Hogan: My Eyes Will Be Glued To Sadam Ali vs. Liam Smith

WBO number two junior middleweight Dennis "Hurricane" Hogan 27-1-1 (7) has earned himself a shot at the WBO world title with a comprehensive 12-round points victory over Jimmy Kilrain Kelly 23-2 (9) at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre in Brisbane, Australia on Saturday night.

The 33-year-old Brisbane-based Irishman used his in-and-out movement to overcome Kelly’s four-inch height advantage and score with left jabs and right hands in what was a tactical battle.

When the judges’ scores were tallied Hogan was awarded the victory by scores of 119-109, 117-111 and 117-113.

“It was a great fight and Jimmy put up a great battle,” says Hogan after the fight. “It was a great fight for the fans.”

The 25-year-old Kelly from Manchester praised Hogan on his performance.

“Dennis is a deserved winner, he’ll go on to win a world title,” says Kelly, who was ranked WBO number three leading in to the bout.

After a close opening round Hogan edged the second stanza with his more effective jab. In the third Hogan started to find his range, landing a good right hand shortly before the bell.

Kelly’s height made things difficult for Hogan as he used his length to keep the home fighter at bay. The fourth round was close, with both boxers investing in the body in the fifth.

Hogan opened the sixth round with some good combination punching. A lunging left hook from Kelly landed to the jaw of Hogan midway through the round, but it wasn’t enough to offset the quality work by Hogan.

In the seventh round the two boxers fell into a clinch and tumbled to the canvas, with Hogan closing out the round with some clean punches to the body.

Kelly had a better round in the eighth with both men exchanging on even terms along the ropes. Hogan banked the ninth round on the strength of a cheeky left hook early, some stiff jabs and a well-timed uppercut, punctuated by two chopping right hands just before the bell.

After a scrappy tenth round trainer Glenn Rushton told Hogan he needed to lift his workrate in the championship rounds, a call to action that produced the desired results. Hogan controlled the action on the strength of his jab and landed a jarring right cross with thirty seconds to go in the eleventh round.

In the twelfth round Hogan almost knocked Kelly through the ropes as both boxers emptied their tanks trying to gain one last advantage before the judges had their say.

The victory puts Hogan in line to face the winner of the WBO junior middleweight world title fight between champion Sadam Ali 26-1 (14) of Brooklyn, New York and challenger Liam Smith 26-1-1 (14) from Liverpool, UK at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York on May 12.

“My eyes will be glued to that fight between Sadam Ali and Liam Smith,” says Hogan, who retained his WBO Oriental title and claimed Kelly’s WBO Intercontinental belt with the win.

After the fight Paul Keegan of DDP Sports reaffirmed his commitment to the sport and desire to bring the big fights to Australia, starting with Hogan’s challenge to the winner of the WBO world title fight between Ali and Smith.

“No longer will Australians be going overseas as cannon fodder. We want to bring world titles to Australia,” says Keegan.

“There are multiple Jeff Horns in this country and we want to do everything in our power to bring the big fights here.”