10 Irish fights for 2008 by Steve Wellings Jan 7th 2008

BBN's man across the Irish Sea, Steve Wellings, names the ten Irish fights he'd like to see this year. James Gorman V Andrew Murray II These two were going at it full throttle until an untimely cut on Murray's forehead drew an end to the proceedings prematurely. Gorman is a solid come forward fighter who is always in great shape while Murray is smoother and with the better technique. Gorman is moving up to a catchweight welterweight shot at Billy Walsh later this month while Murray will be recovering with stitches for a recuperation period. Prediction: Gorman is a good ticket seller and this would go down well on another big fight undercard. Murray took the Irish belt last time and would be a hot favourite to win again should they meet. Scott Belshaw V Martin Rogan The Irish heavyweight title has grown stagnant for long enough in the hands of Kevin McBride, who - if he even realises - won it against Paul Douglas in Belfast some eleven years ago. Two unbeaten rising heavyweights like Belshaw and Rogan are gunning for a showdown anytime soon despite Rogan playing down the prospect and Belshaw remaining open to suggestions. Southampton based Colin Kenna would also be a more than able combatant for either man should McBride relinquish the belt. Prediction: Belshaw v Rogan at the Andersonstown Leisure Centre would surely sell a fair few tickets but not quite enough yet to fill the King's Hall. Rogan is the smarter boxer but Belshaw carries the one punch power making it a tough one to call especially given both have had lengthy spells of inactivity. Andy Lee V John Duddy Limerick Southpaw Lee has gone from strength to strength since turning pro off the back of a good amateur career culminating in an Olympic appearance. Being trained by Emmanuel Steward will not have done any harm as the likeable Irishman has shown one punch power and a mean edge to his game. Eight fights in a busy 2007 have set up an exciting push to a world title in 2008 plus Lee has knocked out eleven of his fourteen victims thus far. Duddy on the other hand is often exciting but his fights generally pose more questions than answers as he gives value for money including in his best win to date over Howard Eastman. Prediction: Duddy is improving under Don Turner but Lee looks something special. I think Lee's greater accuracy and quality would bust up a game Duddy in around nine rounds but with the Derry man never giving up the fight for a single second. John Duddy V Matthew Macklin This would seem a more feasible encounter with Macklin drawing off his Irish heritage to add to Duddy's unmistakeable pulling power both north and south of the border. Macklin has not quite lived up to his early promise while Duddy moves onwards towards a world title shot. Prediction: Apart gracing a few undercards in the republic's capital, Macklin will not have fought at this level before and his best performance came in a loss to Jamie Moore. He did however stop Alessio Furlan quicker than Duddy but styles make fights and Duddy would be too busy and savvy for Macklin. Colin Moffett V Eugene Heagney III Huddersfield-based Heagney won the first clash by two points in Dublin before Moffett reversed the result with an eighth round TKO in a recent barnstormer. Moffett has a losing record while Heagney was the unbeaten prospect; this bout may even be moved to a New York undercard if Irish Ropes get their way. Promising Paul Hyland could even force his way into the mix at some stage if he continues to win. Prediction: Heagney was the groomed prospect but came unstuck against the grittier Moffett who carries greater experience. Colin must now be favoured if a rubber match is made as expected. Martin Lindsay V Kevin O'Hara Lindsay has gained vital pro experience with some good wins out in Canada and a run out at the King's Hall in December with a veteran South American. A Gaelic title showdown doubling as a British title eliminator with Paul Appleby beckons so the O'Hara fight seems unlikely. Kevin has recently signed with Frank Maloney and lost narrowly to Henry Castle in London but really needs to stay busy. This could be a good stepping stone for Lindsay as he looks to add credibility to his undefeated ledger. Prediction: Unlikely to come off as Lindsay arguably has bigger fish to fry whilst the neat Boxing O'Hara has little else to go. At this point if they were to meet, Lindsay would probably be too fresh and bright for “Sweet Pea”. Eddie Hyland would also prove a stern test for either of these two as the Dublin ticket seller constantly comes to wage war. Michael Gomez V Peter McDonagh II Despite rhetoric to the contrary, Gomez's loss in 2006 to perennial journeyman McDonagh must still rankle. Especially considering McDonagh has done next to nothing since to capitalise on that win and Gomez recently returned to give British champion Carl Johanneson a run for his money. Gomez was a tired pro seemingly at the end of the road as he turned his back and quit just five rounds into their Irish title bout. Prediction: Gomez is revitalised and even this “damaged goods” version would have enough to gain revenge inside of four or five rounds. Scott Jordan V Willie Thompson Both men here are novice professionals and while Jordan has shown patchy form of late, Thompson has revealed gradual improvement. Jordan was stopped two fights ago by a 0-3 fighter and then his last outing was scrapped as part of the McCullough bill, he also sandwiched in a spurious win over a Latvian who quit inside a round. Thompson looked a lot better in his last fight against Duncan Cottier using a raking jab and a good variety of blows to stamp out a clear decision. Prediction: Recent form favours Thompson who may never rise above small hall level (as former foe Peter Dunn recently agreed) but has a big Ballyclare following and would pack out any East Belfast venue. Maybe a Northern Ireland welterweight fight with Jordan would be a good step for both men at this stage of their respective careers. Paul McCloskey V Stephen Haughian Dungiven southpaw McCloskey is undefeated and a laid back stylist who KO'd a parody of Tontcho Tontchev for a minor Intercontinental belt. On the same bill Haughian was unlucky up at Welterweight to lose against Italian Giammario Grasselinni but bounced back a week later with a routine six round win. Haughian is a patient stalker, upright with a good jab while McCloskey has good variety and punch selection. Prediction: Technically speaking these two are a weight division apart and it would probably not make good business sense to put them together but their records are similar and the weight gap could be bridged. Haughian has gained good experience from his sole loss but McCloskey is probably slightly more rounded at this juncture and would begin a slight favourite. Bernard Dunne V Wayne McCullough Bernard Dunne is preparing to rebuild after a shocking one round KO loss to Kiko Martinez, the Spaniard who helped wreck McCullough's Belfast home coming when he failed to hit the required weight limit. So in theory a fight between the two would not seem so far fetched as Dunne holds question marks over his chin while McCullough still boasts one of the sternest jaws in boxing. Wayne is 37 and old father time is creeping up on him but he could potentially “old man” Dunne out of it. It would be a fight for the stats men as a massive number of punches would be thrown in each round and the fight would sell in Dublin. Prediction: McCullough showed interest in fighting Dunne before he lost to Martinez so there is history and both are hoping to prove the critics wrong. It would be a good one but provided Dunne's chin held up I would see him winning on points. Any fights I have missed which you would like to see? Comments/suggestions are welcome: stoibox@hotmail.co.uk

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Irish Fights Jan 16th 2008, 02:08:40 by steve_wellings Thanks for all the responses. With regards to Oisin Fagan, he is indeed a tough fighter and would make for some good Irish fights but maybe not with Gomez. They are perhaps a couple of weight divisions apart with Gomez at SF and Fagan at LW. I would also like to see a Gorman-Murray rematch Jamesy has a good assignment next with Billy Walsh in Cork. Scott Belshaw is also on that show and i must say a fight with Rogan is probably my preferred bout from all the above. Cheers - Steve.   Re Murray v Gorman II Jan 14th 2008, 08:43:05 by mick helliet A real shame that the first fight had to finish in such a frustrating manner, it was hotting up and turning into a decent contest. I know Andrew wants to move forward asap but in fairness Gorman does deserve another go. Credit to James, it's nice to hear a real fighter saying they are prepared to fight Murray, rather than the pathetic drivel we are used to hearing as to why people can't (more like won't) fight him - you know who you are! Best of luck to Gorman for his forthcoming welter title fight and who knows, maybe one day they'll get the opportunity to sort this out properly, may the best man win...   NEIL SINCLAIR AGAINST WINNER OF WALSH AND GORMAN Jan 10th 2008, 02:00:58 by ardybo Neil Sinclair is far from finished as some pundits mistakenly believe. Match him with the winner of Billy Walsh and James Gorman for the Irish welterweight title and put the contest on to a packed Ulster Hall.   Murray.v.Gorman II Jan 9th 2008, 05:36:08 by reesy Andrew`s eye is healing nicely and should be ready by early march so a return is quite possibe!   Another Great Article Jan 8th 2008, 16:15:22 by gkt999 Great article Steve, I'm really enjoying reading your reviews and articles since you have started writing for BBN. Keep up the great work. Gareth.   Fagan??? Jan 8th 2008, 10:59:21 by jaredbrasher What? No room on the card for boxing's toughest competitor? Where is Oisin Fagan? I'd love to see him against Michael Gomez. Two hard bast@rds!