PAUL Hyland Jnr grabbed his big chance with both hands as he claimed the IBF lightweight title with a stunning first-round stoppage win over Adam Dingsdale.
The Lagmore man forged a reputation for being in all-action dust-ups, but on Saturday at the SSE Arena, Dingsdale wasn’t afforded the opportunity to fight fire with fire as Hyland blew him away in 109 seconds.
This was hugely impressive from Hyland against a man who had gone the distance with former world champion, Derry Matthews and Dubliner, Stephen Ormond in the past and had never been stopped.
Hyland came out behind a stiff jab and soon worked an opening, landing a huge left followed by a chopping right and a short flurry to drop the St Helens man.
While Dingsdale rose, the end was not far away as Hyland went to work, again landing a left-right combo to send Dingsdale to the canvas heavily and this time, referee Howard Foster waved the bout off.
“I was just psyched up for that fight,” said a delighted ‘Hylo’ in his dressing room after.
“Mark (Dunlop, manager) was drilling into my head to get on him from the start and break him down because I thought he was a bit big for the weight and looked a bit drained.
“I didn't expect to get him out that early, but I just caught him.
“I caught him with a left hook and he tried to hold on, so I knew he was rocked and I flurried it up. Power comes with speed.
“I just lined him up with the jab and threw the right over the top. He tried to walk me down, so I stepped back and let the punches go quick.
“To do that broadcast live on a Saturday night - I'm just buzzing now.”
There was also an impressive stoppage win for the returning Paddy Gallagher who stopped Craig Kelly in three rounds of their light-middleweight bout.
Gallagher scored four knockdowns in the bout with a mix of hooks to the body and head to get back to winning ways and says he is now ready to fight for a title despite not being entirely happy with his display on Saturday.
“I put him down with body shots and head shots,” he said.
“I wasn’t completely happy with my performance. I’m not being ungrateful, I’m happy with the stoppage win, but I could have boxed better.
“I have been seven months out coming off a loss, so it was good to get that win and hopefully it gets me back in the mix. There aren’t many ahead of me now when it comes to the British title and Commonwealth title. I always wanted to fight for the Commonwealth since I was a pro because I won the Commonwealth Games as an amateur. I’d like to be out again soon.”
