Oisin Fagan wins in Mayo

Lightweight Oisin Fagan stopped Assen Vassilev in the fifth round of their fight at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar, CO. Mayo on Saturday night.

“It was good to get the rounds in and I would not have been happy with a blowout,” Fagan told the Irish Voice Tuesday.

“It was a tough enough fight and he was no walkover. He was a little soft around the belly and I targeted that,” continued Fagan, who added that he almost had his opponent down in the first, and that Vassilev was “gassed” as the bell saved him at the end of the opening stanza.

Vassilev felt the pain again in the second when a body shot crumpled the Bulgarian. “It was a straight right to the body, “ offered Fagan as to how the first knockdown happened. 

Fagan dominated the third and admitted that the fourth round was more even, simply because he decided to save his energy for a big finish.

That finale came in the fifth, when a right hook to the body put Vassilev down for a second time. Though the Bulgarian got up and came back to fight, the contest was now one-way traffic, and Fagan's constant pressure forced referee Mickey Vann to step between the two fighters halfway through the fifth to end proceedings. With this win Fagan moves to 23-6, 14 KOs, while Vassilev falls to 12-18.

When the 35-year-old fighter spoke to the Irish Voice last week, he promised that he would rid himself of the frustration the he felt after the fight with Amir Khan in December. This win will go some ways to venting that emotion, but the Dubliner needs to stay busy to capitalize on the rebound victory.

Fagan hopes to be in action at the end of June in a card in Tallaght featuring the Hyland brothers, and all going well, would like to challenge Eddie Hyland for his Irish super-featherweight title belt or Andy Murray for his EBU lightweight title after that.

In the meantime, Fagan has gone straight back to the gym training, and though a slightly bruised right hand will stop him working the bag and sparring for about a week, he is readying himself for what he hopes will be a busy summer of action.

Speaking of Eddie Hyland, the Tallaght man outclassed his opponent, Latvia’s Juris Ivanovs, on the same card, and ended the fight in the first round. In doing so he now moves to 12-1.

Super middleweight Darren Sutherland (2-0) continues his professional journey this Friday night when he fights Vepkhia Tchilaia (9-9) in a contest scheduled for six rounds at the Fenton Manor Sports Complex, Stoke, Staffordshire, United Kingdom.

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Nster.com