Boxing brothers complete debut hat-trick

CROMER'S trio of boxing Walsh brothers had a night to remember after making sensational professional debuts in front of the TV cameras on Saturday. A huge left hand from 21-year-old bantamweight Ryan, just 11 seconds into his bout, was enough to knock out Riaz Durgahed and complete a hat-trick of historic and stunning victories for the brothers in front of more than 300 of their amazing army of straw hat-wearing fans at a packed ExCel Arena.

CROMER'S trio of boxing Walsh brothers had a night to remember after making sensational professional debuts in front of the TV cameras on Saturday.

A huge left hand from 21-year-old bantamweight Ryan, just 11 seconds into his bout, was enough to knock out Riaz Durgahed and complete a hat-trick of historic and stunning victories for the brothers in front of more than 300 of their amazing army of straw hat-wearing fans at a packed ExCel Arena.

Liam, Ryan's twin, had got the evening off to an excellent start by twice knocking down Daniel Thorpe before stopping him in the first round of their featherweight clash.

Then 23-year-old flyweight Michael completed a brilliant third-round victory over Delroy Spencer.

After settling early, he knocked his opponent down with a straight right and then saw referee Mark Green step in to stop the fight before he could inflict any more pain on the man from Wolverhampton.

The trio were fighting on the undercard of the televised clash between Amir Khan and Gairy St Clair in the heart of London's Docklands.

But fans who arrived early could not fail to be impressed by the Walsh brothers, including a clearly delighted Frank Warren, one of the world's leading promoters.

The brothers were understandably thrilled after a night which they said had been their “destiny” for the past 15 years or so and are now determined to fight on the same bill every time.

Speaking in their changing room after their fights, Michael said: “It's been absolutely brilliant. When you get into the ring and see all the fans, I wanted to stop him (Spencer) in the first round for them.

“We've been fighting together since we were five or six and we're not just brothers, we're best friends. We do everything together.”

Liam was delighted with his performance against veteran Thorpe, who went three rounds with Khan earlier in his career before being stopped.

After rocking the Sheffield boxer with a couple of big rights, he sent Thorpe to the floor with another right hand for an eight count and then finished him off shortly afterwards.

“I was really relaxed and couldn't wait to get in there,” he said. “I had a game plan to hit and move and it worked out brilliantly.”

And Ryan, who Michael claims “hits like a horse kicks” performed an impressive flip in the middle of the ring after destroying Durgahed.

But he admitted he missed out on some money after calling off a wager with his brothers, saying: “We had a bet on who would win quickest and when I saw Liam win in the first round, me and Michael decided to call it off!”