Algieri impressive against Coyle
Chris Algieri was very impressive in winning his first defense of the WBO International Title (140 lbs) against a tough battler in Tommy Coyle, at Madison Square Garden Saturday night. His win kicked off a night at the Garden that closed with the historic upset by Andy Ruiz Jr. over Anthony Joshua that closed the show for the WBA,IBF and WBO heavyweight championships.
Coyle (25-5, 12 KOs) fought well early, appearing to hurt Algieri in the second, however Algieri (24-3, 9 KOs) was able to weather the storm, and later returned the favor. Algieri’s offensive mindset became apparent early, as he began digging accurate body shot, after body shot on Coyle. In the fourth round a beautifully placed body combination sent Coyle to the canvas. To Coyle’s credit, he picked himself off the floor, and continued to fight with pure guts, and will
What a scrap that was! ?#AlgieriCoyle pic.twitter.com/vYmY2zGDGG
— DAZN USA (@DAZN_USA) June 1, 2019
Coyle attempted to take back the fight in the sixth round, landing hard shots to the body and head of Algieri, pinning former world champion against the ropes, but it would not be enough. Finding a gap in Coyle’s defense, Algieri continued to batter the former Commonwealth champion. Algieri hurt Coyle in the eighth round and Coyle wasn’t steady walking back to his corner as the bell rang. Coyle’s corner stopped the fight before the start of the ninth saving the tough Brit from further damage. At the time of the stoppage all three judges had Algieri ahead on the cards. (77-74 (2x), and 79-72)
“My whole game plan for this camp was that on June 1, 2019, at Madison Square Garden, I, Chris Algieri, would stop Tommy Coyle,” Algieri said after the fight “I have been saying that over and over and over throughout camp. That was the game plan and we knew how to do it. I made it tougher than it needed to be, but I got it done.”
