Thomas vs McCullagh MTK

Bolton native Thomas came out looking to unsettle the debut fighter, throwing from the off, but McCullagh remained calm and wasn’t long about getting on top.

He worked the body well and looked to be hurting the BBBofC Central Area title challenger with everything he landed.

A more controlled ‘Irish Drago’ took to the ring in the second. The jab he talked about in the build up was more apparent and the big man showed a variety of work.

The final minute saw the big shots come out and Thomas did well to take to two left hooks before the Belfast big man, who came in just over the light heavyweight limit, forced him to do an involuntary dance with a long right hand.

At that point a stoppage win looked likely and the recent Ulster Elite light heavyweight champion wasn’t going to let an early night slip through his grasp.

The 6’4 power puncher got the job done in the third securing what could prove to the be the first of many career knockouts.

Coach Ed Harrison said "Ben's not been in the ring since the Hutchinson fight. He's done a few runs but that was about it. Ben did really well but it was just his breathing that go to him. He was breathing very hard when he got back to the corner at the end of the second round. Ben just couldn't buy enough time as Paul was coming in strong all round. Without the experience and skills Ben has, the fight wouldn't have gone past round 1. Credit to Ben for putting on a good solid performance. Ben can have a good rest now. There's not many shows happening at the moment so any fighters need to take these behind closed doors opportunities to fight. It's really weird fighting with no crowd. This show is literally just in a warehouse in the middle of nowhere".