Padraig ‘The Hammer’ McCrory outpointed Leonard Carrillo over 10 rounds at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Friday night.
However, the local man didn’t have it all his own way in their ProBox TV main event.
The 36-year-old Irishman, fighting his first fight back since his sixth-round knockout loss to Edgar Berlanga Jr in Orlando in February, was looking for a statement victory but instead found a tough and durable opponent who remained difficult. all night with him.
Referee Hugh Russell Jr. scored the fight 98-91 as the sole judge. Most observers saw a much closer fight.
The tone of the battle was set in the opening round. McCrory (19-1, 9 KOs) took a left hand by Carrillo (17-6, 16 KOs) and connected with a counter left hook. Carrillo hit the deck and for a moment it looked like McCrory might be headed for the showers early.
But Carrillo was having none of it. With 20 seconds left to go in the round, the 35-year-old Colombian landed a big left hand that staggered McCrory. He continued to beat him until the bell.
The local favorite returned to his corner on shaky legs and recovered much of the second frame.
McCrory, 171½ lbs, worked his way back into the fight in the third and fourth rounds, landing the sharper blows while remaining wary of Carrillo’s wide, bombastic shots. The visitor received a stern warning from referee Hugh Russell Jr. for a series of three rabbit punches during a clinch.
In the middle rounds, Carillo spent much of his time showboating and trying to coax McCrory into return, a tactic that rarely worked. When Carrillo did release his hands, he had some success and McCrory was clearly not comfortable being on the wrong end of his power punches.
The back half of the battle developed into a familiar pattern. McCrory would use his superior boxing skills to land accurate shots from the outside, before Carrillo, 170½ lbs, would land a stiff left hand late in the frame, but would have too little time to capitalize on it.
Carrillo found himself on the canvas in the seventh, but it was deemed a slip. It was one of his better rounds in the fight and in the eighth he cut McCrory with a punch over the left eye. McCrory started well in the ninth, landing the sharper shots, but found himself on the ropes late in the round with Carrillo hitting him with rights and lefts until the bell.
Buoyed by this success, Carrillo kept it going in the 10th, walking McCrory down and trying to trap him on the ropes again. McCrory, clearly tired, did his best to stay out of harm’s way and finished the fight on his feet.
It looked like a close fight, but the referee and sole judge disagreed and awarded McCrory eight of the ten rounds.
In the co-main event, Robbie Davis Jr (24-5, 15 KOs) survived a finals scare to defeat Javier Fortuna (38-5-1, 27 KOs) by a single point.
The 10-round bout was a scrappy affair with plenty of grappling and grappling, but it was England’s Davies Jr, 36, who got the better of the exchanges and landed the cleaner shots with more frequency.
Dominican southpaw Fortuna, 35, who was having his first fight in over a year, struggled with his timing but did have success in the fight. In the final round, Fortuna hurt Davies Jr with a left uppercut before knocking him to the canvas. It was enough to make the fight close, but not close enough to win.
Referee and sole judge Sean McAvoy awarded Davies Jr the win by a score of 95-94.
Australian boxing journalist Anthony Cocks has covered the sport for over 20 years for various print and online publications.
