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Joe McGrail in boxing pose, charcoal portrait
SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT

Joe McGrail Folds Matthew Boreland With A Left To The Body — Fifth-Round Count-Out Keeps The WBA Continental Gold Belt In Liverpool

Joe McGrail hurt Matthew Boreland in the third and then finished him with a vicious left to the body at 3:03 of the fifth round on the Croke Park prelims, keeping his WBA Continental Gold super bantamweight belt and moving to 14-0. Luke on the body shot, Boreland's first defeat, and where the Liverpool prospect goes next.

By • September 6, 2026 By
  • Joe McGrail retained the WBA Continental Gold super bantamweight title by knocking out Matthew Boreland with a left hand to the body at 3:03 of the fifth round on the Croke Park preliminary card
  • The Liverpool fighter moves to 14-0 with seven knockouts after hurting Boreland in the third and finishing the job two rounds later; Northern Ireland's Boreland loses his unbeaten record and falls to 7-1
  • Luke's verdict: McGrail's body punching is the best in the British 122lb division and a British or Commonwealth title fight before the end of the year is the right step — Luke backs him to take it

Unbeaten Against Unbeaten

Right then. Buried on the Croke Park prelims, before the stadium was even half full, was one of the best fights of the night. Joe McGrail, 13-0 going in, defended his WBA Continental Gold super bantamweight belt against Northern Ireland's unbeaten Matthew Boreland, and he did it with the single best body shot of the whole card. Boreland was counted out at 3:03 of the fifth. McGrail is now 14-0 with seven knockouts.

How It Went

The first two rounds were even, and I mean that — Boreland was sharp, he was busy, and for six minutes it looked like the sort of unbeaten-against-unbeaten fight that goes ten hard rounds. Then McGrail hurt him in the third. You could see the change in Boreland's feet straight away; the confidence went out of them. McGrail did not rush. He kept working, kept going downstairs, and in the fifth he landed a vicious left to the body that folded Boreland in half. The referee counted him out at 3:03. Make no mistake, that is a finish that gets a fighter noticed.

The Body Punching

Let's not beat around the bush. McGrail's body punching is the best in the British 122lb division right now, and it is not a close call. He turns the left hook into the ribs with proper technique — weight through the hip, elbow tucked — and he sets it up by going upstairs first so the guard comes up. Boreland had no answer to it, and I do not think many domestic super bantamweights would.

Boreland's First Defeat

Boreland falls to 7-1. He came to fight, he won the early rounds on my card, and losing to a body shot on the biggest stage of your career in front of a crowd that was not even there for you is a hard way to take your first defeat. He will be back. There is no shame in losing to the best body puncher in the division.

Luke's Verdict

Fourteen unbeaten, a regional belt defended, and a highlight-reel finish in Dublin. The next step is a British or Commonwealth title fight before the end of the year, and I back McGrail to win it — probably inside the distance, probably to the body. If you know, you know. The full night from Croke Park, including Katie Taylor's farewell, is on our news page.

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