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Aussie light-heavyweight sensation Damien “Super” Hooper extended his unbeaten record to seven fights with a clear-cut six round unanimous decision overtough southpaw and natural cruiserweight Young-Don Um on Wednesday night.
The 2012 London Olympian went out looking to score another knockout – none of his previous professional opponents had heard their final bell – and peppered his opponent with a variety of solid shots.
But somehow the 27-years-old Korean battled through the pain and even mounted an attack of his own in the third round.
Judges Wally Lewis and Adrian Cairns scored the fight 59-55, while Paul Tapley had it a shutout at 60-54.
“Thanks to my team for getting me this fight. I think I showed my heart and the crowd enjoyed the fight. I’ll learn from this fight because when I used my boxing skills I controlled the fight comfortably,” Hooper, 22, said.
“We butted heads a few times and that shook me a little. I think he got me with a good shot in the third round. He was a very tough and game opponent. I was happy with how I dug to the body.
“It’s only the beginning. There’s plenty of improvement to come!”
Matt Clark, Hooper’s co-manager, added: “It was a good learning fight for Damien. After a couple of rounds I think Hoops thought he was going to get him out of there and instead got a little careless and didn’t box as well as he’s capable of.
“He gave away some weight for this fight and Um was a tough kid, that’s for sure. I’m happy to see Damien get taken the distance so he realises he can’t stop everyone. He’ll benefit from it in the long run.”
Hooper’s trainer Gareth Williams said: “Damien was brutal tonight. The future is so bright for this kid, he showed heart, skill and will.
“The body attacks that we’ve been working on all came together tonight and he broke his opponent down.”
