Shane McConnell rocket wipes out Michal Malicki in a round
WATERFORD – A huge right hand from Shane McConnell sent Michal Malicki’s mouthpiece flying across the ring and the Pole hurtling on to his back. It was a terrific shot, and the signs had been there. McConnell had been looking to get in and land hard punches by switching stances but, having scored with several shots to the body, he turned orthodox and detonated the dramatic finishing blow. McConnell is now 3-0 (3 KOs) and can certainly crack. The time of the stoppage was 2:13 of round one. Poland’s Malicki is now 1-5 (1 KOs).
Ireland’s Kevin Cronin, 9-2-1 (5 KOs), posted a dominant performance to stop the outgunned super middleweight Damian Szewczyk after 1:25 of the third. Cronin burst through with a succession of right hands and the referee intervened before Szewczyk, 2-8 (1 KO) and fighting out of Wellingborough in England, dropped.
The Irish bantamweight debutant Danny Duffy was busy, threw a lot, showed good variety and was defensively sound in winning a four rounder over the game Jake Pollard. A frustrated Pollard, from Bradford, urged Duffy to stand and fight but the showmanship didn’t put any points in the bank and he lost 40-36 across the board. Duffy has won just once and lost 83 times.
In the show opener, the debutant Tiana Schroerder, billed out of Waterford, stopped Kinga Staniszewska. Having dropped Poland’s Staniszewska in the opener, Schroerder kept having success and forced a stoppage after 1:25 of the third round.
The fights, at the SETU Arena in Waterford, kicked off the Conlan Boxing-ProBox TV event.
Tris Dixon covered his first amateur boxing fight in 1996. The former editor of Boxing News, he has written for a number of international publications and newspapers, including GQ and Men’s Health, and is a board member for the Ringside Charitable Trust and the Ring of Brotherhood. He has been a broadcaster for TNT Sports and hosts the popular “Boxing Life Stories” podcast. Dixon is a British Boxing Hall of Famer, an International Boxing Hall of Fame elector, a BWAA award winner, and is the author of five boxing books, including “Damage: The Untold Story of Brain Trauma in Boxing” (shortlisted for the William Hill Sportsbook of the Year), “Warrior: A Champion’s Search for His Identity” (shortlisted for the Sunday Times International Sportsbook of the Year) and “The Road to Nowhere: A Journey Through Boxing’s Wastelands.” You can reach him @trisdixon on X and Instagram.