On Saturday night in Manchester, Jack Cullen gave a career-best performance to take home the British and Commonwealth super middleweight championships in a fight many expected him to lose against a tough, experienced opponent in Mark Heffron.
The first two rounds of the fight were relatively cagey, with Heffron keen to push forward but Cullen using his height advantage to great effect. Heffron did find some openings to land shots to the body in the second and third round, but Cullen also landed well in that time, including a clubbing right hand at the end of the second round that hurt Heffron.
As the end of the third round approached, Cullen landed a lightning-fast left hook that sent Heffron tumbling to the canvas and, despite Heffron instantly rising back to his feet, the referee had no choice but to end the fight and crown a new champion.
The victory helped Cullen bounce back from an April TKO defeat at the hands of Diego Pacheco. When he entered the ring, Heffron was riding a four fight winning streak – all by knockout.
Cullen said to Sky Sports after the fight: “It’s unreal, just as a kid watching boxing with my dad, he’s who I fight for, we’ve not just watched it, we’ve won it. Me and Mark know each other, we went to the same gym, he had the title we wanted. If I didn’t get the losses, I wouldn’t be here fighting for this. Boxing is my life, I’ve put everything into this fight.”