'Natural' Nevin lives up to billing

The majority of the packed crowd at the Farnham Arms came to see Olympian John Joe 'The Natural' Nevin (right) dance under the lights and the Cavan boxer didn"t disappoint, writes Paul Fitzpatrick. Nevin was simply sensational in his stoppage of a very game Canadian with a Cavan name, Josh O"Reilly, in the eagerly-anticipated main event of the evening. Wearing a t-shirt stating 'It"s hard to be humble when you"re as great as I am', the 19-year-old lived up to his own billing, abandoning his usual cautious, backfoot style to bombard O"Reilly with a relentless attack which resulted in the bout being stopped in the second round. The MC on the night praised O"Reilly for having 'the guts to get in with a genius like JJ' and, in truth, he was spot on. Nevin"s dazzling handspeed and footwork were a joy to watch as he prepared for the defence of his Bantamweight strap at the EU Championships in Denmark.

Smarting from a hometown larceny in Turkey the previous week, Nevin showed no mercy with O"Reilly and looks to have improved since his last appearance at the Farnham. With the World Championships looming later on in the year, this lad is one to watch for major success. Left: The first round of John Joe Nevin's win over Josh O'Reilly last Friday, as captured by The Anglo Celt.