Tommy Hyde TKO5 Craig McCarthy... Irish super middleweight Tommy “The Governor” Hyde (8-0, 5 KOs) defeated Craig “BTL” McCarthy (10-2-1, 2 KOs), to take the Boxing Union of Ireland Celtic title, outside of San Francisco at Fox Theater in Redwood City, California. The 24-year-old Hyde prevailed in the fifth round on a card presented by Westside Promotions. Hyde was comfortable from the opening bell, establishing his range in round one, and then controlling the action with slick counter-punching. McCarthy started to break down and was floored in the second round. Hyde pounded his opponent, nearly stopping him at the end of rounds three and four, before he closed the show thirty seconds into round five when referee David Irvine halted the action.

 

“It’s always a great feeling to win but winning with a title on the line and bringing it home makes that feeling even better,” Hyde said. “I’m happy with my performance. I didn’t waste any shots and felt dominant. It was unreal to finally fight in San Francisco. I have made a lot of friends here and made a lot more this week. I’ll definitely fight here again.”

 

“This was probably my best performance so far,” Hyde noted. “I fought a tough opponent and won the fight convincingly. I trained very hard for this fight, and I think that showed under the lights.

 

A celebrated Irish amateur boxer, Hyde participated in more than 100 amateur matches, reached the quarterfinals of the prestigious World Junior Championships in 2015, in addition to capturing three Irish National Championships, three Celtic Cup titles and the 2019 Haringey Box Cup.

 

Tommy’s father, international boxing manager Gary Hyde, commented: “I am very proud of my son Tommy’s performance on Saturday night. Tommy fought intelligently, hurting his opponent continuously before closing the show at the beginning of the fifth round. Tommy is officially the number 1 super middleweight in Ireland so the Boxing Union of Ireland will decide who he will fight for the vacant Irish Super middleweight title.”