The Best of the Fighting Irish are set to showcase their talents at Dublin’s National Stadium on July 12th on the next Hunky Dorys Fight Night. The Magnificent Seven of Bernard Dunne, Matthew Macklin, Andrew Murray, Oisin Fagan, Darren Corbett, Ian Tims and Keith Cresham will see action on what should prove a hot summers night of boxing at the National Stadium..
Dunne will headline the card in an International 10 round contest as he looks to take another step towards a world title shot. The Dubliner rebounded from last years European title defeat in Castlebar last month shedding the ring rust with a comprehensive win over former World Champion, Felix Machado.
The second 10 rounder on the card will see Matthew Macklin square off with Philadelphia danger man Willie “The Gladiator” Gibbs.
Following a career best display in comfortably outpointing former World Champion Yori Boy Campas in March Gibbs promises to be another step up in class for the Birmingham based Irishman.
Fight fans will also get an opportunity to compare the relative merits of Irish rivals Andrew Murray and Oisin Fagan on July 12th ahead of a possible Irish title showdown later this year.
Murray the reigning Irish Light Welterweight champ will look to extend his unbeaten record to 13 straight wins in a scheduled 10 rounder while Fagan, the previous incumbent of the Irish 10 stone title will also appear on the card as he builds towards regaining a belt that he never lost in the ring.
Add the return of big punching Belfast star Darren Corbett to the mix and appearances from unbeaten prospects Ian Tims and Keith Cresham and it all adds up to a mouth watering night of boxing for Irish fight fans.
Promoter Brian Peters believes it could be huge night in the careers of both Dunne and Macklin. “For Bernard there’s a possibility that we could bypass the European title and go for a World title. Rendall Munroe is the European Champion now and I’ve spoken to his promoter Frank Maloney and they’re not keen on coming to Ireland to fight Bernard.
“So with that being the case we need to look at other options and the most obvious one is to go for the world title. There’s no point hanging around at European level waiting for a fight that may not happen anyway.
“Bernard had a good win in Castlebar last month against a very decent opponent in Felix Machado and I’m sure if he can get another couple of wins likes that we’ll be knocking on the door of a world title shot. We can’t afford any slip ups but Bernard still needs to beat the kind of guys that can secure him a world ranking so this is a crucial period in his career.
“Matthew also has a big night ahead of him. He stepped up a level last time and did very well against Campas and Gibbs is definitely another step up again. He’s a big puncher and a really dangerous opponent but if Matthew gets past him it will create a few ripples Stateside because Gibbs is very much a known quantity over there.”
For Gibbs fighting certainly seems to be in the blood, the 32 year old is a cousin of Bernard Hopkins and like his cousin he has developed a ring persona. Hopkins calls himself the “Executioner” while Gibbs goes by the name of “The Gladiator” and enters the ring wearing a Gladiator’s mask.He’s backed up that particular moniker by compiling a professional record of 20 wins and 3 losses. Sixteen of those wins have come by stoppage so he can clearly punch but Macklin isn’t worried about his reputation.“I actually fought on his undercard in Philadelphia a few years back and after my fight I managed to see a few rounds of his fight. He’s a big strong guy but I didn’t see anything to frighten me.”
Despite his impressive win over Campas Macklin admits there were elements of his performance that he wasn’t happy with. “I suppose I’m my own worst critic but watching it back again afterwards I was probably too disciplined. I had said I wanted to get back to using my jab and my boxing skills but looking back at it now I think I overdid it against Campas. I probably over compensated for that and there were times when I probably should have stood my ground a little more.
“That’s something I can work on when I go back to Florida to work with Buddy McGirt again. I just need to strike a happy medium because while I want to get back to my boxing skills I don’t want to lose the intensity because I believe that’s one of the things that gives me an edge over the other guys out there.”
Tickets for the Hunky Dorys Fight Night priced from €50 go on sale from 9am tomorrow (Thursday, May 8th) from Ticketmaster.ie and all usual outlets.