Haha, would if I could ardy, but I'm in New Zealand. Awesome seeing this thread tho. I'll do what I can from down under. Does anyone know Phil Connor from Ringsport in Belfast? I'm recently getting boxing stuff from him. Great guy to work with. RTE 2 is a great channel, I have seen Duddy and Lee for the 1st time thanks to it! I brought John O'Sullivan out from Cork a couple of years back to make his debut to pro boxing in NZ, he won his fight at ABA Stadium in Auckland then went home and died in a car smash. The crowd loved John in Auckland, lot of irish here. I still keep in touch with his mom. Sad story, broke me up. John had his last Christmas dinner with my wife and I. :think Not all bad tho, John, like me, liked Murphys and Guinness. We hit a few bars when he was here.
I'm a big fan of Irish fighters on both sides of the pond. However, the day of the irish American fighter is over and im glad we can make a home for Irish fighters like Duddy and Lee. I go to all of Duddy's fights in Ny and the atmosphere is top notch. I also met Lee in a bar in Ny and he is a real gentleman. If he were based in a northeast city like Boston his popularity would be off the scales. If you guys have not see the clasjh between Irish American Micky Ward and Irishman from Liverpool Shea Neary you should definatly check io out its a toe to toe war. I hope Lee and Duddy keep up the winning tradition.
Shamrock, We need guys from Down-under to keep us up-dated about, the Irish, Irish-Australian or Irish-Kiwi fighters who are fighting there. I know Dublin duo Dean Bryne and Paul Griffin are fighting out of Sydney. Shamrock, I lived in Sydney for a while, when I was younger. I had some great nights in the Irish bars there. The Mercantile was one of my favorite hunts.I remember one Sunday night rushing out the Merchantile, because I had to work in the morning and I needed to get the train home. As I came out of the bar, although I had seen this view before, it just dawned on me, f##k I'm in the other side of the world. The view was the Sydey bridge and the Opera House.It was a strange moment, fuelled by too, much too much drink. Keep in touch Shamrock Slan Ardy
Good to hear from you ML, I watched the Ward-Neary fight on Sky box office.I agree, it was a fantastic scrap. Duddy is makeing big waves in NY.I hope it continues and the Irish community stick with him. I was at his fight at the Kings Hall Belfast. 6500 in attendence. The atmosphere was electric. We are all hopeing he comes back soon. ML, Could you come on to this thread again and share with us any info you acquire, about Irish or Irish-American fighters. Slan Ardy [I'm a big fan of Irish fighters on both sides of the pond. However, the day of the irish American fighter is over and im glad we can make a home for Irish fighters like Duddy and Lee. I go to all of Duddy's fights in Ny and the atmosphere is top notch. I also met Lee in a bar in Ny and he is a real gentleman. If he were based in a northeast city like Boston his popularity would be off the scales. If you guys have not see the clasjh between Irish American Micky Ward and Irishman from Liverpool Shea Neary you should definatly check io out its a toe to toe war. I hope Lee and Duddy keep up the winning tradition.[/quote]
I remember Sean Mannion well. I remember sitting up one Friday night in 1984 to watch Mannion fight Mike "The Body Snatcher" Macallum for the vacant light-middleweight title. although it was one way traffic for Mike, Mannion was a real tough nut.Hagler fought Hamsho on the same promotion that night. Mannion now is back home in Mayo traianing pros at his gym. He trains new pro John Sweeney 2-0[1TKO] and the Trimlin brothers. Slan Ardy
IRISH HEAVYWEIGHT PROSPECT FIGHTS IN CORK Lisburns 6ft 7" goliath Scott Belshaw has his first outing since his car accident in July of this year, when he boxes at Corks Neptune Stadium on January 26th.The unbeaten 22 year old prospect with 6 wins [5TKO] has had a frustrating 6 months while he waited for his broken kneecap to heal and is eager to "push on" with his career, and maintain a busy schedule for 2008. Former professional boxer Paschal Collins [brother of Steve] throws his hat into the "promotional ring", when he promotes for the first time. Paschal also trains and manages Billy Walsh, who headlines this show. Walsh a Corkonian, fights Belfasts James Gorman for the vacant Irish welterweight title. Dublin duo Jonathon "The Thunderbolt" O' Brien and undefeated Patrick Hyland, along with Cork welterweight newcomer Gary O'Sullivan make up the rest of the undercard. Slan Ardy
IDENTICAL TWINS SLUG IT OUT FOR IRISH TITLE Identical twins Gavin and Graham Keating from the Staint Savior club Dublin, made history when they fought each other in the final of the featherweight category in the Irish Intermediate amateur boxing championships on the 7th December. Gavin Keating also the under 21 champion defeated Graham 16-2. Both boys have a bright future ahead of them.
http://www.britishboxing.net/news_3000-matthew-macklin-interview-the-redux-version.html An interview with Birmingham-Irish middleweight prospect Matt Macklin
Sorry Healy, I haven't spoke the national language since my school days, and that was a long time ago. But do you enjoy the boxing on RTE.
Ardybo i moved to Chicago 13 years ago to play hurling and liked it alot so i stayed.Its a great city but nothing beats student life in Belfast:nut I've seen both Lee and Duddy fight out here and IMO Lee looks much better.Duddy is tough but limited, he should fight Pavlik asap and get a big payday.He won't win but he will make it tough on Pavlik while it lasts.I think the sky is the limit for Lee but there no need to rush things:good
The general consensus among the experts would concur with your views. But Lee hasn't proven himself in the heart department yet. That was a good guess you made about me being from Ardoyne or Ard Eoin.
No hssle, all it said was, 'Ardy my friend, whats the story? How are you? I love RTE myself' Andy Lee is now our #1 prospect!
Hello Healy, my pal Iceman thanks the same, but as I told him, Lee is yet to prove himself in the way Duddy has. Duddy has had 2 tough fights [Campos and Eastman]. In both these contests, Duddy had "to suck it up" to win, Lee is yet to encounter a contest like that, and until he does and comes through it successfully, then I will consider him our best prospect. Where abouts in Ireland do you live?
