10 big Irish knockouts in recent years

Down in round one, trailing 39-36 on all three cards by the time round five came around, Andy Lee was under huge pressure. John Jackson was closing in, using the thudding family fists to back Lee up as the Limerick man swung desperately. A thumping right hook landed to bail him out. Six months later, that same power won Lee a world title.

19 months after his crushing at the fists of Kiko Martinez, returning to the same venue, Bernard Dunne exorcised the demons in a thriller. Dropping Cordoba early, Dunne was floored twice himself and cut. Calling on the power of his Dublin crowd, Bernard roared back to drop Cordoba three times in the 11th to seal a famous world title win.

Irish boxing’s Cinderella man, Martin Rogan, was treading the boards of the small hall scene when his inclusion in the first-ever Prizefighter tournament changed his life. Mixing brute strength, a never-say-die attitude and a jovial nature, Rogan became a hit when he upset Olympic gold medallist Audley Harrison in his next outing. 

Barely three months later the dream continued as ‘Big Rogie’ went toe-to-toe with the ‘Bedford Bear’ Matt Skelton in Birmingham, winning by 11th-round stoppage. The reward was a homecoming bout in Belfast that went sour as Rogan lost to Sam Sexton in controversial circumstances and his career unravelled soon after.

A smooth southpaw mover, Dungiven’s McCloskey was taken along on a rough ride by veteran Italian Giuseppe Lauri who used his tattooed head to cause mischief and cuts. European champion McCloskey was struggling in the King’s Hall and lost a point himself for use of the nut in round 10.

Following an infringement break in round 11, Lauri went to touch gloves. ‘Dudey’ wasn’t up for such friendliness and uncorked a right hook that finished off the challenger, much to the outrage of Lauri’s corner team.

While Frampton’s big world title win came in 2014 as he outboxed and outpointed Kiko in the Titanic, the first time they met was a coming out party for ‘The Jackal’. In the Odyssey Arena, 2013, Carl showed grit, skill and power to grind down and take out the Spaniard in round nine to win the European title, setting Frampton on that road to world glory.

There will be more consequential endings in this list but none as devastating as James McGivern’s finish of Cardiff’s Rashid Omar for the BUI Celtic title. Both men were unbeaten, but McGivern, not a noted puncher, unleashed a phenomenal left hand onto Omar’s chin that froze him in time before he landed face first on the canvas.

If Martin Rogan was the heavyweight Cinderella man, Willie Casey was the lower-weight equivalent. Claiming Prizefighter glory like Rogan, propelled Casey into a career whirlwind as the likeable Limerick grafter carried on winning, eventually snaring a world title shot, which ended badly at the hands of Guillermo Rigondeaux.

As part of his route to a shot at the Cuban, Casey took his EBU opportunity with both hands. When Kiko Martinez withdrew from his European title fight, Casey and Dubliner Paul Hyland met. Casey overwhelmed ‘Hylo’ at home in Limerick in round four.

A battle of the unbeatens in the Ulster Hall saw Naas’ spidery southpaw Cully overwhelm Belfast’s Fitzpatrick in a single round of power punching to take home the BUI lightweight crown. Cully climbed the career ladder with mixed success, earning a contract with Eddie Hearn. Fitzpatrick, a talented amateur, who had signed pro terms with Frank Warren, drifted away from the sport and was last seen getting beaten up on the bareknuckle circuit.

Following a career rebuilding stint at British title level, west Belfast warrior Cacace won the IBO title and stepped in to unify with IBF champion Cordina, 17-0, on a money-spinning Riyadh undercard. Always touted as a bigger puncher than his record suggested, Cacace used his street smarts to drop Cordina in round three and bowl him over in the eighth to move on to bigger things.

An all-Irish grudge match that had been simmering for years. ‘Spike’ had dropped ‘Fitzy’ in sparring and they had a little push and pull at the pre-fight promotional meeting. In the ring, the Dublin grafter tried to force the issue and put it on O’Sullivan, but the power was too much. 

Eventually a sweet right uppercut did for Fitzgerald. A bizarrely dangerous incident followed as O’Sullivan mounted the ropes to celebrate and the sight of a flying stool came into view that miraculously swerved and missed his head by an inch.