Gary Cully suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Mexican Jose Felix as the Kildare boxer was stopped in the third round of the lightweight encounter at the 3Arena.
The Matchroom prospect looked cool, composed and confident in the opening two rounds, however, Cully was caught with a huge right hand after a minute of the third round, sending him to the canvas.
Cully did well to beat the count, however, with two minutes of the round remaining, Felix seized the opportunity and went for the victory.
Another messy knockdown gave Cully a welcome moment of respite, however, Felix proceeded to land blow after blow as Cully staggered backwards, unable to defend himself.
Remarkably the referee allowed the fight to continue and it took some quick thinking from Cully's corner to launch the towel into the ring to signal the end of the bout.
It was the first defeat of Cully’s emerging career, having raced to a 16-0 record encountering very little in the way of difficulty until Felix proved victorious ahead of Katie Taylor’s world title bout.
Thomas Carty secured the Boxing Union of Ireland Celtic Heavyweight title in style, knocking out Jay McFarlane at the 3Arena.
Boxing on the undercard of Katie Taylor's world title clash with Chantelle Cameron, Carty maintained his unbeaten record with his sixth straight victory and the genial Dubliner put on a show for the already packed quayside venue.
Carty eased into the contest against his brawling opponent in a scrappy enough first round, before unleashing his raw power in the second as a fantastic right-left combination put the Scot on the canvas for the first time.
McFarlane acknowledged the fine knockdown but was game to continue against the heavyweight prospect, who was revelling in the raucous atmosphere as big time boxing returned to the capital.
The first Ole, Ole, Ole of the night following soon after, and in the next round the devastating Carty ended it with two more knockdowns, with McFarlane taking the full force of the perfectly-timed combinations.
Carty was awarded the Celtic title belt after the fight and will now look towards a very bright future in the marquee division with an ever-increasing reputation of a big-hitting entertainer.
Caoimhin Agyarko excelled inside the ring with a polished and professional peformance as he easily accounted for Grant Dennis
Agyarko was quick to command the centre of the ring and controlled the tempo against his defence-minded opponent who covered up well, with a very tight defence.
But Agyarko's speed and abiiity to throw quick combinations ensured that he maintained the upper hand, securing the opening rounds with Dennis unable to respond.
In the fourth round, Agyarko appeared to step back to tempt his cagey opponent forward, and it appeared to have the desired effect as Dennis eventually started to throw, albeit without too much success.
This allowed Agyarko to unleash some big right hands behind a strong left jab, but again Dennis’ defence was up to the test and he remained unhurt.
Dennis continued to frustrate in the fifth, however, he looked to be tiring as Agyarko mixed it up a bit, targeting the body with the intention of lowering his opponent’s guard.
Agyarko increased the pace again in the sixth and continued to wear Dennis down, and as the fight moved into the seventh round, and with enough rounds under his belt, the former Ireland amateur champion went through his entire repertoire of shots as he maintained huge pressure on his opponent.
Dennis was wrapped up in the ropes as the round neared a close with Agyark sensing a stoppage, but the bell arrived to offer some welcome respite.
Agyarko patiently attempted to land the knockout blow in the last couple of rounds, but credit to Dennis, as he brought the fight into the tenth and final stanza, however, the judges cards confirmed the dominance of the Belfast prospect who took the contest 100-90 on all three scorecards.
Dennis Hogan relinquished his IBO World Super Welterweight title with a points defeat to James Metcalf.
Fighting for the first time on Irish soil following a stellar professional career of 36 bouts heading into tonight's encounter, Hogan struggled to handle the powerful, come-forward Metcalf who maintained the pressure throughout.
The Liverpool fighter started well, picking up the opening rounds with his direct and disciplined approach.
Hogan worked his way into the fight, impressing at times off the back foot, however, he was struggling to do enough to sway the judges with Metcalf enjoying success with some heavy shots landing throughout.
The Kildare native remained in the contest and continued to look for openings as the fight moved into the championship rounds, however, Metcalf was conditioned to endure whatever was thrown at him in the final two rounds and stayed positive to take a unanimous 117-110, 115-112, 115-112 decision.
Maisey Rose Courtney opened the show with a points victory over Waterford native Kate Radomska, and the entertaining six-rounder was followed by the unbeaten Paddy Donovan, taking on fellow weltereweight Sam O'Maison.
The Limerick fighter enjoyed a commanding performance throughout, as he dominated his English opponent throughout the early rounds.
However, the Andy Lee-trained prospect was made to work for his victory as the hardy O’Maison absorbed some big shots and had the confidence to hit back with a neat jab halting Donovan’s dominance.
But the eight rounder would finish in six as O’Maison faded badly under a barrage of controlled power shots from the stylish Donovan, who was picking punches and eventually secured the first knockdown of the fight.
O’Maison looked good to continue but the decision was taken out of his hands by the corner with the towel arriving into the middle of the canvas to signal the end of the contest.
Eleven straight wins on the trot now for Donovan who will be targeting some silverware over the next 12 months.
