Aberdeen boxer Dean Sutherland shrugged off his Commonwealth title agony to return to winning ways in devastating style.
Sutherland secured an emphatic 60-54 defeat of Nicaraguan Ramiro Blanco at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Glasgow on Saturday.
The dominant victory obliterated any memories of the first, and only defeat, of Sutherland’s professional career.
And the impressive defeat of Blanco was secured despite fighting for all six rounds with a shoulder injury.
Sutherland bounced back from a fifth round stoppage to Louise Greene in a Commonwealth super-welterweight title fight in Aberdeen last November.
Now the 24-year-old will headline a bill at Beach Ballroom, Aberdeen on Saturday, June 3.
It is understood the home city bout will be for a title shot or an eliminator for a major belt.
Sutherland said: “My next fight will be June 3 at the Beach Ballroom and it will be a big fight.
“I have some major plans for this year.
“Getting that win was important but it was more important to get back under the bright lights and enjoy myself again.
“I felt totally in control and was able to practise on a number of things that I have been working on in the gym.
“The best place to see if they work is in a fight.
“It was a performance I enjoyed and I felt really relaxed throughout.
“You know you are pretty relaxed when you can hit someone with six right hooks in a row.”
Battling through the pain barrier
Overcoming former WBC Latino title contender Blanco was an emphatic response to Sutherland’s first pro defeat.
Blanco, 27, fought WBO Global lightweight and Spanish champion Samuel Molina in October last year.
He also faced recently-crowned WBO European super lightweight champion Sean McComb months earlier.
Sutherland won all six rounds against Blanco, despite battling with a shoulder injury.
He said: “The training camp never went 100% perfect as I had a torn rotator cuff going into the fight.
“I hadn’t been using that arm that much.
“It felt pretty good in the fight until the third round when I threw a jab, double right hook and then a big left hand.
“It bounced off his glove and went over his head.
“Then my shoulder went really red hot.
“After that, I thought I could still throw the left hand but not put all the power into it and drive it through.
“He (Blanco) is a tough cookie but I was able to hit him at will whenever I wanted.”
Back to Business🥊
Was great to be back under them lights last night! Really enjoyable performance all round and cannot wait to be back out for titles🔥
A huge thank you to my family, my team, sponsors and everyone that came down to support me! Much love to you all❤️ pic.twitter.com/dlk0gBJ8oO
— Dean Sutherland (@Deano_Suth) February 19, 2023
Recovering from first pro defeat
Sutherland suffered the first set-back of his professional career when losing by fifth round stoppage to Greene last November.
Aberdonian Sutherland went into that vacant title showdown boasting a flawless return of 13 wins from 13 bouts.
He also stepped up a weight division for the Commonwealth title shot.
Sutherland was bidding for a fourth pro title having previously won WBC International Silver, WBO Youth and BUI Celtic titles.
However, disaster struck when Sutherland was stopped 56 seconds into the fifth round by Greene.
Sutherland, aka ‘Deadly’, is confident he is over that setback following the emphatic defeat of Blanco.
He said: “I wasn’t thinking about the Greene defeat in the build-up to the fight against Blanco.
“All my focus was on getting back to producing a performance to show why I am up at the level I am.
“There’s no point making excuses or dwelling on it as I knew it wasn’t the best version of myself against Greene.
“So I went right back into the gym. The Greene fight was on Saturday and I was back in the gym on Tuesday.”
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