Tommy “The Governor” Hyde turned on the style in Uncasville, Connecticut, last weekend to score a fourth round technical knockout win over Noah Kidd at the Mohegan Sun Casino.
The super middleweight bout got off to a fast start with Kidd -- who has losses to 2016 Olympic Games gold medalist Daniyar Yeleussinov and former world middleweight champion Sergio Martinez on his ledger – attempting to catch Hyde cold in the scheduled eight-rounder.
But the 25-year-old Corkman, holder of the Boxing Union of Ireland Celtic super middleweight belt, weathered the early pressure. And at 6-feet-4, a good six inches taller than Kidd, Hyde’s strong left jab would soon become a factor.
He began to box more behind the jab in the second round, and unleashing flurries when he saw opportunities. At one point a hard right hook to the body hurt Kidd who, however, stayed upright.
By the fourth stanza, Kidd was taking a beating again. In the second minute, a thudding right hook to the body sent the Missouri native, who’s 28, to the canvas. He beat the count but was ready for the taking.
A body combination punctuated by a head shot were enough for referee Ricky Gonzalez to stop the fight.
Hyde upped his record to 9-0 [6 KOs] while Kidd dropped to 8-10-2 [5 KOs].
“I am delighted with my performance and victory as I was up against a very experienced fighter,” Hyde told the Cork Echo. “He [Kidd] was a tricky guy but I kept to my game plan and discipline to get the job done. I came close to getting him out of the ring in the second round, however, he showed all his experience to survive.”
Hyde’s previous fight was a fifth round KO of Craig “BTL” McCarthy in Redwood City, outside San Francisco, last March. That victory earned him the BUI Celtic super middleweight belt.
The 2023 Irish Prospect of the Year, Hyde was a celebrated amateur with more than 100 bouts. He reached the quarterfinals of the World Junior Championships in 2015, in addition to capturing three Irish National Championships, three Celtic Cup titles and the 2019 Haringey Box Cup.
Hyde plans to fight again in August, hopefully in Australia against an opponent to be named.
WALSH vs. ZAYAS
Two of the world’s most exciting young super welterweights – one of them Irish – could be on a collision course. And “King” Callum Walsh predicts that there will only be one winner should he and Puerto Rican star Xander Zayas clash: “I’ll knock him out, too.”
There’s been talk of Walsh [11-0, 9 KOs] and Zayas [19-0, 12 KOs] squaring off after their recent fights in which they both impressed.
While Walsh, who’s 23, scored a second round KO of Carlos Ortiz on June 7 in Santa Ynez, California, in defense of his WBC Continental Americas title,
Zayas, on June 8, defeated Patrick Teixeira, a former world interim champion, to retain the North American Boxing Federation [NABF] and WBO NABO belts.
According to irishboxing.com, Team Walsh -- which includes promoters Tom Loeffler, and Dana White, and trainer Freddie Roach -- point out that the fight makes sense.
“I promise I can knock him out,” Walsh told boxingScene.com after starching Ortiz. “I’m getting better every time. This is the best I’ve ever felt. I needed that one to get that hunger back, dominating a fella like that. Untouched, un-injured, ready to go again as soon as possible.”
