Connor “The Kid” Coyle retained his NABA middleweight title with a 10-round beatdown of Argentine Christian Fabian Rios at the Hilton Carillon in St. Petersburg, Florida, last Saturday.
Headlining Reyes Fire Fist Boxing’s “Fire on the Bay,” Coyle had a strong opening round, landing hard jabs and thudding body shots. Supported by a loud cheering section, the Derry native delivered round after round, peppering Rios with clean punches.
Rios was hurt on a few occasions but displayed a tremendous chin and finished the fight on his feet.
Scores were 100-90 on all three scorecards.
With the victory, Coyle improves to 19-0 with 8 knockouts. Rios, who has only been stopped once, slips to 23-18-3 with 7 wins by KO.
“We knew he was a tough guy – he took David Lemieux and Esquiva Falcao the distance,” said Coyle. “I paced myself and landed well-placed punches. That was our game plan coming into this fight. I did hit him with a lot of solid shots, so I’ve got to give Rios credit for how game he was.”
Coyle, the WBA’s #4 ranked middleweight, believes a showdown with #3 rated Austin “Ammo” Williams is on the horizon.
“We’re the most active middleweights in the rankings,” said Coyle. “There’s been talk of us fighting but nothing came to fruition so far. I believe he’s fighting again in June so if he handles business, we could hopefully fight in an eliminator or for a world title later this year.”
Coyle’s promoter, Jody Caliguire of Reyes Fire Fist Boxing Promotions, was pleased as well and also envisions a fight with Williams in the near future.
“Connor did a great job against Rios and won all 10 rounds. Rios has been in with a ton of world class fighters and always goes the distance so kudos to him for his toughness. I anticipate Connor moving up in the WBA rankings and I know Williams is also ranked highly so we’re ready to make it happen for the number one contender spot or a vacant title if Erislandy Lara vacates.”
LETHAL LARRY
“Lethal” Larry Fryers snapped a six-fight winless streak with a fifth-round stoppage victory over Joshua David Rivera at Sony Hall, in Times Square, Manhattan last week.
The Clones product was relentless from the first bell, keeping Rivera under pressure until the one-sided contest was halted.
