ONE PUNCH, and everything changed.
What had developed into a night of fun, filled with 50/50 clashes and glittering performances, suddenly became something more akin to a nightmare.
It created an almost sinister atmosphere, in fact, when as soon as Tom Welland dropped to the canvas, the entire Brentwood Centre fell deathly silent.
This, after all, was most certainly not part of the script. But naturally, in that moment, everyone’s thoughts and perhaps prayers were with the 21-year-old – his safety – and not the future of his promising career.
Prior to that, an expertly timed right hook had floored Kevin Herrera in the second round, just moments before the Mexican put Welland down, albeit with a shove, in a move that was ruled a no-knockdown by referee Marcus McDonnell.
A passage of exchanges, most of them dominated by Welland, 9-1, 5 KOs, then followed shortly after, before the home fighter found himself on the receiving end of a truly devastating left hook.
The finish arrived at 2-13 of the fourth round, with Welland, who was immediately met with an oxygen mask, lying flat on his back.
Eventually, the talented stylist exited the ring on his feet – seeming in a better way, physically – while the psychological ramifications of his stunning defeat, on the other hand, remain to be seen.
Many will point to the fact that, once again, an unheralded Mexican – relentless in his approach; eager to change his life – has come over to these shores and crashed the party.
But of course, very few were saying this before the outcome, in which Herrera, 12-3, 5 KOs, ruthlessly halted proceedings in a featherweight contest that was surely seeping through his fingers.
Either way, the finish introduced a rather abrupt, and indeed shocking, end to an otherwise fan-friendly Top Tier card yesterday evening.
But crucially, the British Boxing Board of Control medical staff should be applauded, as always, for their urgency and professionalism in the thick of a potentially disastrous situation.
