Liverpool has a new world champion after James Metcalf wrote his name into the boxing history books with a huge win over Dennis Hogan in Dublin.
The son of former WBU world light-welterweight champion Shea Neary, Metcalf got his hands on the IBO super-welterweight crown after 12 rounds of boxing at the 3Arena. In a sport where families form rich legacies, with Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn already established elite pros in their own right, Metcalf went one step better by becoming a world champion.
Several fighters have buckled under the pressure of trying to match their fathers’ achievements in the ring, but Metcalf produced the performance of his career to come out on top against the experienced Hogan. After an impressive start, Metcalf erupted with punches to open up the third and seemed to rattle Hogan, who had struggled to land any big shouts of his own in the opening rounds of the fight.
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Hogan, to his credit, worked his way back into the bout, but in round six, he could do nothing to prevent Metcalf from coming again with a number of big shots. The second-half of the fight was far from pretty with Hogan, who picked up a cut above his right eye in the eighth, using a number of veteran tricks to keep Metcalf at bay.
However, 'Kid Shamrock' refused to be denied and finished strongly, with Hogan even being deducted a point for his gum shield coming out. The scores were 117-110, 117-110 and 115-112 for Metcalf, who has now won his last four fights after back-to-back defeats.
"Thank you everyone for the support; it means the world to me," Metcalf said post-fight. "[I] had a couple of Guinness with the Hogan team last night, and I would like to say they are genuinely one of the nicest bunch of men I've met in boxing.
"I spoke with Dennis, and [he] said to me: "I’m glad you get to bring that belt home to your little girl just like I did when I won it!
"Sums the man up to lose and come out with words like that shows a great character. Thank you for an amazing experience, men."
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