Ringside Report: Shannon Ryan Stops Nicola Hopewell in Wolverhampton
The long-awaited debut on a Matchroom show ended early for Nicola Hopewell when she was stopped in two rounds by the impressive Shannon Ryan in Wolverhampton on Saturday night. Ryan was too fast, too big, and ultimately too good for Hopewell. A fight where it highlighted that weight divisions exist for a reason. But it was also a little more than that.
Ryan retained her IBF Intercontinental super-flyweight title and added the vacant Commonwealth bauble to her collection in a career-best performance. It was a blistering, powerful performance from Ryan. The expected fast start materialised, and the opening four rounds were always the danger moments for Hopewell. The current IBO flyweight champion had to navigate them safely, but in truth, she never looked remotely like doing so.
Hopewell started reasonably well but was quickly overpowered by a fighter who looked several weight classes bigger than her. The Worksop fighter caught Ryan with a few decent shots of her own, but it quickly became a matter of when and not if Hopewell would be stopped. Even after two minutes, Hopewell was shipping far too many heavy shots.
The end came just after the minute mark of the second round. Ryan was getting to Hopewell, and already her leaky defence was looking likely to cause her downfall. One big right hand dropped Hopewell heavily, and even though she bravely got to her feet, her corner quite rightly threw the towel in.
Hopewell (8-2) just found her opponent too much for her. As I suspected, size was a major factor. Ryan was quicker, more powerful, and was a class above. At 34, Hopewell will need to consider her next move. The Emma Dolan defeat a few years ago showed Hopewell that she is no super-flyweight. Shannon Ryan has told her that again in devastating fashion. Flyweight, or even lower, is where she should be.
Ryan (11-1) may look to avenge her defeat to Dolan, but she showed her qualities tonight and might look to target a world title opportunity. On this performance, she will take some stopping.
Photo Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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