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Briton Mark Chamberlain stunned Republic of Ireland’s Pierce O’Leary as he dropped him twice on the way to securing a knockout win in the 10th round to claim the IBO light-welterweight belt.<\/b><\/p>\n
Chamberlain had to climb off the canvas himself in the seventh round as O’Leary struck him with a ferocious body shot in front of a capacity crowd in Dublin.<\/p>\n
But just as momentum appeared to be swinging in the favour of O’Leary, Chamberlain found a breakthrough and managed to get the stoppage late on.<\/p>\n
Portsmouth’s Chamberlain now moves to 18 wins with one defeat, bouncing back to winning ways for the first time since losing to Josh Padley in 2024.<\/p>\n
This was Chamberlain’s first fight since he drew with Jack Rafferty in Altrincham last summer.<\/p>\n
“First of all respect to Pierce for giving me this opportunity,” Chamberlain told DAZN after the fight. <\/p>\n
“I’m not a stranger to an away day and anyone that knows me knows that I will fight anyone and if that means that I have to go into the champions’ back garden then I will do that.<\/p>\n
“I’ve never been hurt before in a fight but that body shot stopped me in my tracks but fortunately I was able to get thorugh it and weather the storm.<\/p>\n
“We’ve been working on new things in the gym and it’s all paid off, I asked Frank (Warren) in the dressing room before the fight if we could bring a show down to Portsmouth, I’d love that. “<\/p>\n
After a tight and cagey first round, Chamberlain stunned the home crowd of around 7,000 as he landed a flush left hand that sent O’Leary flying back onto the canvas. <\/p>\n
Chamberlain then found another big shot in the next round as he sent his opponent to the floor again with a short left hook. <\/p>\n
But O’Leary responded well to the knockdowns, rallied by his home crowd as he pressed on to find a way back into the fight. <\/p>\n
He then found a breakthrough at the end of the seventh round as he backed Chamberlain into a corner and sent a punishing shot into his chest.<\/p>\n
Chamberlain was slow to get to his feet but survived the count and managed to avoid major punishment before the bell sounded. <\/p>\n
O’Leary continued to press on, with Chamberlain looking tired and the Irishman buoyed by the crowd. <\/p>\n
But Chamberlain struck in the 10th with a combination that saw O’Leary drop his hands and then pressed on, landing a number of clean shots that included a straight right hand to send O’Leary tumbling into the ropes and to the canvas. <\/p>\n
Fight promoter Frank Warren revealed after the fight that there is a rematch clause in the fight contract that could see the pair fight again in the near future. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n