Stoke Newington fighter hospitalised after Prizefighter win at York Hall
Erick Ochieng after his win against Paddy Gallagher. Pic: Rob Newell/TGSPHOTO - Credit: Rob Newell/TGSPHOTO
Stoke Newington’s Erick ‘The Eagle’ Ochieng was taken to hospital after collapsing in the ring at the end of a dramatic Prizefighter quarter-final on Saturday.
Ochieng had just taken a unanimous decision in his welterweight clash with tournament favourite Paddy Gallagher at York Hall when he complained of feeling unwell and had to be given oxygen.
The 26-year-old was then stretchered from the arena and taken by ambulance to the London Hospital, Whitechapel, where he was given a brain scan and eventually discharged at around 1am.
Ochieng’s trainer Brian Lawrence told the Gazette: “Erick is all right – he wanted to get up but the doctor took the precaution of sending him to hospital.
“It was very hot in that ring and he had got overheated, but all the time we were in the ambulance he was talking. He was checked out and all is fine.”
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Ochieng looked a comfortable winner against the previously undefeated Belfast man – who he dropped twice in a whirlwind first round, as well as going to the canvas once himself.
It was surprising that neither boxer went down again in the remainder of the fight, with Gallagher coming forward throughout the second and third rounds.
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But Ochieng did what he does best, boxing off the ropes and landing the better scoring shots with his counter-punching to clinch the decision 29-28, 29-27, 30-26.
Following the east Londoner’s collapse, Gallagher was reinstated in the tournament and went on to reach the final, where he lost out to Johnny Coyle.
Homerton’s national bantamweight champion Lucien Reid is through to the London final of the England Boxing Elite Championships.
Reid, who won the national ABA title last year, made good use of his fast hand speed and hard right jab as he dominated his North East London bout against Quais Khademie (Peacock ABC).
A powerful blow in the third round opened up a cut over Khademie’s eye, forcing the referee to stop the fight and go to the scorecards, with the Hackney boxer taking a unanimous decision.
Reid, who represents West Ham ABC, said: “This is the first time I have boxed competitively since winning the national championship. But I’ve been training hard, feel a lot stronger and have more confidence in myself.”
Reid progresses directly to the London final at the TA Centre, Grove Park, on Saturday, where he faces Alfie Sharp (Lynn ABC).
There were defeats for two other Hackney boxers in the divisional rounds, with Lion ABC’s Haithem Laamouz losing out to Charlie Driscoll (West Ham). All three judges scored the semi-final contest 29-28 in Driscoll’s favour,.
Stoke Newington’s Lawrence Okolie was also eliminated from the tournament after losing his semi-final to Repton ABC clubmate Jamie Blanch.
The pair stood and traded punches throughout the contest, but it was Blanch who took a majority decision.
