Upton Proudest Man On Planet After Irish Title Win

Pauly Upton says he’s the proudest man on the planet following his vacant Irish super-welterweight title victory in Northampton on Saturday night.

The Ricky Hatton-trained 27-year-old halted the experienced Terry Maughan in the sixth round to become the Emerald Isle’s champion and he still hasn’t come down from cloud nine.

Upton, the oldest of three fighting brothers, was the aggressor from the start and rocked Maughan in the second round before turning up the pressure four rounds later.

A right hand to the body forced Maughan to wince and drop his hands. Seizing his moment, Upton followed up with a barrage of punches upstairs that had Maughan flailing against the ropes before referee David John Irving stopped the contest.

“I’m absolutely buzzing. I was an Irish champion as an amateur and I can’t put into words what it means to me to win this title as a pro,” Pauly said. “I said before the fight I wanted to win the belt for my grandad and I can’t wait to show him it.

“That said, I want to dedicate this win to everyone who supported me, including Ricky and the team, my dad, my brothers and all of the Upton Clan. What’s next? I don’t know because winning this hasn’t really sunken in yet, but I hope one day I can go back to Ireland and defend the belt. That would be like a dream come true.”

On Saturday night’s undercard, Upton’s stable mate Reuben Arrowsmith cruised to a comprehensive 60-54 points victory over Chris Jenkinson.

Arrowsmith, boxing over six rounds for the first time, kept a cool head against a very rugged and determined foe, using his jab and superior hand speed to land telling blows in each of the sessions.

Jason Welborn needed little time to kick start his return to welterweight as he blasted out Michal Voskya of the Czech Republic in just 56 seconds.

The Tividale man, a former two-time British title challenger, detonated a heavy right hand to the temple, dropping Voskya to his hands and knees. The visitor did manage to beat the count, but he was wobbling badly and referee Shaun Messer did the correct thing in waving it off.

Derbyshire prospect Zach Parker continued his education with a shutout points victory over four rounds against Lithuania’s Vaidas Balciauskas. Parker, 21, was in command throughout and even looked likely to add a stoppage to his record at times as his right hand penetrated Balciauskas’s guard.

Debutant Drew Brown made the best possible start to his time in the paid ranks as he scored a shutout four round victory over seasoned veteran Kevin McCauley, while local favourite Jamie Spence rounded off the show with a 40-36 verdict over Daniel Bazo.