Lyndsay Stops Appleby In Six

Martin Lindsay ripped the British featherweight title from Paul Appleby’s grasp with a sixth round stoppage victory over the talented Scot. In front of a packed and noisy Ulster Hall, Lindsay dominated the champion for most of five rounds before a series of sharp and powerful shots wobbled Appleby in the sixth. The 7/4 favourite Appleby complained at the stoppage, and the debate will go on as to whether or not he was really unfit to continue.

The fight started exactly as Lindsay wanted, Appleby getting tagged on the back foot and having all of his shots blocked by Lindsay’s defence. Round 2 followed a similar pattern before Appleby began to show us why he was the champion with clean punches catching Lindsay all too often in the third. The fourth was a toe-to-toe war, probably just edged by Lindsay who was trying to put flurries together at this stage. Appleby’s power remained a constant threat and he landed a big right following a good combination by Lindsay, but at this stage the Ulsterman looked to have the fight under control.

Then came the sixth, Lindsay dominating before he began landing huge hooks with both hands and clearly wobbling Appleby. As Lindsay took advantage of Appleby’s dropped hands, all the champion could do was clinch in hope of survival until the end of the round. The referee separated the two, although at first he looked as if he was going to wave it off there and then. He allowed it to continue, and despite Appleby’s efforts to clinch, Lindsay had him in huge trouble. The end of the round was approaching, and two more big shots were enough for the referee to intervene. Appleby was angered but clearly in a bad state, perhaps he should have been let go on as the round wasn’t far from ending. However in all probability he would have suffered a devastating knockdown, something no one likes to see as proved by Lindsay’s bone-chilling knockout of Derry Matthews in his last fight.

Appleby’s corner and promoter were furious, and talk of a rematch has already began. For Lindsay, however, it is a career best and Adam Booth aswell as all the rest of Hayemaker Promotions have high expectations for the Belfast native. He is now British champion and deserves a long rest before deciding on his next fight. Cristobal Cruz (mentioned in the What’s Next for Bernard Dunne article as a possible opponent for Dunne) is the IBF featherweight champion that Hayemaker want Lindsay to challenge either this year or next. This could be a fight too soon, but the same could have been said about this fight and look what happened!

Written by Eoin Cooke