Boxing
Dublin delight! Chamberlain banishes Wembley heartbreak for good
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What must have gone through Mark Chamberlain's mind when he found himself scrambling on the canvas on Saturday night?
'Thunder' had already put Pierce O'Leary on his backside twice in the early stages of a dark-horse Fight of the Year contender.
But suddenly, the tables had turned. It was the Englishman down near the ropes, dropped by the home favourite's onslaught.
You can never know what goes through a boxer's mind in moments like this. That said, you can hazard a pretty good guess.
O'Leary and Chamberlain clash in Fight of the Year contender
Watch the highlights
In a back-and-forth contest, Chamberlain appeared to have the upper hand heading into the back half of their tussle.
Yet flat on the proverbial back, it would be easy to speculate the ghosts of Wembley Stadium two years ago were floating.
Ultimately though, the star rallied to secure a third and definitive knockdown of his own - and with it, a slice of redemption.
DAZN News looks back at Dublin delight for Chamberlain - and how he has banished his old heartbreak for good with it too.
What happened in O'Leary-Chamberlain?
Originally slated for the spring before illness forced 'Thunder' to withdraw, plenty of anticipation had built for this encounter.
O'Leary, to his credit, ensured his rival got the super-lightweight shot he had wanted after dismissing Maxi Hughes last time.
But few expected Chamberlain - despite a taut draw with Jack Rafferty last time out - to catch his foe so fast out of the traps.
Three rounds in, he already appeared to have the home favourite on the ropes at the 3Arena, with more in his back pocket.
That early damage appeared as if it could be for nought in their firefight though when O'Leary put him down in the seventh.
Yet Chamberlain composed himself, and sealed the deal in the tenth with a superlative combination to force the stoppage.
What happened in Chamberlain-Padley?
It made for a stark difference against the star's lone career reverse, when he was bested by Josh Padley two years ago now.
Chamberlain had arrived at Wembley Stadium as one of the key highlights on the Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois undercard.
Tipped as a favourite of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, he was widely expected to get the better of relatively unknown Padley.
Speculation had been rife that a title shot against then-WBO lightweight kingpin Denys Berinchyk was in the works.
Instead, Chamberlain came undone in dramatic fashion, with Padley frustrating his aggression and scoring a knockdown too.
When the former was deducted a point in the penultimate round, his fate was sealed with a wide unanimous decision defeat.
How did Chamberlain change fortunes with O'Leary?
Chamberlain weathered plenty of criticism in the wake of his first career loss against Padley, and was forced to rebuild himself.
Last year's majority draw against Rafferty was arguably a tough decision against him, denying major Lonsdale Belt honours.
Then, with illness scuppering his original date to face O'Leary, there were questions over where his mind could be in Dublin.
Those questions were answered in emphatic fashion - as was his response to suffering a knockdown, with a calm recovery.
Furthermore, it effectively confirmed that Chamberlain is still a fighter to be feared, with Wembley no longer defining for him.
Success here should tee up opportunities at world level in the near future. For now though, 'Thunder' is ready to rumble again.
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