Irish Boxing

Paddy - the iron is hot - http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=24113&more=1

 

Macklin: "Darren's all Bark and no bite"

Purse bids are looming for new European Middleweight Champion Darren
Barker's mandatory defence against former champ Matthew Macklin and
the Birmingham based Irishman wants it made very clear that he's
ready, willing and able to claim back his old title against Barker.

Macklin vacated the European crown in March rather than hold it up
after he suffered an injury at Freddie Roach's Wildcard Gym in Los
Angeles while training for his first defence. That gave Barker the
opportunity to contest the vacant title with Affif Belghecham with
the Londoner eventually emerging victorious on points after a titanic
struggle with his French opponent.

In recognition of his sportsmanship in deciding to vacate the title
the European Boxing Union immediately installed Macklin as the number
one challenger to the new champion and with purse bids due for the
fight later this month Macklin is chomping at the bit to get his
hands on Barker and his old belt.

I gave up the European title because I was injured and I didn't want
to hold the title up and deny other fighters the opportunity to fight
for it, explained Macklin. Barker got the opportunity and full
credit to him for taking it but I never lost the title in the ring so
until he gets in there with me Barker's really only a paper champion.
I just hope that he doesn't come up with any excuses to find a way of
ducking out of the fight and will man up and try to prove that he is
worthy of calling himself European Champion.

Macklin is rated in the top ten with all four of the World's major
sanctioning organisations so he is well placed to secure a World
title shot but he see's no reason why he can't reclaim his European
crown first.

Obviously a World title is my ultimate aim and I'm very close to
that but I want that European title belt again and this is too good
an opportunity to pass up. If I'm honest I see it as an easy night's
work because Barker's just not in my league. He's ok at British level
but he made very, very hard work of picking up the European title
against Belghecham and if he's as good as he claims to be then that
should have been a walk in the park for him.

I know a lot of people see it as a very competitive fight.
Everyone's entitled to their opinion and there has certainly been
plenty of talk about it but most people said that the Wayne Elcock
and Amin Asikainen fights would be 50-50 affairs and I simply blew
them away and I believe I'd do the same with Barker.

It's nothing personal against Barker, whenever I've been in his
company he's seemed like a decent lad but it's all about levels and I
just don't believe he's on the same level as me. I think he and the
people around him are deluded if they think he's capable to winning a
World title and as long as he doesn't try to squirm out of the fight
then I'll prove that.

Macklin's manager Brian Peters believes that the recently turned
28-year-old is well placed to take advantage of a wide open
middleweight division following Sergio Martinez's recent win over
Kelly Pavlik.

Obviously we were disappointed that Martinez got to Pavlik first
because Matthew really wanted the Pavlik fight, said Peters. He
knew it was only a matter of time before Pavlik was dethroned. That
result has thrown the whole division wide open and Matthew's a free
agent promotionally now, he has no ties to anyone so he's ready,
wiling and able to take on the big fights now.

We've had talks with some of the U.S. promoters and in fact Matthew
had agreed to fight both Winky Wright and Sergio Mora in the States
over the summer but they both backed out of those fights which tells
you how highly Matthew is regarded right now.

He's very highly rated with all the major sanctioning bodies so he
is well placed to secure a World title opportunity but there is also
a case of unfinished business at European level.

Matthew was disappointed at the manner in which he had to vacate the
European title through injury and we're very grateful to the EBU for
allowing him to get a crack at his old title so quickly and Matthew
wants to make the most of that opportunity and prove yet again that
he is a World class fighter and the most exciting talent in the
middleweight decision.

 

yeah **** sake mental shame the little tart didnt get in...

 

Anyone got a running order for tomorrow night?I really want to see Conlan,Frampton,Garcia and of course Dudey,The rest looks good too but the beer will not drink itself.Is there a bar at the arena?

 

Lads have any of you a way of putting tomorrows nights fights from the kings hall on cd/dvd via your skybox or digibox, I have free internet and its slow unreliable as fook so watching a stream would do me head in and I have no other means to see the fights .

 

The fighting Irish

McCloskey the latest off the Emerald Isle prodiction line

Adam Smith Posted 10th June 2010

There's a special link between the gorgeous country of Ireland and our favourite sport. I just love heading over; the nights are hugely atmospheric and the fighters and fights are often so memorable.
This Friday we're back in Belfast as the unbeaten and sharp-shooting southpaw Paul McCloskey makes the first defence of his European light-welterweight title against Italian warhorse Giuseppe Lauri.

This content is protected

McCloskey: the latest champion to have Irish eyes smiling
Ireland, of course, has a rich boxing heritage. Native Irish and Irish-American boxers have always prided themselves on their inner strength and huge hearts. For years many went to the East coast of the United States to find their fame and fortune and they still do - Steve Collins, Wayne McCullough, John Duddy and Andy Lee have all experienced the 'American dream' of late. Boston and New York are favoured destinations.

Paul McCloskey has won all 20 and is a neat boxer who gathers power from odd angles. Giuseppe Lauri has triumphed 50 times, but has come up short against the likes of Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter - and I think McCloskey will ultimately prove too classy.​

Adam Smith
Quotes of the week

LIVE ON SKY SPORTSPaul McCloskey v Giuseppe Lauri
10.30pm, Fri, Sky Sports HD2 & 2

Countless boxing legends are descended from the Irish including 'The Greatest'. Muhammad Ali's great-grandfather Abe Grady was born in the county town of Ennis! John L Sullivan was born in Massachusetts to Irish immigrant parents; Gene Tunney in New York to two Irish parents.
Jack 'Nonpareil' Dempsey became the first recognised middleweight champion after knocking out George Fulljames in the 22nd round. He was born in County Kildare, and his more famous namesake, Jack Dempsey - The Manassa Mauler' - had an Irish father.
We had Mickey 'Toy Bulldog' Walker, who apparently laced his water bottle with gin during a middleweight title fight, the tiny 4ft 11in Jimmy 'Babyface' McLarnin; there was Billy 'The Pittsburgh Kid' Conn, 'Terrible' Terry McGovern, Packey McFarland, and 'Sailor' Tom Sharkey. 'Irish' Micky Ward was one of my favourite modern fighters and that trilogy with the late, great Arturo Gatti will never be forgotten.
Mike McTigue was crowned world light-heavyweight champion on St.Patrick's Day, 1923, with a points win over Battling Siki; Johnny Caldwell was the Belfast boy who won the world Bantamweight title; while Charlie Nash lost to our own Jim Watt in a challenge for the WBC lightweight crown.
Freddie Gilroy won the British, Commonwealth and European bantamweight titles, and challenged for world honours; Dave McAuley made five defences of the IBF flyweight title. 'The Pocket Rocket' Wayne McCullough struck silver at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and travelled to Japan to win the WBC bantamweight crown.
Spooked

Steve Collins was the steely WBO middle and super-middleweight champion who beat both Chris Eubank and Nigel Benn twice. Bernard Dunne is Ireland's most recent world champion. Other top boxers like Eamonn Magee, Brian Magee, Neil Sinclair, Martin Rogan, and Martin Lindsay have also given the Irish great nights. Former Olympic bronze medallist Darren Sutherland was starting to as well - before the terrible tragedy of his suicide.
Sky have enjoyed super shows on the Emerald Isle. One of my first visits over was in March 1995, for the first battle between Chris Eubank and Collins.
A lovely little Irish entrepreneur called Noel C Duggan welcomed us to the quaint town of Millstreet in Cork. Location: A cowshed which had hosted the Eurovision Song contest, but had never seen anything quite like a major world title fight.
That was the night when Eubank was spooked by Collins, slapped by Ronnie Davies, and ended up losing his belt - and his unbeaten record. Collins charged upon Eubank from the opening bell of their rematch - which was in an open air football stadium in Cork. The result was 'Repeat' for the Celtic Warrior. I remember the wonderful Irish jigs and Guinness flowing out of the Cork bars; Freddie Roach - Collins' trainer - recalls something different:
"I walked into the stadium behind Steve and the fireworks, and the security turned me away! They thought I was some kid trying to blag my way in!" he would later recall.
"Do you think I carry a bucket and a towel for fun?" replied Freddie, who had to force his way to ringside!
Artist

So we've had the Collins-Eubank rivalries, there was a terrific night in Belfast with Eamonn Loughran; the Eamonn Magee-Shea Neary needle, and even that scandalous scoring in Andersonstown when Simone Maludrottu somehow got the nod over Damaen Kelly!
Mind you, the lovely Gerry Storey father-and-son team, the excellent statistician and commentator Bob Mee, leading MC John McDonald and I, had a rather lucky day on the horses! We'll never forget that late afternoon triumph on 'Calvic' in a rather local betting corner shop in Andersonstown!
Little Kelly followed many Irish fighters of old to light up the Ulster Hall which, in many ways, is like the York Hall of Irish boxing. Kelly followed in the flyweight footsteps of the great Rinty Monaghan who was the terrific world champion from Belfast, and became a cult hero in the post-war period.
Monaghan was a part-time cabaret artist who worked with Vera Lynn and George Formby. Rinty was crowned World flyweight king in front of a home-town crowd at the King's Hall in 1948.
The King's Hall was built in 1934 and sits on the Lisburn Road. It has become the boxing mecca in Belfast over the years. The capacity is set for 7,800 but a certain 'Clones Cyclone' used to have many more squeezed in; fans were literally hanging from the rafters.
Born Finbar Patrick, Barry McGuigan was a national hero of course. He attracted an enormous and loyal following in the mid 1980's - particularly at the King's Hall. A non-sectarian sporting ambassador, Barry would literally calm the violent feud between the Protestants and Catholics every time he fought during the troubles.
'Leave the fighting to McGuigan', it was often said.
With his father Pat singing 'Danny Boy', there was huge emotion every time Barry fought. He might have won his world featherweight title in West London (on a night that I'll never forget as a 13-year-old kid standing at the back of Loftus Road), but the King's Hall became his fortress. Barry fought there seven times including his world-title defence against Bernard Taylor.
Barry also won his European crown at the King's Hall against Valerio Nati in 1983, and this interesting fight between Paul McCloskey and another Italian in Giuseppe Lauri, is the first European match at the venue for the best part of three decades.
Craic

The Dungiven 30-year-old has won all 20 and is a neat boxer who gathers power from odd angles. Lauri has triumphed 50 times, but has come up short against the likes of Ricky Hatton and Junior Witter - and I think McCloskey will ultimately prove too classy. Lauri can be tough to shift, and McCloskey has had problems with his back, but the Irishman should be looking for a stoppage win in the mid-late rounds.
Memories will come flooding back for Barry McGuigan this week. He returns to the King's Hall now in his 'managerial' role - with his exciting protogee Carl Frampton on display. It's always a pleasure seeing my old colleague Barry and I can't wait to see the rest of the lovely Irish boxing folk like the Storeys, John Breen, Eamonn Magee and so on.
I have Irish blood in me - and I think the people are some of the friendliest and most hospitable you'll ever meet. Can't wait to be back for the craic!

 

Nice username. Expect a notice that you are getting sued in the post any day now :deal

 

Apparently Carlos has a big following in Sweden

Check this out. Stick with it for a minute or so and it all makes sense

http://en.tackfilm.se/?id=1276180134144RA23

 

Christ I know Mcguigan said he had crossover appeal but I didnt think he meant all the to Sweden.

 

Just back from weigh in .

Joe Rea v Kris Carslaw fight is off the card.

Jamie Conlan couldnt weigh in because his opponent Delroy Spencer will not be arriving until tomorrow (apparently???) and what weight will he be if he shows up? Very disappointed for Jamie.

 

Is Jamie still fighting? A hope so, him along with dudey and carlos are the ones am most looking 4ward to see.

 

Jamie only found out himself at the weigh in that his opponent will not be arriving until tomorrow. So, the news at the weigh in is that both will do the weigh in together tomorrow.

 

I have a short piece going up on the main page now on the weigh in.

 

looks like conlan wont be fighting:-(