The Main Card Opener
Right then. The main card at Croke Park needed a start and Taylor Bevan gave it one. The Southampton super middleweight walked into an 83,000-strong Irish crowd, took on Dublin's own unbeaten Emmet Brennan, and left him flat on his back 36 seconds into round six after five knockdowns. Bevan is now 10-0 with nine knockouts. Make no mistake, that is a puncher, and British boxing has itself a new one at 168.
How It Happened
Bevan went to the body from the first bell, which is exactly what you want to see from a big hitter against a fresh opponent — you do not head-hunt an unbeaten man early, you take his legs first. Brennan boxed neatly in the second and for a round it looked like he might make it a contest. Then, late in the third, Bevan landed a crushing left hook and Brennan went down hard. He got up. A three-punch combination put him down again. The bell saved him.
The Body Shot In The Fifth
Credit to Brennan, because he actually held his own in the fourth. But with seconds left in the fifth, a left hook to the body dropped him again — the sort of shot that takes the fight out of a man rather than just the legs. He beat the count, and again the bell saved him. That is three knockdowns and two bells. The writing was on the wall.
The Sixth
The start of the sixth was delayed while the doctors had a long conversation with Brennan in his corner. They let him out. It lasted 36 seconds. A body shot dropped him, and then a left hand to the jaw laid him out flat on his back. The towel came in from the corner but it was academic. Brennan loses his first and drops to 6-1. He is a brave man, and I hope he is looked after properly, because he took far more than most would have.
What Bevan Has
Let's not beat around the bush. Two fight-ending weapons: the left hook upstairs and the left hook downstairs, and he sets them both up off the same body attack. The power is real — nine stoppages in ten fights — but what impressed me more was the patience. He did not panic when Brennan boxed well in the second and the fourth. He kept going back to the body and waited. That is a fighter who understands what he is doing, not just a slugger.
Luke's Verdict
Bevan is the most dangerous super middleweight prospect in Britain right now, and I would put him in with anyone domestically at 168 tomorrow. A British title fight is the obvious next step, and I am backing him to win it inside the distance whoever holds the belt when the time comes. Southampton has a proper puncher. If you know, you know. The full night from Croke Park, including Katie Taylor's farewell, is on our news page.