedy Boxer (@niallbaskennedy) June 23, 2018

In the bout immediately prior to Kennedy’s, Moylette dominated the teak-tough Puerto Rican Sostre.

The former New York welterweight champion was game early on but Moylette took over, going eight rounds for the first time and looking fresh.

The Islandeady man took the win on scorelines of 78-74 and 79-73 (twice) to move to 11(4)-0. The tough but outclassed Sostre falls to 13(5)-18(5)-1.