Ireland’s boxers will be looking to heap further misery on the French this Saturday when recent Prizefighter winner Willie “Big Bang” Casey and reigning Irish Middleweight Champ, Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan clash with French opposition on the Yanjing Beer Fight Night at The Neptune Stadium in Cork. They will join European title contender Andy Murray and the Cork based Cuban trio of Mike “The Rebel” Perez, Luis “The Lion” Garcia and Alexei “The Hurricane” Acosta on a big night of boxing on Leeside on an event that is being billed as “The Undefeated’s” with all six boxers looking to put their perfect records on the line..
Limerick native Casey will be having his first fight since scooping the ￡32,000 top prize at last month’s Prizefighter event in London when he takes on Parisian Faycal Messaoudene while O’Sullivan will have his first outing since winning the Irish title when he takes on Bordeaux’s Sylvain Touzet.
Both men are confident of giving “Les Bleus” further sporting blues on Saturday. “I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring and getting back to normal after the Prizefighter win,” said Casey who improved his perfect record to 8-0 with his thrilling wins over Prizefighter rivals, Mark Moran, Josh Wale and Paul McElhinney.
“I know I still have a lot to learn in the pro ranks but I’m willing to fight anyone,” said Casey. The bigger the name and the bigger the reputation the bigger the challenge for me and I’m in this game to see how far I can go.”
One man who believes that Casey can go a long way is former World Champion Barry McGuigan who was ringside at last month’s Prizefighter event. “I thought Casey coped brilliantly with the format,” said McGuigan. “He had three brutal fights but he’s a tough kid and his strength and guts earned him the win.
“He’s a tough kid, a real throwback. He’s very strong, determined lad and despite coming in at the death he didn’t care about who he was fighting, his self-confidence shone through and it was definitely the best performance I’ve seen in Prizefighter, on what was the most competitive event so far too. He can go on to do some big things, no doubt about that. He’s got a good team behind him and he’s very driven.”
Cork native O’Sullivan is another man hoping to go on to big things having beaten Ciaran Healy to claim the Irish Middleweight title in his last outing and he says he can’t wait to fight again in his home city. “I am very hungry to get into the ring right now,” said O’Sullivan.
“I always like to give of my best before the home fans but that’s another reason why I need to perform well in Cork. I know the Cubans are taking star billing on the night, but I am the ‘Real Rebel’ and I will have a big following.”
Tickets for the Yanjing Beer Fight Night priced €25 & €50 are available from Ticketmaster, all Mahers Sports Outlets, Neptune Stadum 021 4395873, The Wilton Pub 021 4344454, Patrick Thomas 087 9393586, Gary O’Sullivan 085 1789544 and Willie Casey 086 3136925.
American duo promising new Cuban crisis in Cork
American’s Jason Barnett and Demetrius Davis cross the Atlantic this week intent on ending the unbeaten runs of Cork based Cuban’s Mike Perez and Luis Garcia. The duo along with compatriot Alexei Acosta feature on the Yanjing Beer Fight Night at the Neptune Stadium in Cork on Saturday as they feature on “The Undefeated’s”. The Cuban trio along with Irish stars, Andy Murray, Willie “Big Bang” Casey and Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan will all be out to keep their unbeaten records intact but the experienced American duo of Barnett and Davis will be out to spoil the party.
Florida native Barnett takes on Mike Perez in a heavyweight battle while Washington veteran Davis will clash with Garcia in a super middleweight bout with both fights scheduled for 8 rounds.
Both men will arrive in Cork on the back of big wins and are clearly in confident mood ahead of the weekend. Just last month Davis ended the unbeaten run of German prospect Arthur Hein and he is promising to do the same against Garcia.
“I’m in great shape for this fight and really looking forward to coming back to Europe and getting another big win,” said Davis. “Since coming back from Germany I haven’t been out of the gym and I’ve been in training camp sparring the WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Bebit Shumenov for this fight.
“They say Garcia is the next big thing but I heard the same stuff about Arthur Hein in Germany and I gave that boy a beating. I’ve ended fighters unbeaten records before and that’s what I plan on doing again in Ireland. I always look to put on a show and that’s exactly what I plan on giving the Irish fans. I ain’t travelling back and forth to Europe to clock up the air miles, I’m coming to win and to put myself in line for a title shot.”
Barnett will arrive filled with just as much confidence as his compatriot coming of the back of two big KO wins over the previously undefeated Erik Leander and John Poore. “I think people look at my record of 12 wins and 10 losses and underestimate me,” said Barnett. “Certainly that’s what happened to my last two opponents and they got a rude awakening.
“If you look closely at my record you’ll see that I’ve never had it easy so naturally things aren’t always going to go your way,” said Barnett who’s previous opponents include current European Heavyweight Champ and Olympic Gold medallist, Audley Harrison.
“For me boxing is mainly a mental game and my confidence is sky high right now after my last few fights and I feel I’m right where I need to be. In heavyweight boxing anything can happen and if you have the power like I do then it just takes one punch to turn a career right around.”
Barnett says he has been following Perez’s progress as a pro including his record breaking, two fights in one night in Limerick last month but he refuses to be intimidated by the Cork based southpaw’s reputation as a possible future World Heavyweight champ.
“Obviously in general the Cuban’s are great fighters and Perez is no exception. He’s a former World Amateur Champion and you have to respect that but I’ve been in with big names before and guys with big amateur pedigrees so that doesn’t bother me.
“My last two wins have pushed me up the ratings and made some people sit up and take notice. Like I said boxing is a mental game and my mindset is a whole lot different right now . I was a decent enough amateur myself winning a Bronze at the Junior Olympics and I know that if I use the talent I have to it’s maximum them it doesn’t mater what credentials any of these guys have because I have the power to knock them out and that’s exactly what I plan on doing this Saturday.”
Tickets for the Yanjing Beer Fight Night priced €25 & €50 are available from Ticketmaster, all Mahers Sports Outlets, Neptune Stadum 021 4395873, The Wilton Pub 021 4344454, Patrick Thomas 087 9393586, Gary O’Sullivan 085 1789544 and Willie Casey 086 3136925.
Yanjing Beer Fight Night: Amateurs team up with Pro’s in Cork
This Saturday’s Yanjing Beer Fight Night at The Neptune Stadium in Cork will kick off with a series of exciting amateur bouts before the professional side of the bill which features “The Undefeated’s”.
Cork based Cuban trio, Mike “The Rebel” Perez, Luis “The Lion” Garcia and Alexei “The Hurricane” Acosta will join Ireland’s Andy Murray, Willie “Big Bang” Casey and Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan in the pro bouts with all six facing international opposition while there will also be six amateur contests showcasing some of Cork’s brightest emerging talent.
Headlining the amateur portion of the card will be an intriguing Senior 75Kg bout between Cork’s Rory O’ Donoghue and Dublin’s Luke Keeler while Leesider’s Shane Hickey, Trevor Olden, Alex Gahan and Martin Maguire will also be in action amongst others.
The first of amateur bouts will start at 6pm on Saturday night with the professional bouts expected to start from 8pm.
Tickets for the Yanjing Beer Fight Night priced €25 & €50 are available from Ticketmaster, all Mahers Sports Outlets, Neptune Stadum 021 4395873, The Wilton Pub 021 4344454, Patrick Thomas 087 9393586, Gary O’Sullivan 085 1789544 and Willie Casey 086 3136925.
For all the latest visit brianpeterspromotions.com or add us on Facebook