De la Hoya cheers on McEwan

Published on Sunday 28 June 2009 23:14

EDINBURGH middleweight Craig McEwan extended his unbeaten run to 16 fights when he beat tough Ohio veteran Darnell Boone on points over eight rounds at the Staple Center in Los Angeles on Saturday night.

Cheered on by his promoter, Goldenboy Promotion's Oscar De la Hoya, McEwan finished the bout with a badly gashed left eye which later required stitches.

The Scot's build-up to the fight was marred by the diagnosis of a stress fracture to a bone in his left hand just four weeks ago, necessitating a preparation free of sparring until seven days before the bout.

"I sparred three rounds last Saturday and the hand held up so we decided to go ahead with the fight," said McEwan. "It wasn't an ideal way to approach a bout against such an experienced, awkward opponent but I was desperate to fight."

McEwan was forced into a torrid, toe-to-toe battle at times, which suited his opponent's brawling style.

However, the Scot, who is trained by Amir Khan's coach Freddy Roach in Hollywood's Wildcard Gym, took control in the middle rounds and was able to survive a rally in the final round by Boone.

"I'm happy with that performance," added the former Clovenstone amateur. "I knew that my timing would be a bit suspect after four weeks without sparring but I proved to myself that I could punch my way to victory with one of the toughest guys around."