Professional boxing returned to Dublin in style on Saturday when the former Olympic Gold medallist, Michael Carruth, won the World Athletic Association welterweight title after a bruising encounter with Scott Dixon from Glasgow at the National Basketball Stadium in Tallaght.
It was the high point of an evening which saw six Irish boxers - designated Team Ireland - win all six contests against British opponents.
The focus was on Carruth from the start and his vociferous supporters gave him their full commitment in his 12-round vacant world title challenge.
As things worked out he was given a much tougher challenge than was anticipated. At the end the one point margin allowed to him by the referee, Fred Teidt, seemed scanty enough. Many experienced observers would have widened that margin to four or five.
The stark fact was that Dixon proved to be a much more difficult proposition than had been signalled. Carruth certainly made most of the running in the first half of the bout and seemed well clear - by at least four points - after the sixth round.
From there on, however, Carruth was never totally in charge and found himself running into some trouble in most of the rounds that followed. In the ninth round in particular the Dubliner was in severe trouble and his knee hit the canvas at one stage without it being judged a knockdown.
Had Fred Teidt ruled a knockdown then the contest might have ended in a draw. As things turned out an official warning for a low blow by Dixon which cost him a point, was also crucial to the outcome as the final scores were revealed to have ended in Carruth's favour by 117 to 116, the referee being the sole arbiter under WAA rules.
Carruth and his coach, Steve Collins, were both convinced that he had won by a much wider margin. Collins confessed that he was aware of the stiff challenge which his boxer was to face. "I told Michael that the way to approach the fight was to build up a big lead in the early part of the fight and then stay out of trouble and let his vast experience carry him through.
"Michael did that and I was surprised that the referee left only a margin of one point between them at the end," Collins said.
Carruth, not surprisingly, agreed with that assessment and said he was now looking forward to another bout before Christmas and yet another early in the New Year before making a bid for the one of the other world titles at the same weight.
"I believe that I have now achieved what I wanted. I am a world champion and all the others who claim the world title at this weight will know that I am there. I am not afraid of any of them and after a short break I will be back in the ring and then it will be up to others to get me another really good fight".
He admitted that Dixon had surprised him. "There is no doubt that he is a very good fighter and that, at 21 he has a bright future. He was a difficult opponent but I was never in any real trouble. I have also learned a lot from Steve Collins in the last few months and I am confident that I am at the start of something really big," he said.
The chief supporting bout saw Jim Rock, another Dubliner, step up to the super middleweight division to take on Michael Monaghan from Nottingham for the WAA championship at that weight.
Rock never really looked in serious trouble and the winning margin of nine points (119 to 110) speaks for itself.
Johnathan O'Brien also boxed at super middleweight to score a three point victory (59-56) over six rounds against Sean Pritchard from Wales while Willie Valentine also from Dublin beat Sean Grant from Durham by a similar margin in the super bantamweight division.
Once again Cathal O'Grady brought a swift end to his bout when Lee Swaby from Lincoln was stopped to save him further punishment after only two minutes, 28 seconds of the first round.
This was his fifth victory in the opening round as his professional career continues to prosper. In all he now has seven wins to his credit in the paid game and at 21 he certainly looks like a really exciting prospect.
The only non-Dubliner on the Team Ireland squad, Neil Sinclair, did not let Belfast down and did not take too long about it when his opponent Paul Denton from Birmingham signalled his surrender early in the first round having been hurt in the opening flurry.
WAA World Welterweight championship: M Carruth (Dublin) bt S Dixon (Glasgow) 117116.
WAA Inter Continental Super Middle- weight Championship: J Rock (Dublin) bt M Monaghan (Nottingham) - 119-110.
Welter: N Sinclair (Belfast) bt P denton (Birmingham) - Rtd Rd 1.
Super Middle: J O'Brien (Dublin) bt S Pritchard (Cardiff) - Pts 6 rds 59-56.
Cruiserweight: C O'Grady (Kildare) bt L Swaby (Lincoln). Stp Rd 1.
Super Bantam: W Valentine (Dublin) bt S Grant (Durham) - Pts 4 rds 39-36.
