Sky Sports
By Matt Horan
James Tennyson and Paul Hyland Jr both came out on top of exciting contests in their home city of Belfast.
Hyland Jr came through a gruelling, hard-fought lightweight fight with Dublin’s Stephen ‘The Rock’ Ormond to take a controversial split-decision victory on the scorecards.
Ormond appeared to outwork and bully the local star for large periods of the contest, but it was Hyland Jr who edged the cards with scores of 117-110 and 114-113, while one judge gave Ormond the fight by 115-112.
It was Ormond, 34, who perhaps started the contest the sharper, ripping home a flurry of accurate hooks in the first few periods, quickly forcing his younger opponent to stand and trade.
In the third, Hyland Jr, 27, managed to find his rhythm, circling the ring well and finding a home for a spearing jab, making Ormond, who continued to come marauding forward, look very crude at times.
Following the clever boxing at range, A big right hand soon dropped Ormond to his knees. ‘The Rock’ managed to rise unsteadily and returned fire with fire until the bell.
The Dubliner, gritty and determined, then upped the tempo in the next few, marching bullishly forward and throwing relentless hooks on the inside.
Ormond was clearly intent on making the contest a punishing fight, continually whipping in crunching hooks, giving the home favourite no chance to breathe.
Hyland Jr, evidently tiring, tried to bring his boxing skills into play and again work at range, but it was becoming an increasingly difficult job as the lightweight scrap reached its second half.
The impressive high work-rate from Ormond was showing no signs of slowing up, ‘The Rock’ menacingly landing the left hook at will in a tough ninth round for the Belfast man.
A nasty clash left Hyland Jr clutching his head in the next, before the pair again stood and exchanged heavy flurries in the eleventh.
The 34-year-old came out for the final three minutes with a gleeful smile on his face, noticeably enjoying his night’s work and again the pair traded to finish an entertaining lightweight contest.
“I couldn’t have done twelve rounds with a tougher guy,” said Hyland Jr. “He was always in your face.”
Ormond responded by saying: “I thought I clearly won the fight, but these things happen.”
Tennyson stopped Darron Traynor in the third round after an explosive shootout as he defended his WBA International super-featherweight title.
Both fighters started proceedings quickly, Traynor firing out range-finding jabs, while Tennyson threw some heavy-handed combinations that rocked the Scotsman.
If the opener was entertaining, the next was all that and more, ‘The Assassin’ continuing to load up with his right hand and quickly the 24-year-old had Traynor sat on the canvas.
‘Trayn-wreck’ got back to his feet and after biting down on his gumshield, returned fire with fire, soon rocking Tennyson with a hurtful shot of his own.
The relentless non-stop action showed no signs of slowing, both men trading leather in an incredible round of action.
In the third, after more toe-to-toe action, a thudding combination landed flush from Tennyson before a crashing right hand left Traynor flat on his back in the corner.
Afterwards, Tennyson said: “He came out swinging and tried to put the pressure on.
“I think I fell asleep a bit there, and he caught me with a good shot.
“Obviously the WBA world title has become vacant. If my shot comes, I’ll snap it up.”
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