CORK MIDDLEWEIGHT GARY ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan kept himself in the mix for a shot at either Canelo Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin with a facile victory over the undersized Berlin Abreu at StubHub Center, Carson, California overnight.
The dominant O’Sullivan dished out a beating for three rounds before Abreu – inactive for 18 months and up two divisions from welterweight – decided he’d had enough.
With his fifth successive stoppage victory on North American soil, the world-rated Irishman improves his record to 28-2(20KOs). Abreu drops to 14-2(11KOs).
Sporting a green sombrero to the ring – a nod to the swathes of Mexican-Americans present on Cinco de Mayo weekend – as well as the Cork City FC logo on his kilt (yes, kilt), O’Sullivan cut a confident figure, fist-bumping fans and enjoying a joke with trainer Packie Collins during the introductions.
¡Un irlandés a la mexicana!
— ESPN Boxeo (@ESPNBoxeo) May 5, 2018
Gary O' Sullivan sorprende con su indumentaria en el ring.🇲🇽🇮🇪#GBPxESPN #BOXEOxESPN 🥊
(🎥 Vía @GoldenBoyBoxing)
🔥 ¡EN VIVO!
ESPN 3 🇲🇽 / ESPN Deportes 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/g809BQbiDS
Spike marched forward from the off, working his way in behind a solid jab which – mere seconds in – caught Abreu off balance. The 33-year-old crunched the American’s softer body and became exponentially more dominant as the early rounds progressed, though Abreu did find some limited success by way of two thudding right uppercuts through O’Sullivan’s guard.
It was the blown-up welterweight who began strongest in what would be the final verse: Abreu unleashed a fusillade at the start of the third – most of it deflected with relative ease by O’Sullivan, who was more than happy to return fire.
As the Mahon middleweight threw with spite and Abreu retreated, clearly struggling, there was a hum of inevitability about the finish.
In truth it was anticlimactic and bizarre in equal measure: Under fire, Abreu – who had been warned for losing his gumshield to a probing Spike shot a round prior – petulantly spat it out with a smirk. The respite cost him a point, but his hesitancy to rejoin the one-sided action suggested a cognisance that the judges’ scorecards would be futile.
Abreu swallowed more punishment as the third drew to a close, but declined the opportunity to answer the bell for the fourth. As O’Sullivan put back on his sombrero, Abreu – being roundly booed – stormed down the tunnel, declining even to wait for the ceremonials.
Oscar De La Hoya congratulated O’Sullivan at centre-ring as the Cork man kicked off his lucrative new three-fight Golden Boy Promotions deal with a routine win that should open the door to bigger nights ahead.
Speaking to the press afterward, O’Sullivan confirmed that he’d meet with Golden Boy on Friday night to discuss a potential bout with the currently-suspended Canelo Alvarez in September.
