Treble success for fighting Irish brothers by Steve Wellings Apr 21st 2008

All three Hyland brothers won contests of varying levels on dad Paddy's show at the National Stadium, Dublin on Saturday 19th April. Eddie Hyland picked up the Irish super-featherweight title with a narrow win over Kevin O'Hara, Patrick Hyland blitzed Paul Griffin in three rounds for the featherweight version while Paul Hyland beat an unorthodox African over eight rounds. In the co-main event, Eddie nicknamed “The Prince of Tallaght” started fast and closed the show well after a dodgy mid-section, to out-hustle Belfast's O'Hara over ten intense rounds of action. The pattern of the fight was set from the opener with both standing in centre ring waiting for the other to lead and as soon as one started throwing, the round ignited into war. I gave them a round apiece in the opening two sessions, Hyland opting to left hook his way in rather than jabbing with O'Hara throwing straighter shots but landing less often. Hyland soon pulled away on my card, taking the third, fourth and fifth rounds as his shots seemed to be stronger whenever they traded, even if O'Hara was the better technical boxer. Eddie started blocking the returns better and ducking out of the way before countering the Belfast man, coming off well again in the exchanges. The sixth was the start of a subtle alteration in the pattern as O'Hara started using his good jab more effectively and went back to his corner smiling, knowing he had won the round as Hyland's intensity slowed. O'Hara was in the ascendancy come the seventh round and was left hand happy, throwing hooks and jabs while neglecting the right hand so often I started to wonder whether he had damaged it at some point. He hadn't, as by the eighth some solid 1-2 combinations confirmed the swing in momentum, O'Hara had levelled it up 76-76 on my sheet. This is where fighters need to dig deep and pull it out and Hyland did just that in the final two sessions as he caught his second wind, briefly stunning O'Hara with body blows. The last round was met with a roar from the crowd (both men were well supported) and Hyland took it on sheer desire to record a 96-94 win for my reckoning. Referee Emile Tiedt had it 99-96 according to MC Harry McGavock, which if correct would indicate a few even rounds. Hyland weighed in at 9st 3llb 8oz, the noise was so deafening I could not hear O'Hara's weight! Later in the evening the MC announced that a rematch deal had been struck already backstage, with the return taking place on 12th July at Tallaght Basketball Centre. Referee Emile Tiedt dealt with the second championship fight in which Patrick Hyland disposed of Australian based Irishman Paul Griffin at 2.08 of the third round. Both men looked in great nick with Hyland bang on 9 stone and Griffin marginally under, with Hyland looking tall and trim and immediately taking it to the veteran southpaw. Griffin was down twice in the first (trip and a slip) but it was close enough as Hyland set his feet and attacked the body. Griffin found the range in the second and took the round, knocking Patrick back with the right hand and displaying good in and out boxing skills. He was doing okay in an even enough third as well when Hyland picked a right hand out of the blue and Griffin's legs buckled and he went down heavily. Make no mistake he was in big trouble and rose shakily to receive more punishment as Hyland battered him around the ring prompting me to call for a stoppage. Experienced referee Tiedt knew the importance of the fight and gave the Sydney based man every opportunity to recover, but seeing Griffin was only in danger of getting hurt he stepped in and called a halt. Patrick improves to 11-0 and may be the best of the bunch. The third sibling on the bill, undefeated Paul Hyland recorded a shutout points win over showboating Ghanaian Ayitteh Mettle at super-bantamweight. Mettle (8st 8llb 6oz) clearly enjoyed his moment in the spotlight, dancing out of the changing rooms and circling the ring both before and after the contest, he spent a good while celebrating with fans afterwards who had warmed to the bubbly African. In the ring it was one-way traffic and by the fifth round the only interest was to see whether Mettle would crack and get stopped. Smiling Mettle absorbed the full box of Hyland's tricks as the Irishman doubled the jab, raked the torso and threw plenty of headshots, to no avail. Ayitteh lay on the ropes and responded with occasional haymakers that never looked like landing but for all his bravado he was strong. Hyland (8st 12llb) reminded me a little of Martin Lindsay as a good boxer with sounds basics but a lack of pop. Mettle meanwhile literally ran around the ring during the seventh so that referee McCullagh had to chase him down and tell him to fight. Hyland himself was even smiling by the eighth at Mettle's antics and the 80-72 scorecards could not be argued with. Likeable cruiserweight Jon O'Brien rode out an early storm from African Moses Matovu before posting a 59-55 verdict on the scorecard of referee Paul McCullagh. That total matched my own, but the 31 year-old Ugandan gave as good as he got throughout the contest and snatched the first on my card due to some meaty hooks that certainly got the tentative O'Brien's attention. Both have spent time in the States although Matovu (15st 11llb 8oz) is now fighting out of Belfast and had a top notch corner team of John Breen, Eamonn Magee and Jim Rock. He even landed clubbing swings to the body in the second but O'Brien (14st 6llb) started to find the range and some compact accuracy kept his man at bay. Left hooks had Moses staggering in the third and his gumshield was knocked out, the Ugandan sagged badly in the sixth and final session but showed guts to hold on and last the course. O'Brien dedicated the fight to his father who was admitted to hospital recently. Former amateur standout Ian Tims got a handy four rounds under his belt when he out-pointed debuting Mirica Edvardo (15st 3llb) over 4x3's in a bout sandwiched in between the main events. Tims has clearly retained his amateur style as he stood upright and stiff against the brave but physically bloated Edvardo who never stopped trying. The biggest cheer of the opening two rounds came when Edvardo missed a punch and got his head lodged through the ropes! This was only Tims' second pro fight and he has time to change, but the pitter-patter combinations grew stale by the end of the third. He will need another gear when the opposition becomes sturdier but for this learning level his jab and good basic ability are quite sufficient, as long as he sheds amateur mode. Referee Paul McCullagh's 40-36 score was a formality; no weight was announced for Tims. I had been looking forward to seeing Gary O'Sullivan in action and I was not to be disappointed as he recorded a swift stoppage at 1.33 of the first round. Opponent Tye Williams (10st 13llb 6oz) from England barely had time to work up a sweat before the well supported O'Sullivan (10st 13llb 3oz) came straight out and planted his feet ready for action. The Cork native, nicknamed “The Real Deal” threw every jab, body shot and straight punch with mean intentions and Williams's nose was soon bloodied as he circled the ring in search of refuge. A straight right hand down the pipe dropped Tye in the corner and he rose hesitantly to receive more punishment as O'Sullivan literally shoved him into the ropes before unloading. Referee Emile Tiedt jumped in and saved the ragdoll Williams from more leather, to no protests from fighter or trainer. O'Sullivan -with shamrocks shaved into his skull- embraced the adorning fans and showed exactly why he stopped the normally durable Peter Dunn on his debut. It was tentatively scheduled for 4x3's. A dreadful heavyweight 6x3's saw stocky Declan Timlin record a farcical fourth round knockout over Romanian survivor Mircea Telecan. Timlin (16st 8llb 6oz) was racing out of the blocks in the first with vicious intent and it seemed he might steamroller his podgy foe. However, a dull pattern emerged as the big man pawed a token jab before bull rushing Telecan (15st 8llb 8oz) who ducked low and initiated a clinch every time. Neither changed the pattern as the contest grew messier with holding, mauling and fouls, prompting referee Mr.Tiedt to caution both to clean it up. By the third session Telecan was timing Timlin better and landed a hook or two as the Galway resident stormed in. In the fourth round after a clinch, Timlin wrestled Telecan to the floor in the corner and landed a few while on the ground for good measure. Instead of calling a foul, ref Tiedt took up the count and Telecan rose late before offering scant protest and admitting defeat at 2.37 of the round. While the ending was questionable, the ref had probably just had enough and the crowd was relieved to see it waved off. In a bantamweight show opener, Belfast rookie Luke Wilton showed continued improvement as he shutout veteran campaigner Delroy Spencer 40-36 on referee Paul McCullagh's scorecard. Wilton (8st 7llb 6oz) used good variety including controlled jabs and hooks to the body to take immediate control of the Wolverhampton journeyman. Spencer (8st 10llb) kept out of range and allowed it to be pretty much one way traffic through the opening two sessions, as Luke enjoyed vocal ringside support. Lead right hands and good upper body movement kept Del at bay until the end of the second when Wilton felt a solid left hook which shook him up and reminded the youngster to keep it long. He did just that and coasted through a tired period in the fourth to make it two pro fights unbeaten. Sidenotes: The amiable Paddy Hyland promoted this show in association with Pat Ryan and Destination Events. Some familiar faces were at ringside, including recent Prizefighter heavyweight winner Martin Rogan who was sporting a few stitches, after his cut against David Dolan. In between fights, two youngsters from the Golden Cobra club took to the stage. Best young boxer Eric Finnegan was presented with his award from last year's winner, Charlie Heggarty. These could be two names to watch out for in the future. Any comments/feedback: stoibox@hotmail.co.uk

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