Unbeaten prospect Frank Buglioni continued his dominance in the super middleweight division by stopping Darren McKenna in the third round in Wembley. This was the first time the Enfield man was scheduled to go eight rounds, but the gulf in class between the two opponents meant that McKenna could only last 3 of those 8.
Things were not too simple for the prospect however. In the first round Buglioni was caught with some wild, swinging shots from the opponent as he came steaming in like a bulldozer. The confidence allowed McKenna to gain some early success, eager to cause a big upset. However, he soon became disheartened as Buglioni punished him with piecing jabs and lateral head movement. The 28 year old from Sunbury, Surrey had only been stopped once prior to prior to this bout, but was coming close to his second stoppage defeat, in the second round ‘The Wise Guy’ ripped the mid section with thunderous body shots that had his opponent biting hard on his gum shield.
McKenna managed to hold on and make it back to his corner. Mckenna came out in the third round looking to quell the attack of the prospect – It was clear from the physical condition of Mckenna that he had trained hard for this fight, his punches were solid and he was in a winning mindset. However Buglioni had other ideas as he displayed sharp combinations that kept his opponent at bay, a short counter right uppercut onto the chin of Mckenna had his legs stiffened.
A credit to Mckennas bravery and ambition he adopted a do or die attitude, in an attempt to change the flow of the fight he launched a ferocious assault against Buglioni, but in his eagerness and Buglioni’s cunning, walked onto a crunching left hook and right hand that sent him to the canavs. The man with only two wins was not able to beat the count of referee Robert Williams.
After the fight Buglioni spoke to James Helder of IFilmLondon. “He was a very tough feller because when he gets hurt that’s when he’s most dangerous. It was a very good learning fight, first eight rounder so I was ready to go the distance. Fortunately I caught him in the third with a straight right and left hook and he didn’t make the count.”
“I was so overwhelmed by the support again. They were so vocal by singing and cheering. It’s really great that they get behind me and I am really grateful to the support.”
The popular man from Enfield is now 8-0 and will be looking to stay active in order to build his way up the British rankings and compete for the coveted titles.
*Special mention: Buglioni wore ‘Norgrove’ on the back of his shorts as a sign of respect and states that the fight is dedicated to his late Repton team mate; Mr Michael Norgrove who tragically passed away several days after suffering a brain injury during a boxing contest in London. Gone but never forgotten.
Report by Mr Kasim Aslam – @JDilla19