by Tris Dixon
Sheffield’s Kid Galahad improved to 23-0 and captured the vacant IBF Inter-Continental featherweight title with a solid win over Mexico’s experienced Jose Cayetano
Cayetano, who two contests ago lost in nine rounds in Manchester to Scott Quigg, was outgunned and outfought, beaten up and ultimately broken down in 10 rounds (stopped after two minutes and 14 seconds of the session).
“I was very happy,” said Galahad. “I was still in second gear. Eventually you catch them and you take them out in the later rounds. People told me before how tough he was. Hopefully after this fight I can get an eliminator and get in with the likes of Lee Selby, Carl Frampton and Scott Quigg. Why don’t me and Scott Quigg fight an eliminator and the winner gets to fight Lee Selby?”
Galahad started purposefully in the first, switch-hitting and forcing Cayetano onto the back foot. The Sheffield man was busy and looked to go to the body and upstairs with a range of straight shots.
Before the second, trainer Dominic Ingle told Galahad to walk his man down. He picked up a verbal warning from referee Marcus McDonnell for punching low but, regardless of the height of the punches, he was in control. Straight southpaw shots were catching Cayetano, his head jolting back courtesy of both lefts and rights. In return, he was finding Galahad a hard target to nail.
Kid was again warned for going low in round three and Cayetano let his hands go more in the third. He, too, switched southpaw, landing some useful right hands even though Galahad remained dominant.
Cayetano shook his head at the end of the session.
The Tijuana man came forwards in the fourth but Galahad punched sharply on the back foot, forcing Cayetano to pause after an eye-catching right uppercut-straight left. That seemed to slow the visitor at the close of the round.
Galahad’s speed and variety impressed as the fifth opened. Cayetano was carrying his hands low and Galahad had a point taken for straying downstairs once more. It looked like that would be irrelevant as Galahad dictated the rest of the way, appearing to stun the Mexican with a brace of straight lefts. Galahad was pouring the pressure on.
Cayetano managed to steady the ship a little in round six, but he was far from getting a foothold in the fight or on the scorecards.
Galahad, the IBF’s number 10, landed a volley of left hands to commence the seventh but Cayetano only invited him to throw more leather. We knew the Mexican was tough; the Quigg loss was his only inside the distance defeat in his five reverses.
One wondered whether the culmination of shots Cayetano, now 21-6, was taking would eventually get to him because he remained game and kept trying to pressure Galahad, who was winning at a canter.
More of the same followed in the eighth. Was Cayetano being broken up or was he just bound to lose over the distance?
Galahad kept chipping away with accurate straight lefts and landed plenty of flush shots in round nine.
“He’s ready to go,” said Ingle in the corner.
It was one-sided. Galahad picked another stunning right uppercut and then ploughed in behind with both fists. He stopped and looked to see if Mr McDonnell would intervene, and the referee did. Cayetano did not protest. He had no reason to.
