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It's two wins out of two for Maguire ... but most of his fans miss it
MICHAEL Maguire made it two wins out of two as a professional with a lightning success in London on Saturday night.
MICHAEL Maguire made it two wins out of two as a professional with a lightning success in London on Saturday night.The 19 year-old bantamweight from Eastfield stopped Bulgarian opponent Lordan Vasilev in just 66 seconds of their scheduled four-rounder on the big David Haye v Monte Barrett bill at the O2 Arena but Maguire was far from happy.
There was nothing wrong with his performance – in fact it was perfect – but the fact that most of the 250 people who had gone along to watch him didn't actually see his stunning performance, was quite naturally upsetting.
Clive Hogben, the Kettering School of Boxing coach who guided Maguire to two European and eight national titles during his amateur career, was one of the lucky ones to actually witness the action.
"It was a disaster for Michael's fans," said Hogben. "The doors opened 15 minutes later than advertised and the boxing started 15 minutes earlier than scheduled. So because Michael was first on, it meant that most people hadn't even got into the arena by the time Michael boxed.
"And of course with it being all over in a minute, most of them never saw any of it. It was all down to bad communication between staff on the door and in the ring.
"Michael was very upset. He'd sold 250 tickets and so wanted to impress the people he cares about – his friends and family. But he ended up apologising to them all. They'd all spent 50 on tickets for nothing."
Maguire's performance was outstanding seeing as Vasilev was six years older and had been a professional for five years.
Vasilev was quickly on the attack and opened with two big right-handers. But Maguire made him miss with both and then stopped him in his tracks with a vicious left hook to the body.
Maguire then connected with a couple of neat combinations before smashing another left hook to the body. This time Vasilev sank to the canvas and that's where he stayed for five minutes.
"It was perfectly timed and perfectly executed," added Hogben. "The referee saw Vasilev was in trouble and gave up counting at four. It was a fantastic performance by Michael, who was simply too quick and too purposeful for his opponent."
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Friday 10 February 2012
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