LATE stand-in Darragh Foley produced a shock third round stoppage of Robbie Davies Jr, who suffered a horror ankle injury in the process.
Davies had made a sharp start at the Echo Arena, landing a good right hand and taking the first round on the cards.
But it all changed with 10 seconds left of the second when southpaw Foley got his right hoot on the outside of Davies’ left and landed a huge right hook which dropped the home favorite.
He got back to his feet and his head seemed clear between rounds however his right ankle had twisted badly beneath him on his way down.
And it was clearly badly damaged as the fight was over within 26 seconds of the restart when a far more innocuous shot dropped him for a second time. This time, Davies’ same ankle appeared to completely give way on him as he went down and his trainer Shane McGuigan had no choice but to throw in the towel with his boxer unable to walk.
It is the fourth defeat for 33-year-old Davies Jr, who has now lost three of his last seven, and he will now be hoping for some positive news regarding what looked like an horrendous injury with his career in the balance.
Australia-based Irishman Foley, who only got the call to fight a few weeks ago due to an injury to Liam Paro, said: “Looking back at the replay I look like a twat jumping up and down when the man has injured himself.”
He added: “But I needed to win this fight. There was no way i was leaving that ring a loser, no way in my life, man.”
Popular English heavyweight Johnny Fisher boshed his way to his eighth professional win by stopping Alfonso Damiani after four one-sided rounds.
The Romford Bull is one of the biggest ticket sellers in British boxing and his travelling army, including his famous dad ‘Big John’, made the trip up to Liverpool to watch their man at the Echo.
And he did not disappoint, blasting out his Italian visitor after 2:05 of the fourth. In truth, it was surprising that it took him that long with Fisher landing with big right hands within 10 seconds. But despite what was basically one-way traffic, Damiani managed to stay on his feet throughout.
In the end, he could also feel aggrieved about Steve Gray’s stoppage which was considered early by many. Fisher had backed Damiani up into a corner and rocked his head back with another right hand but he did not go down. But Gray rushed straight in to wave it off.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said: “He was OK to continue but he was going to get badly hurt. It was really good for John to get some rounds.”
Fisher added: “Credit to Damiani, very tricky, game as well and he wanted to carry on.
“Sometimes it’s not about their durability it’s about their defensive technique,. He had ambition and he got here with a good 6-2 record. But I got him out of there today.”
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