Craig MacIntyre didn’t let the longest layoff of his career slow down his career progress once able to hear the opening bell.
The 25-year old Scottish junior welterweight picked up his third straight win, scoring a 5th round knockout of Ishmael Ellis. Their bout served as a five-fight stream which aired live Wednesday on ESPN+ from Production Park Studios in South Kirkby, England.
Glasgow’s MacIntyre scored the bout’s lone knockdown, flooring Birmingham, England’s Ellis (11-3, 0KOs) with a bod shot in round four. Ellis beat the count but was unable to evade further damage, as MacIntyre finished him off at 2:54 of round five.
MacIntyre advances to 12-0-1 (5KOs), the lone blemish coming in a 10-round draw versus Henry James in June 2018. Wednesday’s win marked his first fight since a 3rd round stoppage of Chris Adaway last June in his Glasgow hometown.
Opening the livestream, Pierce O’Leary (5-0, 2KOs) picked up his first career win over an opponent with a winning record and doing so in spectacular fashion. The junior welterweight Dubliner scored a 4th round stoppage of Jacob Quinn (4-1) in their battle of unbeaten 140-pounders.
O’Leary dropped Quinn in the opening seconds of round four, finishing off his British foe in 0:21 of the frame. All four of his previous encounters have come versus career “opponent” types, though the Irish prospect showed real promise in his latest performance.
Headlining the show, former title challenger Jono Carroll (18-1-1, 4KOs) faces Maxi Hughes in a scheduled 10-round lightweight battle; Carroll still serves as a 130-pound contender fighting above his normal weight.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
