Ryan Coyne Makes Quick Work of Craig with Round Two TKO

Albert Samaha

Ryan Coyne earned a 2nd Round TKO on Saturday night, making him 19-0.

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The technical knockout pushed The Irish Outlaw's record to 19-0, bringing him a step closer to a shot at a light heavyweight title.

This fight was Coyne's first foray into the light heavyweight division. Before his previous fight in October, for which he weighed-in at 182 lbs., he had never hit the scales at less than 191 lbs. These past couple of fights, then, have served to ease Coyne into the weight class. For Saturday's fight, Coyne weighed-in at 177 lbs, which is two pounds above the official ceiling for light heavyweights (Craig was right at 175, which is as heavy as he's ever fought in his pro career).

Over his last four fights-- all against tune-up opponents-- Coyne has rattled off three TKOs in the first or second round, which is especially notable given his otherwise low knockout percentage (eights KOs in nineteen wins). If he feels comfortable consistently making 175, Coyne may find his power more potent as a light weight, where he would be fighting naturally smaller foes, than as a cruiserweight or heavyweight.

The fight, held in Atlanta, was on the undercard of Roy Jones Jr.'s match against Max Alexander, which Jones won on an unremarkable unanimous decision.

Of course, the big boxing story over the weekend was the amazing fight between Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson. It is on Youtube and worth watching. Like Devon Alexander, Lamont Peterson's only loss came to Tim Bradley. Both Peterson and Khan raised their stocks Saturday night and are likely staring straight at a lucrative pay-per-view rematch. To keep pace, Alexander all the more needs an impressive and entertaining performance against Marcos Maidana on February 25.