Sean Sheehan 
In front of a banging crowd in the 3Arena this Saturday night it was Dublin’s own Cathal Pendred who represented Ireland first as he took on dangerous Brit Tom Breese in the welterweight division.
After a heated weigh-in on Friday it was a tentative enough start from both men as they traded jabs early on. Breese was the first to land a minute into the fight as he bloodied up the Dubliner’s nose with a straight shot.
The first clinch of the fight came midway though the round as Pendred controlled the position before landing a couple of nice shots once they broke.
Breese, though, answered back with a big uppercut and headkick which hurt Pendred as Breese looked like he was setting into a very impressive rhythm.
Late in the round Breese upped the pressure as he sensed an opportunity, and backed Pendred against the cage before landing three huge straight lefts which downed the SBG man. On the ground it only took a couple of more shots for Leon Roberts to step in and give Breese the first round TKO win.
For Breese it’s an extension of his unbeaten run while Pendred takes his second loss on the bounce.
