Callum Walsh stops Wesley Tucker in two, Danny O’Connor wins in emotional Boston homecoming

BOSTON – Younger Callum Walsh got here to Boston meaning to combat his first 10-round primary occasion. It didn’t final ten minutes.

The undefeated junior middleweight dropped Wesley Tucker thrice within the second spherical with rapid-fire flurries that lastly left Tucker sitting on the underside strand of ropes ready for the sound of a saving bell. As an alternative he noticed the waving arms of referee Leo Gerstel, who stopped the combat at 2:59 of the second spherical.

Tucker (15-5, 9 KOs) appeared clear headed and in a position to go on however, frankly, there appeared to be no level to that.

Walsh (6-0, 5 KOs) had been getting ready for a tall, rangy typical model opponent named Leonardo Di Stefano Ruiz however per week earlier than the combat Ruiz broke his hand in sparring and had to get replaced by the 5-foot-5, left-handed Tucker. The change in opponents didn’t imply a change in plans for Walsh nevertheless, whose intention all alongside was to impress a surprisingly massive crowd of three,256 at Agganis Enviornment because the Irishman man from Cork made his Boston debut.

Walsh wasted little time forcing Tucker to again up, flurrying repeatedly as Tucker appeared for a chance to counter. He landed as soon as early with a verify left hook however all that did was persuade Walsh it was time to launch a whirlwind of punches.

“He caught me but it surely didn’t harm,” Walsh stated. “I knew then I might put stress on him and get him out of there.”

Thrice Tucker was despatched to the ground from flurries within the second spherical that appeared to overwhelm his senses and his reflexes. The primary time Tucker complained to Gerstel that he’d been pushed down on the highest of his head. He had not however definitely his head had begun to really feel like a well-pounded snare drum so his confusion was comprehensible.

Barely a minute later he once more was hit by a flurry of punches, together with two thudding proper palms to the physique and he sunk down alongside the ropes to the underside strand earlier than sitting down on his trunks for an eight rely.

“I knew he got here in (4 kilos) obese so he’d be weak to the physique,” Walsh stated. “You possibly can’t prepare for that.”

With the spherical winding down, Tucker lastly related with a brief counter hook but it surely was not sufficient to carry off Walsh or persuade him to stem the rising tide of punches he was throwing. When the final flurry landed, Tucker was undone, awash in a sea of indignant leather-based coming in waves.

“I really feel if I can put the stress on early I gained’t ever need to go 10 rounds,” Walsh stated. “Not many fellas can take it. I had one factor on my thoughts. Knock the man out. I got here on the lookout for an early end. I acquired the job performed.”

Within the semi-main occasion of the 360 Promotions card (streamed dwell on UFC Battle Cross), former junior welterweight title contender Danny O’Connor (31-3, 12 KOs) returned to the ring after a five-year layoff that resulted from being hospitalized with extreme dehydration whereas coaching for a deliberate title shot in opposition to then WBC 140-pound titleholder Jose Ramirez in Fresno, California. Three days earlier than stopping Luis Garcia on cuts at 1:55 of the fourth spherical in his comeback combat, O’Connor informed a heart-breaking story of how he had lived for 5 years believing he had let down everybody who had supported him.

“I felt like I let all people down,” O’Connor stated. “No one knew the turmoil, how arduous I attempted to make it work.”

For years O’Connor had lived with a hidden consuming dysfunction that had begun throughout his days as a highschool wrestler. He didn’t start boxing till he was 18 after which had a profitable novice profession earlier than turning skilled. His profession was on an upward arc till his combat with Ramirez needed to be cancelled.

The outcome was a battle with each internal turmoil and his consuming dysfunction. For a time O’Connor eliminated himself from social media and walked a lonely highway, leaving New England for a fireman’s job in Colorado. Ultimately he sorted out these issues, returned to start coaching at a gymnasium in Longmont, Colorado and at last got here again to Boston to launch what he hopes will likely be a comeback of observe.

“This week has been surreal for me. It’s been like a fairy story since I stepped off the airplane in Boston,” the 37-year-old O’Connor stated. “I’m higher than I ever was. I simply need one final likelihood to show it.”