Ciryl Gane appeared to be getting the better of the first round action against Tom Aspinall tonight in Abu Dhabi until an accidental eye-poke left the heavyweight champion unable to continue, resulting in a no-contest ruling.
Round One
The heavyweight main event is underway in Abu Dhabi!
Aspinall lands a punch to start. Oblique kicks from Gane. Nice step-in left hand from Gane, but Aspinall takes it well.
High kick atempt from Aspinall and a left hand from Gane. Possible knee attempt from Aspinall. Now a calf kick from the champ.
Aspinall shoots in, but Gane fends it off. Blood coming from the nose of Aspinall. High kick from Aspinall is only just blocked in time. Calf kick for Aspinall.
Fast jab from Gane. Low kicks from Aspinall knocked Gane off-balance for a moment. Inside leg kick from Aspinall.
Straight right from Aspinall. solid calf kick from Aspinall. One-two from Aspinall. Jab for Gane. Leg kick for Gane.
Good jab from Gane then a low kick. Now a grazing left hook from Gane.
Quick exchange in close. Heavy calf kick from Aspinall knocked Gane off his stride for a moment. Fast right hand from Aspinall now.
Scrappy exchange leads to Aspinall being eyepoked by Gane and he needs a time-out.
Aspinall is struggling here and the fight could be at risk. He’s a had a couple of minutes to recover so far and is still saying he can’t see. The doctor is checking in on him. Three-and-a-half minutes in and Aspinall still says he can’t see, with his eye still shut. Not looking good here.
And that’s it, Aspinall says again he can’t see from the damaged eye and the ref decides to wave the fight off.
And so we have a no-contest ruling at 4.35mins of the opening due to an accidental foul, meaning that Aspinall retains his title.
Aspinall didn’t even want to stick around for the announcement to be read out as he’s eager to get his eye checked out properly as soon as possible. He does eventually stick around for his post-fight interview, but of course there’s not much to say. A replay shows that he was in fact poked in both eyes at the same time, but it’s his right eye that took the brunt of it.
A disappointing end to an eagerly awaited fight then, but hopefully Aspinall recovers quickly and the bout can be rebooked soon.
