THE moment Liam Conroy realised he was the new Northern Area champion should have been a euphoric one.

But after producing a mighty left hook to poleaxe Steve Cooper in the ninth round of their light heavyweight contest at Bowlers Arena on Saturday night celebration was the furthest thing from the Barrow boxer’s thoughts.

It soon became clear that Cooper was badly hurt, and there was no jubilation from Conroy or his fans, just worried expressions on faces and feelings of deep concern for the man sprawled out on the canvas.

As Cooper received urgent medical attention in the ring, Conroy stood in the opposite corner finding it hard to watch.

An eerie silence befell the Manchester venue as the crowd waited nervously, hoping for a sign that the 30-year-old from Darlington was going to be okay.

When it was announced Cooper was responding to treatment a spontaneous round of applause erupted in the arena.

Fifteen minutes after being knocked out, Cooper was helped from the floor and was able to sit upright on a stool, answer questions from the doctor, and then stand up and make his way down from the ring to be taken to hospital for further checks.

With the clock ticking past midnight, the announcer thanked spectators for their patience and understanding, and Conroy was awarded his belt in a low-key presentation.

The significance of Conroy’s title victory had been put sharply into perspective by a far more important matter – concern for the well-being of a fellow fighter. Conroy contacted Cooper’s trainer on Sunday and was told the boxer is okay, which is great news for all concerned.

In the aftermath of the fight, Conroy was left with very mixed emotions, especially after a knockout blow to his MTK Manchester sparring partner Craig Bunn in an earlier bout, had already upset him. Thankfully, Bunn is okay as well.

“I can’t really enjoy this until I find out that he is okay,” Conroy, said a few hours before hearing the good news from Cooper’s trainer.

“I didn’t speak to him after the fight because he went straight to hospital.

“I could hear him speaking in the ring. They were asking him questions and he was answering them so I think taking him to hospital was just a precautionary thing.

“He went out in a wheelchair rather than a stretcher so that was a good sign.

“It can be a dangerous sport. You don’t really think about it happening to yourself but it happened to my team-mate (Craig Bunn).

“He got knocked out earlier in the night and they had to stop the show because the ambulance had to take him to hospital.

“That was playing on my mind a bit before I got in the ring, it was worrying me a bit. And then obviously what happened to Ste. It’s not nice for people to see.

“I feel sorry for all his family. It can’t have been nice for them for that five or ten minutes just being stood there not being able to do anything.

“As soon as I landed (the punch) I knew that was it. It was kind of a release, but that changed when the referee wasn’t counting and loads of people started rushing in and I was like ‘oh no’. It made it anti-climactic really, and not a nice thing to happen.”

The eight rounds of action that had preceded the knockout had given little hint as to the explosive way the bout was going to end.

It was a fairly scrappy encounter in which Conroy looked the more threatening from the first bell without really ever being in full control against a tough and awkward opponent.

“He was game and fit and it was a good experience. He pressed me all the way and he started coming on strong towards the end,” said Conroy of the threat posed by Cooper.

“I felt like I had won most rounds but I didn’t want to let too much go because I didn’t want to give him too much opportunity to answer me back and score points.

“I think he noticed from the start I was a bit sharper with my jab so he started dipping down a bit, but then I was guilty of the same because when he was coming at me his shots were quite awkward so I was dipping down as well.

“We were both guilty of holding which didn’t make for a nice fight but then as soon as I started finding my range I was landing a few quality shots.

“At least I can say I overcame the problems he gave me, and even though it was a messy fight I never let it get to me.”

This was Conroy’s third title triumph in the space of a very successful 15 months after last year winning both the British Challenge and WBC silver youth light heavyweight crowns.

With three belts to his name and enjoying a six-fight winning streak under the guidance of Preston-based trainer Johnney Roye the next step on the 24-year-old Barrow ABC product’s journey will hopefully be a crack at a big domestic title.