Rock makes history with fourth title

Jim Rock made Irish boxing history on Saturday night at the National Stadium as he became the first fighter to win four All-Ireland professional titles at different weights.

The 36-year-old Dubliner beat Jonjo Finnegan to add the light heavyweight belt to his three previous championship wins at super middleweight, middleweight and light middleweight.

Referee David Irving stopped the fight after two minutes and 15 seconds of the seventh round when Finnegan had failed to beat a standing count.

The Englishman, based in Burton-on-Trent and with roots in Gort, Co Galway, was sent onto the ropes by a shuddering right hand from Rock.

A subsequent flurry of body shots gave him little room to escape and he soon hit the canvas.

With the referee ruling Finnegan unfit to continue, all the hard work had paid off for 'the Pink Panther' as he celebrated his 29th win in 33 pro bouts with the vocal home crowd.

A strong left jab was Rock's best punch of the night and it kept his younger opponent at bay throughout the encounter.

Satisfied after his first fight in 16 months, Rock failed to confirm whether he would be retiring after his latest win, obviously hopeful that he can strike another deal with promoter Brian Peters.

Rock was in control in the early rounds of this scheduled ten-rounder, without doing too much damage.

Finnegan was game, he landed some decent shots, particularly in rounds four and five, but his lack of a killer punch certainly hampered him.

Speaking straight after the fight, Rock, who began his pro career back in 1995, said: 'It was tough at times, he kept coming back in dribs and drabs. But I stuck to the game plan and got the win.

'I trained hard up in Belfast with John Breen, I made sacrifices and it paid dividends.

'I knew I'd done the hard work. The fight is the easy part, all the training and sparring is the hard stuff.

'In the lead-up to tonight, I did a hundred rounds of sparring with three up-and-coming Irish fighters who are in the ring next week and that work really paid off for me here.'

Meanwhile, thirteen was not such an unlucky number for Cavan's Andrew Murray as he took his pro record to 13-0 by outpointing Galway-born Peter McDonagh.

Referee Emile Tiedt awarded the fight to Murray on a 100-94 score as the unbeaten 25-year-old collected the Irish lightweight belt.

It is Murray's second career title after he was crowned Irish light welterweight champion last December, following a victory over Belfast's James Gorman.

McDonagh had his moments in the fight, landing some crunching blows but Murray connected well with combination punches to the body and head and the win was well-merited.

Also on last night's card at the National Stadium, home fighters Oisin Fagan, Darren Corbett and Ian Tims registered a trio of encouraging wins.

Light welterweight Fagan, fighting at the venue for the first time since 2006, beat Latvia's Konstantin Sakara on points for his 22nd triumph in 27 pro fights.

Corbett, the Belfast-based cruiserweight, ended more than four years of inactivity by gaining a points verdict over Remigijus Ziausys from Lithuania.

Back fighting fit after suffering a number of injuries, the 36-year-old Corbett is hoping to rediscover his best form and earn himself a shot at current British light heavyweight champion Dean Francis.

In only his third pro bout, Dubliner Tims maintained his 100% record by outpointing Latvian cruiserweight Jevgenijs Andrejevs.

Tims, 28, debuted at the National Stadium last March and is developing a good following thanks to his combative style.

Well known from his amateur days, the Clondalkin fighter honed his skills at the St Matthew's club where he was trained by Brendan Dunne, father of last night's headliner Bernard Dunne.