Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Ended up as a Walsh out for Al
ALAN PHILPOTT put on the best display of his career against Shay Walsh at BAMMA 30 in Dublin’s 3 Arena on Friday night.
However, the bantamweight title fight ended in controversy after the Ballymena man hit Walsh with an illegal head kick as he fell to the floor.
Philpott knocked Walsh down three times with crisp combinations before the infringement in the first round led to the fight being declared a no-contest.
Afterwards, ringside doctors reported that Walsh’s jaw was broken, but Philpott claimed the damage was done earlier in the round.
He said: “The first time I hit the left-right combination I could see he was gone, his jaw was broken very early.
“It was an unfortunate way to end to fight, but he wasn’t lasting until the end of that round.
“I felt his soul leave his body the second time I dropped him. I was hammering him. Everyone that saw the fight knows that I’m the better fighter.”
Meanwhile, former BAMMA champion Rob Sinclair hung up his gloves after his loss to Paul Redmond in the co-main event. After a tentative first round, Redmond executed one of his signature leg locks in the second to force the tap from the veteran.
“It’s sad to see a legend like Rob hang it up after our fight,” said Redmond.
“When the leg lock was on I heard a really nasty crunch. That’s probably what did it for him.
“You hear some guys talking about ‘I want to end this guy’s career’, but that’s not me. I’m very sorry to see him retire on the back of a fight with me.”