Ahern shocks Cuban Perez

Irishman Conor Ahern pulled off a sensational upset in the National Stadium in Dublin tonight when he out-pointed Cuban Ivan Perez.

In the second of two internationals between the Four Nations and Cuba, Ahern gave the home country a perfect start when he defeated Perez 35-23.

In a fast and furious light-flyweight contest Ahern’s relentless pressure allowed him to pull away in the third and fourth rounds.

The 20-year-old Irish Senior champion was down 6-5 going into the second round.

But despite being caught by southpaw Perez’s left hand he continued with his furious assault.

Trailing 13-12 going into the third Ahern stepped up a gear and had Perez rattled, pushing him back with his non-stop aggression, winning the round 11-5.

Ahern immediately came out at the start of the final round and landed two sharp right hands and never allowed the Cuban to get close to denying him the biggest win of his career.

There was disappointment for England’s Stuart Langley when he lost for the second time in seven days to Wamalki Aguilar, 28-12.

Southpaw Langley enjoyed some early success with his smart counter-punching and drew the opening round 4-4.

But gradually the Cuban got on top in what was generally an untidy contest.

Aguilar led 16-10 going into the fourth round in which he dominated.

Langley was forced to take a count at the start of the round and then he received a warning for ducking below the belt.

Langley was clearly tiring and Aguilar was picking him off at will in the final minutes of the contest.