NO DENYING

Kathopouli gets up to beat O’leary, writes Jon Bruce from ringside

THE Gilvenbank hotel staged another SM Promotions show in what was a first for Scotland: a pro-am evening with seven amateur bouts on prior to the pro action. Main event had Glenrothes-based Eftychia

Kathopouli taking on Siobhan O’leary in a six-round super-featherweight clash.

O’leary [below, on left] looked confident as the introductions were made, while Effy

[below, on right] was calm and collected. Working behind a tight guard, “Greek Trouble” was winning the first comfortably until O’leary landed flush near the end of the round to send her to the canvas.

Recovering in time to beat the count, Effy made sure that would be the only time she would be caught in the entire fight. The remaining five rounds were an onslaught as she knocked O’leary around the ring in the second, with only good footwork saving her from going down.

Round three was more of the same, with the face of the Limerick girl starting to bleed quite badly.

Keeping up her non-stop aggression, combined with a ferocious pace, for the rest of the fight, Effy was not to be denied and won on a 58-55 points verdict.

Local Lochgelly girl Emma Mcculloch boxed a six-rounder at light-flyweight against vastly experienced Claudia Ferenczi. Every round was fought at an incessant pace and Mcculloch showed good work on the inside to comfortably win 60-53 against the Slovakian.

Referee Darren Maxwell officiated both contests.

FULL RESULTS

Eftychia Kathopouli (129lbs), 4-1, w pts 6 Siobhan O’leary (129lbs), 3-1 (2); Emma Mcculloch (106lbs), 2-1, w pts 6 Claudia Ferenczi (107lbs), 20-74-8 (10).