The Ricky Hatton trained Upton brothers, Sonny, Pauly, and Anthony made it a hat-trick of victories on the Goodwin Promotions show at York Hall on Saturday night.
Returning to the venue where he had lost on his British debut in October 2014 against Gary Cooper, Sonny Upton was pleased to have come through his bout against Ivan Duvancic in impressive style with a TKO victory in the fourth round.
Upton was in control from the opening bell as Duvancic had no answer to the accuracy and power of his body punching. Having already been put down twice with a left hook to the body, the Croatian stumbled to the corner for the third time in the fight forcing the referee to step in to end the contest. Upton said: “What happened the last time I boxed at York Hall was playing on my mind, but in a good way. I know Ricky and the rest of the team said I didn’t have anything to prove, but I wanted to prove it to myself.”
With well over 100 fans cheering him on from the balcony at York Hall, Upton admits he has now knows how to keep his focus in the noisy atmosphere. “I blocked them out to be honest,” he added.
“The fans provide amazing support for all three of us and they get a wave at the end to say thanks, but there are only two people I should be listening to in the arena and that’s Ricky Hatton and Mike Jackson in my corner.”
The victory was Upton’s fourth knock out win in eight fights and the 25-year-old light-middleweight believes he will continue to deliver spectacular finishes. “I’ve got power. I stopped quite a few guys when I was an amateur in Ireland. I like to use my speed and that’s where the power comes from really. It’s what Rick has been teaching us.”
Pauly Upton, 26, remains unbeaten after his opponent Zoran Cvek was disqualified by Harrow referee Kieran McCann in the fourth round. This was on the back of a warning from McCann in the third round for persistent hitting behind the head.
The youngest of the brothers, Anthony Upton, 23, completed six rounds for the first time in his career to beat Slovakia’s Lubos Priehradnik by 60 points to 54. In was a punch perfect performance from Upton against a tough journeyman, who did well to survive against the hard hitting light-welterweight.
The trio of brothers were born in London, but moved to Belfast to box out of the Holy Family Boxing Club in Belfast as amateurs before returning to Britain to turn professional. They currently reside in Lancashire where they are trained by Hatton.
