Brown pushed to eight in tough Ducar test

Pat Brown had to work harder than expected, needing eight rounds and multiple knockdowns to stop Vasil Ducar in Friday’s main event in Altrincham, England, as his early-career fast track met real resistance.

Brown moved to 6-0 and kept his stoppage run intact, but this was a different kind of win. Ducar, now 19-8-2, brought experience and durability, forcing Brown into unfamiliar territory after just 11 prior professional rounds.

The opening rounds were cautious, with Brown boxing off the back foot while Ducar stayed patient. That changed in the third when Ducar landed an uppercut that bloodied Brown’s nose and followed with a right hand that briefly checked the prospect’s control of the fight.

Brown responded by increasing his output, mixing jabs and uppercuts while working the body more consistently. He began to separate himself in the middle rounds, though Ducar continued to land sharp counters, including jabs that snapped Brown’s head back and kept him honest.

The breakthrough came late in the fifth, when Brown dropped Ducar with a left hook sequence that sent him to the canvas just before the bell. Ducar survived, but the damage carried forward.

Brown pressed harder in the sixth, landing a series of uppercuts and body shots before scoring another knockdown. Ducar got up again and continued to fire back, even landing a right hand that showed he was still engaged despite fading energy.

The seventh turned messy, with Ducar rallying enough to compete and even dislodge Brown’s gumshield twice, buying himself time and disrupting the pace. It was the kind of round Brown had never experienced as a professional.

In the eighth, Brown closed the show. A right hand sent Ducar down once more, and although he rose quickly, referee Michael Alexander waved off the fight during the count after assessing his condition.

“He’s a tough operator,” Brown said afterward. “This is me sixth fight. I’ve never gone past four rounds before. I’ve learned a lot tonight.”

Brown added that the extended rounds were part of the plan, saying, “That’s better than stopping him in the first or second round, for me. I took me time properly.”

The chief support bout delivered even more drama. William Crolla (9-1, 7 KOs) came off the canvas four times to stop Glenn Byrne (7-0-1) in the seventh. Byrne was knocked unconscious by a left hook and required a stretcher as a precaution, though he was conscious while being attended to.

“I just want to give my thoughts and condolences to Glenn Byrne,” Crolla said. “I hope he’s OK. I didn’t realize how badly he was hurt.”

Crolla admitted he lost count of the knockdowns against him during the fight, saying he was “just fighting on pure instinct.”

Brown got the win and the rounds he needed, but the performance showed that power alone won’t carry him at this level.