HURRICANE FUTA SHOCKS WILL TOMLINSON IN FIRST ROUND UPSET

By Aus-Boxing.com

WITH one punch, Hurricane Futa tipped the landscape of the Australian lightweight division on its head.
While some in the viewing audience saw Futa as a live underdog in his ten-round WBA affiliated regional title fight with Will Tomlinson, few expected him to possess such explosive punching power, particularly with one punch.
Futa, 28, emphatically stamped his ticket in the lightweight title picture, forcing himself into a mandatory position to face the Brandon Ogilvie vs. George Kambosos Jr. winner at some point in the early stages of next year.
The fight was short and the ending was abrupt, with Futa crowned at 0:40 in the opening stanza.
The fight started with Tomlinson (now 25-3-1, 13 KOs) and Futa (now 21-6-1, 12 KOs) in the centre of the ring, trading jabs. The pair briefly tangled and wrestled before almost falling out of the ring and onto the canvas.
In the immediate aftermath, the duo traded left hooks with Futa getting a cleaner connection and the knockdown. The 30-year-old Tomlinson was in no condition to continue and Ignatius Missailidis quickly called the fight.
“I’m not sure what punch caught me,” said Tomlinson in his post-fight interview.
“But I’ll watch it back, re-evaluate my situation and see if the problem can be fixed.”
In the most entertaining fight of the night, Shannon O’Connell proved why she is fast becoming a can’t-miss attraction after successfully defending her WBC Silver strap with an entertaining decision win over Kimika Miyoshi.
O’Connell, 33, overcame overcame wobbly legs in the middle stages of the fight to round out a tougher-than-expected decision, with all three judges favouring the Australian by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92.
The defending champion started fast and was at her relentless best, cruising through the first four rounds.
However, O’Connell (now 13-4-1, 7 KOs) has also developed a reputation for making fights harder than what they need to be, with her battle against the dangerous Miyoshi (now 13-9-1, 5 KOs) proving to be no different.
Miyoshi’s right hand landed with plenty of success throughout, but as the rounds progressed O’Connell’s speed, finesse and technique gradually took over and ultimately wound up winning her some closely fought rounds.
Having secured a maiden defence, O’Connell is now waiting in the wings for reigning WBC titleholder Alicia Ashley.

Photo: Louie Abigail/Photography by Rockfingrz