Joe Ward staved off disaster, beating Artjom Kasparian on a unanimous decision after 10 ferocious rounds at the 3Arena in Dublin.
Ward was a true amateur boxing sensation. At 17, all the way back in 2011, he became Ireland’s youngest ever senior European gold medallist.
Though he became an Olympian, misfortune dogged his amateur career, and his pro start was even worse. He dislocated his knee and lost his professional debut.
This fight at the 3Arena in Dublin was his first since 2024 and his ticket back to the big time.
Ward did begin like he’d never been away. He peppered Kasparian with sharp southpaw punching, popping shots into the body and the head. The Manchester-based hitter even picked up a nick by his right eye.
Kasparian stayed in front of his opponent, though, and in the third round, consecutive right hooks to the jaw tested Ward’s chin, with the visitor then pushing the home hero to his limit.
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Kasparian’s solution was to keep on throwing and keep hitting out with heavy shots.
The visitor got himself onto the front foot at the start of the fourth round, landing a double jab and snagging Ward as he stepped in.
Ward rapidly tired, punching with just his arms, his feet rooted to the spot, his head available to be hit. That is not the place to be against a big puncher like Kasparian.
Kasparian kept up a strong assault through the middle rounds of the fight. He was, at times, pummelling Ward and it looked like the Irishman was on the brink of disaster.
But, as well as talent, Ward has heart. He pulled it back, and brought in strong backhands to repel Kasparian in the seventh round.
Ward pounced on the opportunity, getting a second wind. He bounced a one-two off Kasparian’s head in the eighth round and started to dictate the action.
Under pressure Kasparian almost fell through the ropes and the crowd wildly cheered for Ward.
In the ninth round, Ward screwed his right in and slammed his left down again. Kasparian, though, hacked at him with left hooks.
Ward popped in a clean, accurate left cross and Kasparian staggered back a step. He harried Kasparian with a sustained combination before the round was up.
Kasparian banged in a one-two but Ward, marked under his right eye, managed to trade with gusto. Kasparian tried to reel away, but Ward kept on throwing, catching him.
Fiercely determined Kasparian slugged back, but Ward answered in kind and raised both arms in the air at the final bell.
Stevie McKenna, with older brother Aaron starring in the main event, got a memorable evening for his family off to a sensational start.
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Stevie McKenna stopped Owen O’Neill with a devastating right hand in the opening round of their contest at Zuffa Boxing 10.
He stormed out to meet Owen O’Neill, loomed over his opponent, and slung out heavy punches. O’Neill hopped backwards, trying to weather the storm. But McKenna did not relent. He stayed on his prey, whacking him with a massive left hook and continuing to strafe him with wide-arm punches.
O’Neill was left with little option but to tuck up beneath the onslaught. That, though, was just an invitation for trouble. A one-two from McKenna landed and a right cross sent O’Neill flying off his feet, crashing down on the canvas. He had to be stopped there and then in the first round.
Slick Scottish middleweight prospect Sam Hickey scored a second consecutive victory with a monstrous one-punch finish.
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Sam Hickey’s huge right hand knocked out Brad Axe in the seventh round of their contest.
Brad Axe was a competitive opponent, digging in and firing back when Hickey clipped him.
In the third round, Hickey stepped in and landed a short right to the side of the head that dropped Axe to a knee. The bell, though, rang to save him.
But Axe kept himself in the fight and caught Hickey in return. Regularly, though, Hickey finished rounds strongly, driving Axe into the ropes only for the bell to call him off.
Hickey, though, finished matters at the start of the seventh round. Axe bounced in and a booming right greeted him, spinning him round as he flopped down to the canvas. The towel immediately came in as Axe suffered a heavy stoppage.
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Watch highlights of Sam Hickey’s clash with Brad Axe from Zuffa Boxing 10 in Dublin.
Romania’s Daniel Buciuc managed to get through six rounds with Louis Greene, though he was in severe trouble in the closing seconds of the bout.
After a quiet first round, Greene closed down Buciuc’s space, hammering his body with hooks. He brought hard, chopping shots through the middle, jolting the Romanian.
Buciuc soon tried to move off, but he couldn’t keep clear. Greene took him to the ropes and Buciuc had to endure salvos of punchers, hefty uppercuts jolting him.
He attempted to tie up Greene but that left him open to the Briton’s overarm right.
Buciuc was hanging on as Greene shook him up in the final half-minute of the contest. With his legs loosening, Buciuc still kept himself upright and got through to the final bell, Greene winning 59-55.
Connor Coyle took a unanimous points decision win after a bruising 10 rounds with the USA’s Mark Beuke. The man from Derry put himself in the ascendancy in the early going of the bout, teeing up some solid right hands that blasted straight into Coyle.
Coyle picked up a cut early in the fight (Photo: Ed Mulholland/Zuffa Boxing)
But the American took his power and a cut opened by Coyle’s right eye to complicate his evening’s efforts.
Beuke stood his ground and kept Coyle honest with heavy hooks that he managed to land with either hand. But his successes came as single blows. Coyle worked better combinations and made sure he finished their exchanges with accurate punching.
Coyle finished the bout bleeding from the nose but reeling off straight punches to push Beuke back, winning 98-92, 98-93 and 97-93.
Patrick O’Connor, a top American cruiserweight prospect with Irish roots, made short work of Spain’s Juan Manuel Moriel.
Measured with his jab, O’Connor quickly took control. He lashed a right over and began to work the body as he ramped up his attack. The American finished a blazing combination of hooks to Moriel’s trunk with a left hook to the head.
Patrick O’Connor maintains his winning run. (Photo: Cooper Neill/Zuffa Boxing)
With O’Connor about to step up his performance, the bout was stopped after the first round, Moriel citing a shoulder injury as he remained on his stool.
The American remains unbeaten in four pro fights, all of those wins coming inside the distance.
