Steven Cairns drops Arnie Dawson three times for ninth-round TKO in Dublin

Lightweight prospect Steven Cairns scored the biggest win of his career Saturday night, stopping Arnie Dawson in the ninth round on the undercard of Jazza Dickens vs Anthony Cacace in Dublin.

Cairns (14-0, 9 KOs) entered the bout against the Peacock Gym fighter in what many saw as a step up in opposition. Dawson (8-2, 4 KOs) had previously given former prospect Mitchell Smith a competitive fight in his lone defeat, but the Cork native gradually imposed his strength as the contest wore on.

The difference became clear late. Cairns repeatedly forced Dawson backwards and landed heavy right hands over the top of the guard. In the ninth round, those shots finally broke the resistance, sending Dawson down three times. Referee Giuseppe Quartarone waved the fight off at 1:38 of the round to award Cairns the vacant WBA Continental Europe lightweight title.

Earlier on the card, Eoghan Lavin stopped Liam Walsh in the eighth round to capture the BUI Celtic middleweight title. The bout had been competitive through much of the fight before Lavin (8-0, 4 KOs) landed a heavy right hand that sent Walsh (9-1-2, 4 KOs) into the ropes and followed with another right and a left that dropped him hard, forcing the stoppage at 1:22 of the final round.

Former lightweight contender Gary Cully also returned with a victory in his first outing at light welterweight. Cully (19-2, 10 KOs) controlled the action over six rounds against Benito Sanchez Garcia, repeatedly landing combinations while Garcia (17-18-4, 5 KOs) leaned on the ropes to ride out the pressure. The judges scored the fight 60-54 across the board.

Highly regarded amateur Bobbi Flood produced the quickest result of the night in his professional debut. Fighting in the junior middleweight division on his 21st birthday, Flood dropped Bela Istvan Orban with a left uppercut and finished the job with a right hand moments later. The stoppage came at 1:08 of the opening round.

Heavyweight Thomas Carty also returned to action with a clear decision win over German Skobenko. Carty (11-1, 9 KOs), fighting for the first time since an ACL injury suffered during his loss to Dajuan Calloway last year, controlled the six-round bout despite some understandable rust. All three judges scored the fight 60-54 as Skobenko fell to 6-19-2.