IBA Intercontinental Lightweight Champion Josh O’Reilly made successful Title defense last Saturday in Canada.
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario, Canada (March 22, 2018) – Irish eyes were smilin’ last Saturday in Canada, when undefeated International Boxing Association (IBA) lightweight champion Josh “Dubs” O’Reilly made his first title defense, taking a 10-round unanimous decision over his Mexican challenger, Juan “El Tornado” Bedolla Orozco
The special St. Patrick’s Day card, presented by United Promotions, was held at Hersey Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
The 27-year-old O’Reilly (11-0, 4 KOs), an Irish-Canadian fighting out of Hamilton (Canada), defeated Orozco by scores of 100-90, 100-90 and 99-91.
“I’m very happy with my performance, especially against such a tough opponent,” O’Reilly said. “I’m glad I got 10 rounds in and, overall, I think it was a good performance.
“I’m looking forward to staying busy and getting back in the ring May 12th. I’m looking for another victory and a great show.”
Team O’Reilly Celebrates Its Recent Victory
“Josh O’Reilly is the hottest prospect in Toronto right now and we’re looking to keep him busy,” promoter Tyler Buxton commented. His next fight will be May 12th as the co-feature with Brandon ‘Bad Boy’ Cook in the main event.
Former International Boxing Federation (IBF heavyweight champion Frankie Rill (15-2, 11 KOs), stopped Argentinian knockout-artist Sebastian “El Grandote” Ignacio Ceballos (34-10-2, 26 KOs) in the opening round of the co-featured event.
Canadian light heavyweight champion Tim Cronin (11-1-1, 2 KOs) won a six-round majority decision over previously unbeaten Argentinian Juan Cruz Correa (4-1-1), Canadian light heavyweights Jason Alexander (2-3, 2 KOs) and Darren Fletcher(1-4-2) battled to a six-round majority draw.
Indian middleweight prospect Sukhdeep “Chakria” Singh , a 2012 Senior National Boxing Championship and 2011 Boxing Super Cup gold medalist as an amateur, had an impressive pro debut, knocking out Alejandro Garcia (2-2, 1 KO), of Mexico, in the fourth round.
Undefeated Armenia-native Andranik Grigoryan (3-0), now fighting oit of Montreal, won a six-round unanimous decision versus previously undefeated Mexican featherweight Sergio “El Duende” Palafox (7-1, 2 KOs). Grigoryan gained invaluable experience as a key member of the Russian Boxing Team in the World Series of Boxing.
Mexican super welterweight Mario Bedolla Orozzo (1-1-1) won a four-round split decision over pro-debuting, local favorite Karl “The Razor” Hess.
Last Saturday night’s St. Patrick’s Day event was a great success , Buxton concluded. “We had a little bit of everything: close fights, split decisions, majority draws, upsets, and knockouts. And Josh O’Reilly won a one-sided fight versus a very tough Mexican opponent, Juan Bedolla Orozco, who made Josh work. Overall, it was a great event.”
