Moore wants Irish stop off on way to Europe by Steve Wellings Jul 2nd 2008

Jamie Moore aims to return to the ring with a bang when he faces Irish light-middleweight king Ciaran Healy in Dublin on Saturday 5th July. Tommy Egan of Celtic Tigers Boxing promotes his first show in the compact Tallaght Basketball Arena. Moore is still gunning for a crack at European holder Zaurbek Baysangurov, but after dispatching Esau Herrera last time round, this title chance will help to shed the ring rust. Healy won the belt in December 2007 with a career best victory over Lee Murtagh but has struggled since with a win and loss against the then winless Pavel Lotah. Four of those losses, in an 8-7-1 slate, have come via knockout and Healy has already found his level. Moore by contrast has only lost three times in 32 and you have to go back to 2001 for arguably his only genuine loss. The Salford southpaw has grit in abundance and went through ten rounds of hell in 2006, defending his British crown from the clutches of Matthew Macklin. Healy will come forward and try to apply pressure but as the counters continue to land and the eyes begin to swell (as often they do) Ciaran may find himself being rescued as early as the fourth session. In a tasty undercard, which was at one point said to include Martin Rogan (who instead opted for Audley Harrison), Paul Hyland gets a welcome step-up when he faces Marc Callaghan at super-bantamweight. Hyland is unbeaten in ten starts and fights alongside brothers Eddie and Patrick under the tutelage of father Paddy at Dublin's Golden Cobra gym. At only 23 years old, Paul has plenty of time to mature and it seems that oft beaten Callaghan is the perfect foil to measure his progress. Marc has a 19-13-1 (4 KO's) record and has twice challenged for the British super-bantamweight title and once for the Commonwealth strap. He lost in all attempts but has won the English and Southern Area titles at the same weight class. Callaghan has lost his last three but usually goes the distance, even though quality African Jackson Asiku removed him in one round back in 2005. Hyland meanwhile has been working on the undercards and went eight with Ayitteh Mettle in Dublin in April. Mettle was dispatched in a single session by Josh Wale just one fight later and this –combined with only four-knockout wins- may indicate a lack of power. The fight is likely to go the distance with young Paul outboxing the 29 year-old Callaghan for long enough periods to merit the win and the vacant Irish super-bantamweight crown thrown into the bargain. Father Paddy recently told me in Belfast that he might apply for a British license for his three offspring (courtesy of his Birmingham born wife), which would make three excellent additions to the British ratings. Former European super-bantamweight champion Kiko Martinez also makes a surprise appearance on this seven-bout card. The Pat Magee managed power puncher lost his title to slick Rendall Munroe in March and will be aiming to keep in contention as he battles Lante Addy over six rounds. Addy you may remember negotiated the Commonwealth bantamweight title on the aforementioned bill, going down over 12 to Jason Booth. That was his first loss after five pro wins and he showed stereotypical African toughness but limited ability. Martinez on the other hand has lost only once in eighteen bouts, with fourteen opponents falling early. The man from Alicante shot to fame when deposing Bernard Dunne of the Euro crown, in his hometown in one thrilling round. Addy is inexperienced but knows how to the do the distance and should be able to avoid the big bombs to last the duration but lose widely on points. Further into the supporting contests and another Hyland makes an appearance, in the form of Patrick, a 24 year-old featherweight. This may be the most talented Hyland of the trio and Patrick underlined his credentials when halting Paul Griffin in three rounds for the Irish featherweight belt in April. Last time out in Belfast, Hyland stopped Robin Deakin with some sickening body punches and showed the hallmarks of a fighter to watch. Half of his wins have come via the short route and it is hard to see the night's opponent Geoffrey Munika faring any better than some of Hyland's previous victims. Munika is vastly more experienced and the Kenyan can dig a bit, but when he steps up he usually gets beaten. Ashley Theophane, Matt Zegan and Spend Abazi have all defeated Geoffrey, while Terdsak Jaendang and James Armah (remember him?) are the only two to have done it inside the limit. Hyland can outbox the African to a comfortable points victory. Popular cruiserweight Jon O'Brien makes a bow against novice Romanian Anghel Florin while hard-hitting Gary O'Sullivan will be looking for another early finish when he tackles Eugen Stan, winless in thirteen. Another big cruiser, in the shape of Mayo's Michael Sweeney has been added to the card that originally had Billy Walsh pencilled in. Sweeney faces Stan Catalin over 4x3's. Irish station TV3 will dip their toes into the murky waters of professional boxing, televising the action across the emerald isle.

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