Jose Felix Dismantles Gary Cully In His Hometown; James Metcalf Wears Down Dennis Hogan
In the lightweight division, Jose Felix (40-6-1, 31KO) scored a huge third-round upset over Gary Cully (16-1, 10KO).
Cully was on a five-fight knockout streak and eager to impress in front of his home crowd in Ireland. He started off looking as if this was going to be an easy night, as that long jab was effective at keeping the veteran at bay. Then out of nowhere, Felix landed a devastating counter right hand that dropped the Irishman to the canvas.
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The Mexican was like a pitbull as he stayed on his visibly hurt opponent before scoring a second knockdown from another right hand. Despite beating the count, Cully was getting beatdown against the ropes before his corner finally threw in the towel.
Felix’s power was the deciding factor in the fight as he took the air out of the arena prior to the Katie Taylor vs Chantelle Cameron main event.
JAMES METCALF GRINDS OUT A VICTORY OVER DENNIS HOGAN
It was a tale of two halves at the junior middleweight division as James Metcalf (25-2, 15KO) picked up his fourth straight victory, this time over Dennis Hogan (31-5-1, 7KO).
Hogan, a two-time title challenger, used the experience to his advantage early by fighting at range behind the jab. He also landed counter right hands after taking advantage of Metcalf’s over-aggression at times.
Yet, Metcalf came alive in the second half with punishing body shots and crisp counter right hands. This resulted in Hogan slowly wilting under the constant pressure. Going into the championship rounds, Hogan tried to turn things around, but the pressure of Metcalf was too much.
In the twelfth round, Hogan was deducted a point for spitting out his mouthpiece as the fight was coming to a close. Two judges’ saw it 117-110, as one had it 115-112 in favor of Metcalf. The win gains him the IBO title.
CAOIMHIN AGYARKO MAKES SUCCESSFUL RETURN AGAINST GRANT DENNIS
Amateur standout and middleweight prospect Caoimhin Agyarko (13-0, 7KO) cruises to a victory after a long layoff against Grant Dennis (18-5, 3KO).
In 2022, Agyarko suffered a hand injury that sidelined him for the past ten months. Finally returning to the ring, he controlled the first half of the contest with the jab and landed the occasional right hand while fighting well off the front foot. Dennis tried to mount an offense by using the jab to take advantage of Agyarko, who kept his head on the center line.
In the second half, the middleweight prospect began to turn things up and found a home for the right hand as his opponent continued to circle into the punch. It became apparent this was like a sparring session as Agyarko was in full control of the fight until the final bell.
