DUNMORE — Cahir Gormley took the first round to figure out his opponent. Then he ended the fight with a lightning-quick right hand.

Gormley, of Maydown, Northern Ireland, who trained with Scranton’s Irish Boxing Club sporadically over the last several months, earned a knockout in the second round of his bout with Dar’el Lemonius in the main event of Ireland Returns 4 in front of 650 at the Holiday Inn Scranton East on Saturday.

In the first round, Lemonius, a southpaw from New Jersey, used his quickness to score with a left hook and then later landed a right hook to the body as Gormley tried to establish his jab.

“He was an awkward fighter,” Gormley said. “When the fight started off, I found him awkward, he was a southpaw and he kind of had a low base, but I was trying to get my right hand off and catch him on the way in so I started off the fight more technical.”

Gormley came out more aggressively in the second round and landed a good straight right hand. Lemonius landed a right hook upstairs, but Gormley connected with a short right hook and then caught Lemonius with a straight right that dropped him to the canvas.

“When I saw he was coming out of range and then going back into range so he was kind of closing the gap fast so I was setting him up in the second round,” Gormley said. “I wanted to set up the shot, so I planted my feet and threw as he comes in. Coach Gene (Reed) in the corner said set down on your shots and he came in and I sat down on my shot and it just shows to trust in your team. The preparation has been unbelievable. I’ve been here six weeks and we’ve been working really hard tirelessly. I have a great team around me and I’m like the racehorse. I’m out front, but I have a great team around me.”

American debut

John Paul Hale, of Belfast, Northern Ireland, fought throughout Europe in his amateur career, but his first fight in the United States came as the co-main event at Ireland Returns 4 and he earned a win on points over Abel Lucas of Camp Hill.

Hale landed a nice hook early in the first round, but Lucas answered with a hook to the body and one upstairs. Hale later landed a good left hook and an overhand right.

Lucas landed a right in the second round, but Hale answered with a left hook. Hale then landed a good straight right that backed Lucas against the ropes and he followed up with a left hook to the body. He then landed a left hook and a straight right to draw an 8-count.

“I knew this boy was going to be tough,” Hale said. “I knew he was a smaller guy. I didn’t want to work on the inside on the body, but I’ll do that, too, and I believed in my ability to outwork him and do better and at the same time I want to put on a show.”

Lucas was aggressive to start the third round and landed a left hook upstairs, but Hale answered with a right to the body. He later landed another right to draw another 8-count.

“I just let the hands go a bit more,” Hale said. “I was more loose, more relaxed and let the hands go and just kept hitting him with double shots and get him on the back foot.”

Tall task

Martin Guzman of Scranton’s Irish Boxing Club gave up several inches to his opponent, Nathan Brady of Cork, Ireland. But Guzman got inside and landed several hard shots to earn a stoppage in the second round of their bout.

Guzman landed a good right early in the first round, and then landed a left-right combination to the body and a left upstairs. Brady scored with a good right hand, but Guzman answered with a big right to the head with Brady in the corner to draw an 8-count. Guzman landed a big left near the end of the round to earn another 8-count.

“I stayed confident in my skills,” Guzman said. “I knew what I had to do. Coach Gene told me to stay on his pressure, stay on his chest. He was the taller fighter, but I went in there Mike Tyson style. I had to get him with hooks to the body and just pressure on him. I was scared at first. I had no intent on winning because of how big he was, but I told myself I could do it.”

Brady connected with a couple of jabs in the second round, but Guzman charged in and landed a combination upstairs. Guzman then landed a good left hook to the body and a big left hook earned the stoppage.

“I was really excited,” Guzman said. “I was ready to get him out of there, but the pressure did end up getting to me with the crowd and I had to do something so I just stayed on him, stayed on him. I made sure that pressure was there all night.”

Results

Katie O’Keeffe def. Zinnat Ferdous on points, 118 pounds

Kimberly Zempoaltecatl def. Leah Cairns on points, 114 pounds

Jesse Burke def. Joey Salvia on points, 148 pounds

Zahir Wright def. Vincent Collins on points, 149 pounds

Dennis Buckley def. Stephan Caple on points, 129 pounds

Tibor Babes def. Ed Mara by KO in Round 2, 189 pounds

Martin Guzman def. Nathan Brady by TKO in Round 2, 155 pounds

Jarrod Thomas def. Alann Guerrero on points, 147 pounds

Zack Venesky def. George St. Ledger on points, heavyweights

John Paul Hale def. Abel Lucas on points, 151 pounds

Cahir Gormley def. Dar’el Lemonius by KO in Round 2, 159 pounds

Parrece Lunsford def. Ronan Malone on points, heavyweights

Jakub Pielesz def. Anthony Ruiz on points, 148 pounds

Elyssa Spring def. Emily Ford on points, 136 pounds

Joshua Snyder def. Justin Hunt on points, 194 pounds