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O’sullivan and Quigley thrill American audiences, writes Kenneth Bouhairie
IT was fun while it lasted but in the end, middleweight Gary “Spike” O’sullivan was simply too much for Nick Quigley. What began as a war at the House of Blues ended in a thrashing as O’sullivan stopped the game Quigley at 1-23 of the fourth round.
O’sullivan has now won four straight since Chris Eubank Jnr halted him in December 2015. The 33-year-old is building a strong following in Boston, a city full of fellow Irishmen. Quigley wasn’t anywhere near Eubank’s level but earned applause from ringsiders by showing heart in what was a major step up in class.
The two fighters wasted no time in getting down to business, boring in and trading heavy punches in a fun first round. O’sullivan was clearly stronger, driving Quigley toward the ropes with a series of right hands to the head and body. One of them opened a cut on Quigley’s right eyebrow.
Barely two minutes in, it was already desperation time for the Liverpool native. Referee Arthur Mercante Jnr told Quigley to “show me something” as the fighter covered up along the ropes. Quigley, who hadn’t fought in 19 months, responded by landing a cross followed by a hook square on O’sullivan’s jaw. They then spent the last 30 seconds of the round trading heavy leather, to the crowd’s delight.
The back and forth continued in the second. O’sullivan asserted his greater strength, while Quigley was doing his best to fight him off. But his punches weren’t anywhere near as powerful as his opponent’s. Ultimately, O’sullivan’s combinations wore Nick down. A clean right at the end of the second wobbled Quigley. The gritty Englishman landed his share of punches but O’sullivan refused to take a backward step.
Following a one-sided third, Mercante spent a long time conversing with Quigley’s corner. His intuition was correct. Another right staggered Quigley two minutes into the fourth. He continued to throw back – and refused to go down – but after another O’sullivan combination, Mercante mercifully stepped in.
ESPN Deportes viewers were treated to a Golden Boy Promotions card full of action. In the chief support, Kosovo’s
Dardan Zenunaj scored a third-round TKO over Filipino Recky Dulay.
Zenunaj went to work in the first, dropping Dulay 30 seconds in with a straight left. Dulay took the eight-count before rising, only to be manoeuvred toward the ropes and dropped again, this time courtesy of a beautiful left hook to the liver. Dulay took his time in rising, spending the rest of the round on his bicycle.
Dulay found his rhythm in the second, firing combinations as Zenunaj walked in. It might have won him the round but he expended a lot of energy in doing so and the punches had little effect on his opponent. A cuffing right in the third sent Dulay to the canvas yet again. He rose a smidgen before the 10-count was completed, but referee Gene Del Bianco wisely halted the action at 1-50.
Popular local super-welterweight
Greg Vendetti scored an eight-round unanimous decision over Casey Kramlich on the undercard. Vendetti was the aggressor throughout, landing the cleaner, more effective punches. Cards read 79-73 and 80-72 twice.
In lightweight action, former two-time Olympian Everton Lopes ended a twoyear layoff by winning a questionable six-round split decision over Eduardo Rafael Reyes. Reyes proved far tougher than his 8-11 record going into the bout suggested, catching the surprisingly slow Lopes with clean counters in each stanza. One judge had him winning 58-56, but the other two scored it 59-55 in Lopes’ favour.
Undefeated super-middle Carlos Gongora cruised to an eight-round unanimous decision over Henry Beckford. Cards read 80-72 and 79-73 twice.
Welterweight prospect Ray Moylette nearly stole the show, obliterating journeyman Michael Clark via secondround stoppage. Moylette struggled in his last fight, only two weeks earlier, versus a 1-2 Donte Bryant. Bryant’s awkwardness proved to be a tough puzzle to solve as Moylette eked out a split decision win.
Clark’s straight-ahead style allowed Moylette to pound away. A barrage of rights forced the fight’s end at 2-49 of the second.
THE VERDICT Onwards and upwards for the “Spike” rebuild.