Anthony Fitzgerald is predicting a win inside four rounds when he meets Lee Murtagh for the vacant Irish Super Middleweight title on the Sierra Fight Night at the National Stadium in Dublin on Saturday, December 5th. The bill is headlined by reigning European Middleweight Champion Matthew Macklin’s clash with Uruguayan champ, Rafa Sosa Pintos but Dubliner Fitzgerald believes he can steal the show with a knockout performance..
The inner city fans favourite is predicting an early night that will secure him an early Christmas present with the Irish title. “I’ll be surprised if Murtagh’s still there to hear the bell for the fourth round. I think he’ll look at my record and underestimate me and my power. I’m not going to go looking for the knockout, I’ll be nice and patient but I genuinely believe I’ll get him out of there early.“
Fitzgerald was ringside in Limerick earlier this month to see Murtagh warm up for their bout with a points win over German Marcen Gierke and he says he saw nothing to frighten him.
“I wasn’t very impressed with him but to be fair it might have been an off night,” said Fitzgerald. “When you look at his record he has a hell of a lot of experience in comparison to me. He’s been a pro now for almost 15 years while I only turned professional just over a year ago. He’s had 39 fights compared to my 7 and he knows how to do the Championship distance, he’s had eleven ten round fights and one twelve rounder so you have to respect that kind of experience.”
Fitzgerald’s prediction of an early night was supported by Jim Rock recently when “The Pink Panther” analysed Murtagh’s win in Limerick for RTÉ. “It’s great to have someone as experienced as Jim Rock saying that he believes I can stop Murtagh. Jim’s won Irish titles at 4 different weights so he knows what he’s talking about when it comes to Irish title fights and it would be great to match his record or even beat it.”
Should Fitzgerald emerge from next weekend’s clash with the Irish title belt around his waist he admits he may have some unfinished business with Dublin rival Robbie Long. The two men have met twice already this year in domestic classics and with one win a piece a third encounter between the two seems inevitable at some point.
“I’m sure that Robbie will be the first in the queue to challenge me when I win the Irish title. He deserves his chance, we’ve already had two great fights and we’re one a piece. He’s tough as nails so I have a lot of respect for him.”
Fitzgerald lost their first encounter in January but reversed that result last month in another thriller at the National Stadium. “I was a lot more seasoned as a professional coming into the rematch and it showed. I used my boxing ability second time around but the first time I was still basically fighting like an amateur and I put everything into the first three rounds and had nothing left after that. It was a great learning experience though and I showed I had learned from it in the second fight but I’d have no problem getting it on again with Robbie next year with the Irish title on the line.”
The Sierra Fight Night also features a second Irish title fight with Dublin’s Paul Hyland making the first defence of his Irish Super Bantamweight title against Eugene Heagney. Unbeaten Cork based Cuban sensation Luis Garcia will also be in action alongside undefeated Dundalk Lightweight Michael Kelly, Omagh’s Damian Taggart and new Belfast pro Jamie Conlan.
Tickets for the Sierra Fight Night priced from €40 are available from Ticketmaster (phone 0818 719 300 or visit ticketmaster.ie) and all usual outlets.
Hyland dreaming of All Dublin World title clash with Dunne
Paul Hyland believes that Dublin could be heading for an all Dublin World title fight if Bernard Dunne can regain his World title status. The 25-year-old Tallaght native defends his Irish Super Bantamweight title against Eugene Heagney on the undercard to the Matthew Macklin – Rafa Sosa Pintos clash on the Sierra Fight Night at the National Stadium, Dublin on Saturday, December 5th and he believes that an all Dublin World title showdown could come sooner than people think.
Despite losing his WBA Super Bantamweight title to Thailand’s Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym in September Hyland believes that Dunne can bounce back and regain his status as World Champion. “I believe that Bernard can win the World title again. Not many people gave him a chance after the Kiko Martinez defeat and he came back from that to become World Champion and I think he can do it again.
“A lot of people have been talking about me fighting Bernard and that’s a fight I’ve always wanted but I think there would have to be something at on the line for that fight to make sense.”
In the most recent European ratings former World and European title holder Dunne is rated at number 2 while Hyland is listed at number 7 in the super bantamweight division.
“I’ve looked up to Bernard for a long time,” said Hyland. “I remember when I first turned pro he sent me a text congratulating me after my debut. He’s put Irish boxing on the map and although he lost to Poonsawat I believe he can become a World Champion again and when he does then can you imagine two Dubliner’s fighting for the World title. That would be something else.”
Hyland has domestic issues of his own to take care of on December 5th when he clashes with Huddersfield based Dubliner Eugene Heagney in the first defence of his Irish Super Bantamweight title. The two met in a non title affair last December with Hyland winning on points but with his Irish title on the line in the rematch he says it’s a fight that has taken on extra significance.
“There’s more on the line for me with this one because my belt is at stake and I’m very proud to be the Irish Champion so I’ve worked extra hard for this one. I’ve watched the tape back on our first fight and I’ve spotted things that I should have done first time around that I’ll be looking to do this time.
“I’m not too fussed about stopping him because if you go out there looking for the stoppage it doesn’t always come. The main thing is to win and to win as impressively as possible. If that means stopping him then all well and good but as long as my hand gets raised at the end of the night I’ll be happy.”
Even if all goes to plan on December 5th Hyland admits he won’t be indulging in too much turkey over the Christmas period. “I’m the mandatory for the European Union title against David Chianella and that fight’s coming up in Italy in February. I’ll probably have to travel to his hometown for that one but I don’t mind, I’m confident I’ll win the title wherever the fight takes place.”
Hyland is the youngest of three brothers with all three currently flying high in the professional ranks. Amazingly the trio are all reigning Irish professional champions with Paul holding the Super Bantamweight title, Patrick the featherweight belt and Eddie the current Super Featherweight champ. Between them they have a combined professional record of 47 wins and just 2 losses and Paul admits that the sparring sessions between the trio can lead to sibling rivalry!
“I’ve sparred top fighters in the U.K. and the U.S. so I know what I’m capable of and I spar my own brothers day in, day out and believe me when you’re the little brother trying to prove yourself against you’re bigger brothers sparring doesn’t get much tougher than that. It really keeps you on edge and it’s the perfect preparation for fights.”
Reigning European Middleweight Champion Matthew Macklin headlines the Sierra Fight Night when he takes on Uruguayan Champion Rafa Sosa Pintos at the National Stadium on December 5th. The undercard also features a second Irish title fight with Dublin fan favourite Anthony Fitzgerald meeting Lee Murtagh for the Super Middleweight title.
The undercard also features unbeaten Cork based Cuban sensation Luis Garcia, undefeated Dundalk Lightweight Michael Kelly and new Belfast pro Jamie Conlan.
Tickets for the Sierra Fight Night priced from €40 are available from Ticketmaster (phone 0818 719 300 or visit ticketmaster.ie) and all usual outlets.