Stopped in his tracks
FAGAN PROTESTS AS TITLE DREAM IS SHATTERED
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A FURIOUS Oisin Fagan has slammed the decision to stop his Irish lightweight title fight against defending champion Andy Murray at the National Stadium last Saturday. The Portmarnock veteran (36) stood up to a sustained attack from Murray in the fifth round, but then the referee stepped in and stopped the contest, to the delight of Cavan man Murray who now has 18 straight wins to his name and no defeats.
Speaking to the Fingal Independent yesterday (Monday), Fagan blasted: 'The only two times previously in 33 fights where I've been stopped were when I broke my leg, and when I broke my collarbone in three places. 'People who know me know I take some punishment but eventually figure it out.
'Afterwards the ref said I was taking too much punishment and then he was looking at my eye, but Murray is such a long and rangy fighter that I had to take it to get inside. And if there was something wrong with my eye, why didn't he call in a doctor to look at it?
'There was nothing wrong, though. I won the first round, the second was kind of equal and he was winning the three rounds after that.
'But in the fifth I was coming forward and throwing punches and the plan was to get another gear after seven rounds and break him down.
'I've had harder spars, to be honest, and that's not to take away from Murray. He's a very nice fella and a very good boxer, but I feel like I got the bad end of the stick and I was very upset at the manner of the defeat.'
At 36, the harshest critics will be suggesting that Fagan is past his sell-by date, but having won three fights last year and then lost to Paul Hyland in the 'Fight of 2009', the Gael Force is not about to throw in the towel.
'It is very early [to think about the future] and I'm going to leave it for a few weeks,' he said.
'But I do intend to continue for at least a year and maybe a couple, get some good fights behind me and test myself once more at European level. And if I was offered a world title fight tomorrow I would take it.
'You haven't seen the last of me yet, and I'm looking forward to getting back into it.'
- Marcus CAVAROLI
