Moran suffers a knockout blow in bruising War in Waterford bout

Waterford’s Dylan Moran lost in a headline fight which gave credence to the event’s ‘War in Waterford’ naming at the SETU Arena on Saturday to his fierce Belfast opponent, The Mighty Celt, Tyrone McKenna.

Starting with his walkout to Oró, Sé Do Bheatha 'Bhaile, the cacophonous crowd was firmly at Moran’s back through the night, reaching a fever pitch as his name was called out. Wearing the blue and white of Waterford, Dylan Moran was looking to rectify his recent loss to Florian Marku on the undercard of the Liam Smith – Chris Eubank Junior fight in Manchester last year.

“It was always a dream of mine to bring a big event like this to my home town,” said the Déise boxer ahead of the fight.

Moran brought the bout to the SETU Arena but the crowd matched the fighters in their ferocity. McKenna, dressed in green felt and fighting out of the red corner, was up against the entire arena.

It was clear, as the bell sounded and the two men clashed for the first time, that the War had begun. Scheduled for 10 rounds, the fight began at a feverous pace with Dylan Moran controlling the first round with seering combinations. The thicker of the two men, Dylan looked strong, seeming to have the Belfast man hurt early in the round, but his fellow southpaw opponent consistently found a home for his jab.

After being separated by the referee, a clean left hook from the man in green left the hometown favourite struggling to pick himself up from the canvas before getting some respite from the bell.

In the second round, the Déise representative looked to have his feet back under him and an outright brawl ensued. The two men traded overhand lefts and fought in the pocket. Backed into the red corner by the experienced McKenna, Moran got wobbled by a fearsome left hook before surviving a vicious barrage of punches. Moran fought fire with fire, regaining a foot in the fight with brutal strikes on his opponent. With the crowd behind him, the Waterford fighter consistently fought his way out of trouble caused by his taller opponent.

In the dying moments of the second round, with McKenna on the ropes, Moran looked for a decisive punch but the power came from the Mighty Celt. A trademark mighty left hook dropped Moran and, despite rising back to his wobbly feet, the referee called the fight. Despite being devastated by the loss, Moran was an excellent sport, giving praise to the fight’s victor.

Having come on just before the hometown favourite, the comprehensive decision victory for Sultan Zaurbek (18-0) over Damian Wrzesinski (28-3-2) may have been for the WBA Continental super featherweight belt but the locals were there to support their own.

Another Waterford man, Craig ‘BTL’ McCarthy (10-3-1) entered the ring seeking to rectify his two-fight losing streak with a raucous local crowd shouting his moniker throughout the bout against the man he most recently defeated, fellow super middleweight Irishman Graham McCormack (10-4-1) from Limerick.

McCarthy took control of the first round but the G Train found consistent success with the overhand left, dropping the Waterford man at the end of the first round with a straight left. McCarthy’s legs looked like they had recovered in the second round as the two men swung heavily. With 15 seconds to go, a power shot from the Limerick man found home and Built To Last was forced to live up to his name and drag himself back up to his feet.

McCarthy landed consistent volume to the body throughout the fight but, without the power to make and impact, it was he who looked the more fatigued as the rounds went on. Just seven seconds into the fifth round, McCormack landed a heavy left hand to the body and McCarthy dropped to his knees and, showing his toughness, rose quickly to his feet but referee McCullagh called the fight. A TKO victory for the Limerick native, the fight left the locals negative on the night in the SETU Arena.

Shane McConnell rescued the night for the Déise with a significant victory over Michal Malicki (1-5) in the light heavyweight division, bringing his record to 3-0 following the first-round TKO.

From Wexford, Dean Walsh would make his professional debut after an impressive and lengthy amateur tenure against the Hungarian Tamas Horvath (8-10), hoping to improve the fortunes of the south east on the night. Scheduled for four rounds, it was clear after less than a minute that the fight wouldn’t go the distance when a counter left dropped the guest to the canvas. Horvath would fight back to make it a contest but, backed into the corner by Walsh he was again dropped to his knees by a vicious left hook to the body. Getting back to his feet, the fighter in the black and gold wouldn’t last much longer, as the Wexford man, adorned in county colours, found space for another punishing hook under his opponent's guard and for the third time in the round Horvath dutifully rose from the canvas. This time, however, he lasted on his feet for even less time, getting dropped by a big right hand which prompted the referee to call the fight, giving Walsh a debut victory.

The night ended with a decisive and commanding victory for another Wexford man Dean Gonzalez Furlong. Speedy Gonzalez, his supporters had emblazoned on their shirts, and their man lived up to their expectations, quickly dispatching his Polish opponent Sebastian Wojtan (2-11) to improve the hotshot’s record to 3-0 (2KO).

British boxing legend and former WBA lightweight title holder, Anthony Crolla was in the arena cornering two Welsh fighters to professional debut victories. Twin brothers Ioan and Garan Croft from Crymych in Wales, took convincing victories over Bartosz Glowacki and Ermin Sali.