Phoenix fighter soars in Shannon

You would’ve believed a man could fly. If spectators took anything from Shannon Kickboxing Club’s sixth annual show last weekend it was that gravity-defiance wasn’t the realm of just Superman or Neo from the Matrix.
In round two of one of the last fights on the card, Ethan ‘The Animal’ Kerin launched a jumping front snap kick into the face of his opponent Danny ‘The Hammer’ Joyce.
It was the sort of move you seldom see in the lightweight bouts, let alone at super heavyweight, but bucking the physical trends of his weight class seems to be becoming something of a habit for the Ennis Kickboxing Club pugilist.
While the second round was a good one for ‘The Animal’, it hadn’t all been plain sailing for the fighter.
Squaring off against Joyce for the second time – the two fought last year at the same venue with Kerin coming out on top in his kickboxing debut – the Ennis man started uncharacteristically slowly, allowing ‘The Hammer’, a skilled boxer with dangerous hands, to ease his way into the first round.
Catching a big right to the face seemed to shake some sense into him, however, and the Ennis man responded to the early barrage, pushing the more experienced Shannon Kickboxing Club fighter back with a series of strong punches and heavy kicks to the body.
After receiving some strong words from his trainer – two-weight Irish champion Adam Leyden – Kerin emerged into round two every inch the animal of his moniker, peppering Joyce with blows from all angles.
It was midway through the round that ‘The Animal’ became a bird of prey, launching his 104kg frame into the air and landing his foot in Joyce’s face, bloodying up his nose. Tough as nails, ‘The Hammer’ hung on till the end the round and fight but the judges were unanimous in giving the decision victory to Kerin.
Also in super heavyweight action on the stacked 25-fight card, organised by Howie Vincent, was Ennis Kickboxing Club’s ‘Big’ John Kerin.
Stepping into the ring halfway through the night, the atmosphere in the Oakwood Arms Hotel was electric as the audience prepared for the first of the night’s battles of the big men.
Although this was Big John’s third fight, it was the 6 foot 3 inches tall, 110kg fighter’s first since December 2010 as a combination of injuries and lack of opportunities conspired to keep him out of competition.
The Ennis fighter took on Kerry kickboxer, Patrick Garriahey, over two rounds. Roughly the same weight but several inches shorter than Kerin, Garriahey, from Mike Allen’s gym in Tralee, is a heavy hitting bear of a man.
The first round started cagily enough, with both fighters trying to suss one another out. Big John used his long jab to feel out the distance while the Kingdom fighter did his best to slip the shots, break Kerin’s reach advantage and get in some good shots of his own.
The time for tactics was at an end as the bell for round two rang both men came out throwing punches and kicks with brutal intent.
Standing toe-to-toe with his opponent, Big John – who recently turned 18 – started to use his reach advantage to land on his shorter opponent, throwing some lovely combinations and mixing his hands up with big kicks.
As the round tapered out to its conclusion, there was a definite feeling that the Ennis man had done enough to take the decision but the judges were unable to separate the two behemoths and a majority draw was the outcome.
There’s already talk of a rematch being put together for the two with May 19 in Thurles the provisional date and venue.