Boxing: Magee wins IBO title in Liverpool

Belfast’s Brian Magee assured himself of a merry Christmas and, all being well, a prosperous New Year when claiming the IBO super-middleweight title in Liverpool last night.

In only his 14th professional fight, the 26-year-old floored Argentinian tough guy Ramon Britez three times inside the opening two minutes to secure a spectacular first round win.

The victory coincided with Magee’s switch to Barry Hearn’s Matchroom stable and, followed a frustrating period plagued by hand injuries, the future now looks bright for the former amateur star.

Matchroom spokesman John Wischhusen said: ‘‘Britez came here having stopped Adrian Dodson at Wembley a few months ago and in a lot of people’s eyes was the favourite.

‘‘So for Brian Magee to stop him in the first round was an excellent result. I think Brian had an aggressive strategy and it really did pay off big time.

‘‘It’s all come very early on in his career but there’s no reason why he can’t build on that win and go from strength to strength.

‘‘Now Brian can go away and have a very good Christmas and in the New Year we’ll sit down with him and plan out a strategy for 2002 and it could be a very exciting year for him.

‘‘One of the reasons he came with Barry Hearn was to become more busy and I’m sure Barry will keep to his word.’’

The challenger had been expected to keep the fight at long range in the opening exchanges, but instead chose to stand toe-to-toe from the opening bell.

That tactic reaped an instant reward when a short right hook, albeit coupled with a clash of heads, sent Britez crashing to the canvas inside the first minute and the South American never really recovered.

‘‘I was ready for a hard 12-round battle, but once my first punch landed I knew I had the beating of this guy,’’ said Magee.

‘‘I saw the opportunity to finish him off early so I just kept up the pressure and it paid off.’’

Wischhusen also had a special word for Liverpool’s Tony Dodson, who claimed the Central Area super-middleweight title with a second round win over Jon Penn.

‘‘I know Barry Hearn thinks of Tony as one of the brightest young prospects in Britain and last night he started on the first rung of what could be a very big ladder,’’ said Wischhusen.

‘‘He did well, he boxed superbly and stopped Penn very convincingly. He’s got a bright future.

‘‘Tony is still very young, he’s only 21 years old, that’s only his 12th fight and he’s got bags of time.

‘‘Barry has managed and promoted one or two world champions in the past and if he thinks a lot of a fighter he’s usually bang on the mark.’’