O’shea displays hallmark resolve

Knockout victory

LACHLAN O’shea could feel the anticipation building in the days before his first fight since March.

Plenty has changed for the Townsville pugilist since that bout – he has moved to the Gold Coast, endured the coronavirus pandemic and adjusted to a whole new regimen to transform himself into a title contender.

But what remained the same on Saturday night was his ability to prevail with his back against the wall.

O’shea took on Palm Island product Patrick Clarke in the Ring Rivals spectacle in Brisbane, winning by a knockout in the second round.

The southpaw was one of seven North Queensland fighters on the card, with him and Clarke joined by fellow Hawks Boxing alumni Dean Thomas and Aaron Stahl.

O’shea felt the heat in the initial stages of the clash, but in a statement ‘The Ric’ has trademarked in his fighting – when the going gets tough is when he’s at his best.

It was reminiscent of his professional debut against Ben Horn, where the awe of Suncorp Stadium made it difficult to find his feet.

But just like on that day two years ago, with his mum and other family in the Eatons Hill Hotel crowd, O’shea fought through the onslaught to establish his dominance.

And he does not intend on slowing down any time soon.

“I was a bit nervous with the whole thing, because the build up for it made a bit more pressure,” O’shea said. “But I just tried to stay calm when I got in there. Patty (Clarke) came out pretty hard and sharp and applied most of the pressure, I was just matching him and then I caught him in the second round.”

O’shea was joined on the victory podium by hometown sparring partners Stahl and Thomas.

For the former, it was a debut more than seven years in the making. In his maiden professional appearance against James Langridge – who already had 12 bouts to his name – ’DJ Azzy’ did not lose a round and laid the groundwork for a late-blooming career in the ring.

Thomas, affectionately known as ‘ The Blonde Bomber’, was making his comeback after two years out of the ring and showed few signs of rust in his win over Uton Chanavon.

While he got bogged down in the back-end of the contest, Hawks trainer Dennis Clancy said it was a monumental effort to take down an opponent who had gone the distance twice with highly regarded 24year-old Tysinn Best.

He said the rousing efforts from the North Queensland fighters against metropolitanbased opponents showcased the respect his fighters were establishing in boxing circles – on a night that included wins to Townsville’s Jalen Tait and Cairns’ Ryan Lucas.

“Within the state we’d be the strongest regional area, we’ve got so much talent coming out of here,” Clancy said.

“The likes of Mark Flanagan and Jalen Tait … those boys have jumped through, but now we’ve got a new crop and it’s growing and developing bigger and faster.”