EBU middleweight champion Tyler Dennehy (20-2-3, 1 KO) retained his title with a disappointing fifth-round technical decision victory over Felix Cash (16-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.
(Photo by Dave Thompson Matchroom Boxing)
The bout was stopped in the fifth round on the advice of the ringside doctor due to a cut over Cash's right eye. The judges scored the bout 49-46, 49-47, 49-47.
Cash had been hurt by a left hook from Denney in the fourth round of the previous round and looked bad in the fifth round.
It was good for Cash that the fight was called off, because his injuries and level of fatigue meant there was no way he could have completed the full 12 rounds, and he was coming off a two-year hiatus and was not ready to face an opponent of this calibre.
Cash came into the fight strong, landing some hard punches in the first three rounds, but Denny's speed and activity level was too much for him to handle in this bout.
By the third round, Cash looked tired and not the fresh fighter he was at the start of the bout. In contrast, Denny was warming up but full of energy, and was hurting an opponent who was new to the ring. Denny was landing clean punches to Cash's head and body, draining him like a battery.
“As expected, it's been a difficult return after 18 months away from the ring. Felix looked a bit off at the start of the fight, he wasn't his usual self on his feet and his jab lacked a bit of sharpness,” promoter Eddie Hearn told Matchroom Boxing, speaking about Felix Cash's performance following tonight's bout with Denney.
“As the fight went on a little bit, it seemed like Felix was having a little bit more success. He was moving better. At that stage of the fight, I thought Tyler Denney was the big favorite because he'd lived his life, he was very healthy, I knew his engine was good. And then Felix started to get a little shaken up. Obviously, he had a bad cut,” Hearn said, explaining what went wrong for Cash.
