Olympic medallist Darren Sutherland enjoyed a dream pro debut with an explosive first round stoppage of Georgi Iliev in Dublin.
Irishman enjoys first round stoppage in professional debut
Olympic bronze medallist Darren Sutherland enjoyed a dream debut with an explosive first round stoppage of Georgi Iliev in Dublin.
Frank Maloney's much-hyped super-middleweight took barely one of his six scheduled rounds to stop his opponent with a couple of spiteful body shots doing the damage.
Early in the round Sutherland rocked Iliev with a left hand that opened up a cut on the cheekbone, and a following body shot had his opponent staggering.
With Iliev there for the taking, Sutherland did not rush in and picked his shots well - with another thunderous body blast with 30 seconds left blowing the life out of Iliev.
Another couple of head shots with Iliev against the ropes and the referee rightly stepped in and called off the fight.
Delight
The Dublin crowd went wild as a beaming Sutherland celebrated the most impressive of debuts, even considering the calibre of the opponent.
"I said in the dressing room that I felt naked with no vest and no headguard," Sutherland told
Sky Sports after the fight.
"I enjoyed it. I'm really disappointed that I didn't get to do a few more rounds.
"I could see straight away from my jab that I could have taken him out at any time, but I didn't, I took my time and tried to get at least another round in.
"I took a couple of silly jabs but my objective is to improve in every fight and Frank will step up the opposition every time. It's a lot to take in but I can't wait until the next one.
"I'm really enjoying it, I'm living my dreams right now - I just love fighting. I love it when I get into that ring.
"People say I'm too nice to be a fighter but when I get into that ring I'm a different person."
Something special
Maloney says that Sutherland will be back in action in March, and believes he has a real star in the making with the 28-year-old.
"He'll have a rest now and a holiday with his family and then he'll be back on the undercard of Jamie Moore on March 6," said Maloney.
"He'll be back in the gym with Brian Lawrence and he'll be working on more stuff to improve him.
"I think we've found a real superstar here tonight and this is just the start of a long journey."
