Pierce O'Leary labors to European 140lbs title against Liam Dillon

IPSWICH, England – Ireland’s Pierce O’Leary claimed the European junior-welterweight title with a unanimous decision win over Liam Dillon.

The contest at Portman Road in Ipswich, England, was supposed to be O’Leary’s launchpad to big fights with the likes of Dalton Smith and Adam Azim. It may yet do that, but not in the way O’Leary, 17-0 (9 KOs), would have hoped. He was expected to stop the much smaller Dillon, 15-3-1 (3 KOs), but he disappointed and was taken the full 12 rounds. O’Leary appears to have been avoided by many of the top domestic fighters, but they may yet be tempted by the prospect of fighting him after his latest performance.

Dillon, from England, felt the very first punch that O’Leary landed, when O’Leary belted a right hand into Dillon’s face early into the opening round. Dillon smiled back, but he certainly felt it, and he backed away. O’Leary then fired in a left hand that knocked back the head of Dillon; the signs of what was to follow were already there.

The 29-year-old Dillon moved less in the second. O’Leary was therefore able to plant his feet and land an uppercut, and followed doing so with a right hand. 

O’Leary finally made a dent in the third, when he wound up a left hook and unleashed it on to the jaw of Dillon, who wobbled around moments after it landed. Dillon covered up but O’Leary didn’t rush – he planted two shots to the body and sent another into the head that hurt Dillon again. 

The Irishman again targeted the body in the fourth and whipped in a left hand to Dillon’s ribs that forced him to cover up and back away. Dillon was increasingly feeling the shots being thrown, and in the fourth took another left hand that made him grimace in pain. Dillon then risked firing in wild hooks as O’Leary came inside, but the Irishman consistently finished their exchanges.

Dillon absorbed O’Leary’s punches better in the seventh, when the Irishman’s work-rate slowed. He came forwards somewhat lethargically, which allowed Dillon to land. 

O’Leary’s growing sloppiness meant that in the eighth he started to walk on to Dillon’s right hand as he came in. He wasn’t moving forwards with the same intensity as before, and Dillon, in turn, grew in confidence.

While O’Leary was targeting the body he wasn’t capitalizing when he had Dillon hurt. In the 10th he landed a right hand that brought Dillon’s arms down to cover his midsection, but O’Leary only fired in a jab before following Dillon around the ring as he recovered. 

Dillon got off his tool with a smile on his face as the bell sounded to signal the start of the 11th. He then bounced on his toes and whacked O’Leary with one of his wild hooks. The Irishman again pressed forwards and landed two shots to the body, but Dillon again smiled and took those shots well. 

They touched gloves ahead of the 12th and again Dillon smiled as O’Leary came in to land a hard shot. It was Dillon who finished strongly, and appeared happiest to have reached the final bell, after which scores of 117-112, 116-112 and 115-113 were announced in O’Leary’s favour.

Lewis Richardson, also of England, had by then started his professional career with victory at middleweight over Dmitri Protkunas of Estonia. The 2024 Olympic bronze medallist demonstrate the difference in class from the opening bell. Protkunas, 8-21-1 (1 KO), struggled to lay a glove on Richardson, who speared his southpaw jab into Protkunas’ face and fired in three more shots before gliding away from danger.

Richardson perhaps showed but heavy hands. He landed at will and often, but struggled to hurt his opponent. The resilient Protkunas therefore lasted the full six rounds, at which point the referee Bob Williams scored Richardson a clear winner via a margin of 60-54.

Cuba’s Mike Perez defeated the in-form Steven Ward inside nine rounds. A fan-friendly fight when had been expected, but their contest struggled to deliver. They took turns throwing at each other, but it was Perez, 31-3-1 (22 KOs), whose work was having more of an effect. 

The seemingly inevitable followed late in the eighth, when Perez landed an overhand left hand that sent Ward to the canvas. The Irishman returned to his feet but was dropped again moments later after another left hand. He again returned to his feet and was happy to hear the bell, but he soon hit the canvas for the third and final time. Perez landed a crippling left hand to his midsection early in the ninth and down went Ward again. He again bravely returned to his feet, but his trainer Martin Murray threw in the towel after 49 seconds, ensuring Ward fell to 15-4 (5 KOs).

The junior bantamweight Jack Williams took advantage of the opportunity to fight on the big stage by outpointing the tough Fernando Joaquin Valdez, 1-16. Williams, 3-0 (1 KO), teed off on the short Argentinian at will during the opening round, but it quickly seemed apparent that he was going to struggle to finish Valdez. The Argentinian ducked low and held in an attempt to survive soon after Williams landed with authority. Williams, regardless, piled with in hooks and uppercuts before pivoting away from trouble. Valdez ultimately survived, and the referee Bob Williams scored 40-36 in Williams’ favour.

The heavyweight Nelson Hysa blitzed through Patrick Korte in two rounds. A stoppage became likely from early in the first when Hysa, 23-0 (21 KOs), landed a thudding right hand that sent Korte staggering into the ropes. Moments later he landed another that dazed the German, who took a knee to regain his senses. Korte returned to his feet but again found himself down early in the second. Hysa landed a bludgeoning right hand that forced Korte to take a knee again. He was up at nine, but the referee John Latham had seen enough and waved off the contest at 2:05 of round two. Korte fell to 22-5-1 (18 KOs) with the defeat.

The junior lightweight Billy Adams earned a 40-36 victory over Alexander Morales at the conclusion of an impressive display. Morales, 6-15-5 (2 KOs), was game but couldn't match the superior skills of Adams, 7-0, and was therefore well beaten.

Sam Gilley was left frustrated after being held to a draw by Gideon Onyenani. Gilley, 18-1-1 (9 KOs), was boxing up at 160lbs in what should have been a routine runout, after his original contest against Louis Greene for the British junior-middleweight title was postponed yet again after Greene withdrew through injury. Onyenani, 7-5-1, recently became the first to take the hard-hitting Jimmy Sains the distance and frustrated Gilley throughout. Gilley just couldn’t tie down Onyenani and struggled to find a footing in the contest. The referee Kieran McCann scored 76-76 after eight completed rounds.

The featherweight Umar Khan improved to 12-0 (1 KO) with a win over Moises Garcia. Khan started quickly and dropped Garcia, 12-14-1 (6 KOs), in the opener with a sharp right hand, but Garcia shot straight back up. Khan had to survive being hurt in the second when Garcia landed a right hand of his own that wobbled Khan’s legs. Khan then took control of the contest and walked away a deserved 79-72 winner on Williams’ scorecard.

Lillie Winch opened the night with a hard-fought victory against the tough Katerina Dvorakova. The junior lightweights went toe to toe for six rounds; the scorecard of 60-54 did not tell the story of a competitive contest. Winch moved to 5-0 with the victory; Dvorakova fell to 3-7 (3 KOs).