BOXER Rhys Owens believes he is “ready to crack on and step up the rounds” after making it three professional wins from three with an impressive performance at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.
Boxing in a clinical and composed manner, ‘Lights Out’ Owens proved too strong for Mexican opponent Alexander Morales, securing a comfortable 40–36 points victory after four rounds.
Cheered on by more than 100 friends and family members, the Enniskillen man was pleased with both his performance and the manner of the win.
“I feel like it was a good performance. Usually I’m my own harshest critic, but I thought I boxed well and I was happy with the result,” Owens told the ‘Herald.
“I watched him a few weeks ago when he boxed another prospect from the south. I expected him to give me a bit more trouble and I was anticipating a tougher fight.
“I handled him well and bamboozled him at times when I switched to southpaw. He wasn’t sure how to get anything going, so I felt I controlled it from the start.”
The event had been thrown into doubt earlier in the week after the scheduled main event — the Commonwealth flyweight title bout between Conor Quinn and Jake Dodd — was cancelled.
Belfast fighter Quinn failed to make the 50.8kg weight limit at the weigh-in, leading the British Boxing Board of Control to rule that the contest could not proceed.
Despite the loss of the headline fight, the show went ahead at the Waterfront Hall, and Owens was full of praise for his management team, Jamie Conlan and Jason Quigley.
“Credit to Jamie, I know they might have taken a loss on the show because of the main fight falling through, but they kept the card alive for the sake of myself and the other boxers,” he said.
“I was lucky to get fighting. It was a tough six-week camp and it would have been very disappointing for it not to have gone ahead.”
Owens also paid tribute to his long-term coach Sean Crowley, who offered constant encouragement throughout the bout.
“I watched it back and all I could hear was him,” Owens said.
“When I was in there, I felt so focused and locked in that I couldn’t hear anything else. I felt comfortable with the task I had to do, and when I got back to the corner, he was spot on.”
After enjoying some well-earned downtime following the win, Owens is now setting his sights on a return to the ring in May, potentially stepping up to six rounds.
“I enjoyed some good food, but I’m trying to eat clean again now,” he said. “I ate so much over the weekend that I felt horrible, so it’s back to cleaning the diet up and getting into training.
“After speaking with Jason and Jamie, they feel now is the time to start stepping it up to six rounds. With this performance, I feel I’ve proved I’m ready to crack on and they’re happy enough too.”
