Chamberlain Stops O'Leary In 10th-Round Dublin Thriller
Mark Chamberlain knocked out Pierce O'Leary in the 10th round of what Bad Left Hook called "an outstanding fight, a true Fight of the Year contender" at 3Arena in Dublin on Saturday night.
The English visitor Chamberlain floored O'Leary in the second and third rounds, opening a cut that left the Irishman's nose pouring blood for the remainder of the bout. O'Leary's face swelled quickly as Chamberlain landed at will early, and it looked like the home fighter might not survive the opening exchanges.
O'Leary's Rally and Chamberlain's Finish
O'Leary didn't fold. The Dublin native boxed his way back into the fight and hurt Chamberlain to the body in the middle rounds, dropping the Englishman heavily with a body shot in the seventh. The hostile 3Arena crowd erupted as O'Leary appeared to seize momentum.
Chamberlain steadied himself and found the opening in the 10th. He landed a clean shot that sent O'Leary down again, this time face-first to the canvas. The referee waved it off at 1:37 of the round, per Bad Left Hook's live coverage.
The victory moves Chamberlain to 18-1-1 with 13 knockouts and puts him into the conversation for bigger fights at lightweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">super lightweight. O'Leary falls to 19-1 with 11 stoppages in his first career defeat as a professional.
Chamberlain is expected to return before the end of the year, with promoters reportedly eyeing a step up in competition after the Dublin performance.
Original reporting:
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