Fagan stops Scifo in just 83 seconds

OISIN FAGAN made a dramatic return to his home town by stopping Richie Scifo in 1 min 23 secs of their lightweight contest at the National Stadium last night.

The 31-year-old Dubliner had never boxed in the National Stadium before. In fact he only had three amateur fights in six years before he went to Oklahoma on a soccer scholarship.

In soccer he made his name but, like boxing, he struggled for recognition until he played for Portmarnock in two Leinster Cup finals. That won him his scholarship to the US where he went on to work at a number of jobs - carpenter, delicatessen, physical fitness instructor - en route to his degree in political journalism.

He now teaches full-time, trains for three hours after work each day, and holds the Oklahoma state title - a title Scifo, an American of Italian extraction, was eyeing up to last night’s dramatic first round stoppage.

He got due warning in the opening seconds when Fagan switched attention from the body to the head and caught him with a sharp right hand.

It was the right hand that eventually did the damage. He had Scifo retreating from a barrage and, when he turned him, caught him with a big right hand to the body that sent him to the canvas.

He was never going to beat the count and it took him some time in his corner before he was able to leave the ring.

Fagan said: “He had been doing a lot of talking here all week. He was telling people his girlfriend had a bigger punch than me. I would not like to meet his girlfriend.”

Fagan was over the moon with the performance which was clinical and precise and left nothing to chance.

He scored freely with both hands and, when Scifo weathered the early punches, it appeared as they just might go the distance.

“It was a great homecoming,” said Fagan, who only took up boxing two years ago to earn money to buy an airline ticket back to Dublin.

“I have always wanted to box in Dublin and Brian (Peters) gave that opportunity. Just a couple of weeks ago Julio Cesar Chavez asked me for another fight.”

He thought the first fight which he won on points in Las Vegas was his best ever fight.

“I turned down a wad of money for that fight but I had already promised Brian Peters I would come here and, after what he has done for Irish boxing, I could not let him down.

“I am happy that I made the right decision and I am already looking forward to coming back here again. In the meantime I return to the US next Friday and will be back at school on Monday.”

Fagan has won nine of his 12 fights to date, has had TV exposure here and across America, and loves the game.

Paul Hyland also thrilled the home fans with an emphatic victory over Peter Feher from Slovakia who was having his third fight in Dublin this year.

Feher did well to go the distance after Hyland, who had some memorable performances in the National Stadium as an amateur, caught him with a powerful left hand to the body.

He was already on his way to the canvas when he tapped him with a right hand that might have finished the job there and then. He got to his feet and saw it out. Hyland got the verdict 40 points to 36.

Hyland admitted afterwards that he had taken some chances and shipped some big punches.

“I was doing stupid things, like coming out with my left hand low and he was catching me, but I am quite happy with the way I boxed,” he said.

“He was a difficult customer, hard to get to but I did something others have not done. I put him down. He has boxed Paul Griffin and Martin Lindsay here in recent months and they could not put him down.

“If I had thrown the big punches earlier I might have ended the fight earlier but I am happy to have won and to have won before the home crowd. I will be fighting on the Nicky Cook title defence undercard next month and that fight will be on Sky. Things are going in the right direction.”

Last night’s victory was Hyland’s fifth straight win since he turned pro last November.