Nolan turns on the power
It was another cleverly executed performance from the Bray-based Wexford man, who used his height and reach to control the fight from first bell to last.
He got one of the biggest cheers of the night from another sell-out crowd but hardly noticed as he quickly went about his business. He used his reach advantage to get through with some early right hand jabs, was short with the left hook but landed a big right that put Sanchez on the back foot.
After taking a small breather, he finished off the round with a big combination and had his man on the ropes at the bell, when he already had a comfortable 6-3 lead.
He opted to push forward in the second but now Sanchez was beginning to get inside his jab.
Nolan pushed him back on to the ropes and got through with some good shots to the head and body before shipping a left hook. He quickly went back to basics, allowed his man inside and punished him with another big combination.
Sanchez forced him back on to the ropes again towards the bell and but Nolan won the round 5-3 for a five-point cushion going to the third.
Now Sanchez had no option but to come forward and he could not avoid Nolan’s trademark southpaw jab.
Still he persisted, trying to pin Nolan on the ropes and connected with a looping left hand to the head going into the last half-minute when Nolan had taken his foot off the pedal but there was no stopping Nolan and he ended up winning the round 3-2 for and 14-8 victory.
Bantamweight John Joe Nevin and middleweight Darren O’Neill got the Irish boxers off to a flyer on Saturday.
Nevin, a two-time bronze medallist at the world championships and a Beijing Olympian, came off a cautious opening round to score a very convincing 21-6 win over Dennis Ceylan (Denmark) before a capacity crowd of 10,000 at the ExCel.
“I was flying it in the third round,” enthused Nevin who hails from Mullingar and boxes out of the Cavan club. “I love being up a bit going into the last round. It gives me a chance to show off my skills.
“It all fell into place — everything I threw — I was hitting him some cracking body shots. It’s not often I’d stand there and trade body shots. I’m a different boxer since four years ago and people seem to forget that.
“I honestly believe that if I perform to my best I can beat anybody in the world — No 1 no matter what — but if I don’t perform anyone can beat me. You don’t know which John Joe is going to show up so hopefully it’s the good John Joe.”
He had a previous victory over Ceylan and also sparred him at training camps.
“I think the Irish always win when we box against Ireland,” the Dane admitted. “They are a good boxing nation. John Joe is a good boxer. He is a better man — what can I say?”
Nevin, seeded No 5, should be confident when he touches gloves with Kanal Abutalipov (Kazakhstan) in a last 16 bout on Wednesday.
Darren O’Neill, who rooms with Nevin on away trips, also had an impressive start. The Paulstown southpaw inflicted a comprehensive 15-6 defeat on the tall and rangy Nigerian, Muideen Akanji, in a middleweight contest that was all over when O’Neill, a European silver medallist, found his range.
“I started getting the distance in the second round,” he said.
“I reinforced the game plan and I started working a bit more downstairs because he is quite tall — I’m a tall middleweight but he was towering over me — and once we got those few shots in we were able to break him down.
“I’ve never boxed a tall southpaw — orthodox can suit me because I can crack that shot to the body and come back with the hooks — but once I got my range I was happy enough.”
Danger lurks around the corner for the Kilkenny man who meets tough German middleweight, Stefan Hartel, on Thursday. The opponent for the winner of that contest will be either the world No 1 middleweight, Ievgen Khytrov (Ukraine), or Anthony Ogogo (Great Britain) who brought the house down on Saturday with his 13-6 victory over Junior Castillo Martinez (Dominican Republic).
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