THE IRISH BOXING REVIEW 2013 EDITION STEVE WELLINGS Copyright © 2013 Steve Wellings All rights reserved. The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the Internet or any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorised electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author's rights is appreciated. Typeset by SML Publishing Services www.smlpubservices.com CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ‘Descending From Ireland’ by James Howard ‘It’s Been a Generally Positive Year for Our Fighters’ by David Mohan ‘Highs, Lows and Predictions – Boxing from 2012 to Present and Future’ by James Slater ‘The End for Hatton, But A New Beginning for Lennox Lewis’ by Marc Stockings ‘It’s Been An Enjoyable Year of Boxing’ by Paddy Appleton ‘Promoter Wars, Social Media Madness, Over-Hyped Prospects – Modern Day British Boxing in a Nut Shell’ by James Bairstow ‘McDonnell World Title Victory Was a Moment to Treasure’ by Jon Briggs ‘I Never Get Tired Writing About Boxing’ by Peter Wells ‘A Concise Review of Another Successful Year for Irish Amateur Boxing’ by Louis O’Meara ‘Let’s Look at the Current Standing of Some of the Most Significant Fighters on the Irish Boxing Scene Today’ by Jeremy O’Connell ‘Mike Stafford Will Be a Major Force Behind US Boxing Success’ by Jose Santana Jnr Irish Boxing News Round-Up – 15th January 2012 Rigondeaux Returns for Ramos Test − 16th January 2012 Fighter of the Year Magee Planning for Danish Success – 17th January 2012 Conlan Eager to Drop Prospect Status − 18th January 2012 Magee Claims Irish Boxer of the Year Award After Away Win – 19th January 2012 Shamrock Shorts – 10th February 2012 Irish National Elite Championship Finals – 24th February 2012 Casey the Jewel in Emerald’s Crown – 24th February 2012 Casey Aims to Lead the New Belfast Breed – 26th February 2012 Casey Back With a Bang and Ready for the Big Names – 28th February 2012 Shamrock Shorts – 28th February 2012 ‘Sugar’ Ray Ginley Looking Ahead After Debut Win – 1st March 2012 Anthony Cacace Aiming High After Debut Victory – 3rd March 2012 Fresh Start for Joe Hillerby Who Has Rung in the Changes – 3rd March 2012 Fury and Rogan Provide Jokes, Boasts and Songs at Belfast Presser – 6th March 2012 Fury Still Dreams of Irish Title Opportunity – 8th March 2012 Tyson ready to unleash the Fury on ‘cuddly’ Rogie – 9th March 2012 McCloskey Back in Belfast and Ready for a Date with Diaz – 9th March 2012 Songs, Satire and Stand-Up: Fury and Rogan Produce An Unforgettable Press Conference – 10th March 2012 Prizefighter Joins McCloskey in Northern Ireland Boxing Extravaganza – 10th March 2012 The Price Is All Wrong for Hennessy – 13th March 2012 Half-full Leisure Centres and Shit Fights – Hearn Discusses Boxing’s Health – 17th March 2012 Sweeney Prepared for Back Yard Brawl in Belfast – 25th March 2012 Red Hawk Planning ‘Rock ‘N Rumble’ Roscommon Event – 29th March 2012 McCloskey vs. Maidana Hit Too Many Roadblocks – 6th April 2012 Heavyweight Pair Ready for Titanic Battle in Belfast – 10th April 2012 Hillerby All Set for Northern Ireland Clash with Thompson – 10th April 2012 Governing Body Dispute Threatens to Take Irish Title Off the Fury-Rogan Agenda – 11th April 2012 Confident Fury Plans to Start a ‘Bum of the Month’ Club – 11th April 2012 Rogan Explains Injury Woes That Caused Sexton Defeat – 12th April 2012 John Breen Backs Youth Over Experience In Heavyweight Battle – 12th April 2012 Klitschkos Will Come But For Now It’s Rogan That Concerns Fury – 13th April 2012 Fury Ends Business With Rogan and Bags Controversial Irish Title in the Process – 15th April 2012 An Irish Title Fight Sanctioned by The British Board? – 17th April 2012 Dunne Reckons Frampton Can Rule the Roost at Super-Bantamweight – 25th April 2012 Wilton’s An International Master and Wants to Rule Britain Next – 2nd May 2012 Wilton Calls On Chris Edwards to Put Brit Title On the Line and Face Him – 2nd May 2012 Joe Hillerby Wants Jeff Thomas for the Irish title – 4th May 2012 O’Kane’s Prizefighter Joy Cut Short by McCloskey Mauling – 6th May 2012 Eamonn Takes the Prize and Aims for Even Bigger Nights – 7th May 2012 McDonagh Pushes O’Kane All the Way in Prizefighter Final– 7th May 2012 Hearn Admits That Marquez Fight Will Not Be Happening – 12th May 2012 Road Warrior Corley Needed a Knockout to Secure Away Win – 12th May 2012 Paul McCloskey: ‘It’s Too Early to Say What Went Wrong’ – 15th May 2012 Corley Planned to Attack McCloskey Like a Locomotive Train – 17th May 2012 Martinez On the List But Frampton Could Now Face Molitor in September – 28th June 2012 Brandon Aiming for Peake Performance – 11th July 2012 Frampton and Martinez All Set for September 22 Clash in Belfast’s Odyssey – 19th July 2012 Kiko Martinez: ‘Don’t Judge Me On Munroe Defeats’ – 21st July 2012 McGuigan and Hearn Aim for Frampton Title Glory – 27th July 2012 Lindsay Eager for Selby Title Clash – 28th July 2012 Hearn Has High Hopes for Eamonn O’Kane – 29th July 2012 O’Kane Views Prizefighter Victory As a Fast Track to Titles – 30th July 2012 ‘Judgement Day’ Looms for Paul McCloskey – 30th July 2012 Hearn Wants to See How Good Conlan Really Is – 31st July 2012 Matchroom Keen on Lindsay-Selby Purse Bids – 2nd August 2012 ‘Western Warrior’ Coyle Leads the Charge in Castlebar – 18th August 2012 Wilton Heads the Pack of Belfast’s New Breed – 9th September 2012 Tennyson Impresses On Holiday Inn Debut – 10th September 2012 Wilton Craves Big Title Tests for His Frequent Belfast Headliners – 12th September 2012 Fitzpatrick Punching Back Into the Mix – 14th September 2012 Matthew Wilton Enjoying the Boxing Buzz – 14th September 2012 Peake Primed for Second Pro Fight – 23rd September 2012 Moving On Up: Marco McCullough Is On the Rise – 23rd September 2012 Frampton Steams Through Molitor On the Way to World Glory – 23rd September 2012 The World Awaits: McCloskey Gets His Career Back On Track – 25th September 2012 McGuigan and Hearn Plotting World Title Route – 26th September 2012 Hearn’s Dilemma – When Will Frampton Fight Next? – 26th September 2012 Frampton Still Open to Domestic Dust-Ups – 2nd October 2012 Murtagh Triumphs Over Thompson in Irish Title Clash – 14th October 2012 Sauerland Wants to Take One Back for Denmark – 26th October 2012 Pat Magee: ‘One Punch Can End Kessler Fight’ – 26th October 2012 Magee Fight Is a Question of Honour for Kessler – 29th October 2012 Magee and Kessler Ready to Battle in a ‘Question of Honour’ – 30th October 2012 Sauerland Sees Plenty of Options for Kessler-Magee Winner – 30th October 2012 World Champion: WBA Elevate Brian Magee – 1st November 2012 Brian Magee: ‘Kessler Fight Is Bigger Than Bute’ – 9th November 2012 ‘Age Is Just a Number For Magee,’ Says Sauerland – 10th November 2012 Kessler Feared That He Would Have to Quit Boxing – 22nd November 2012 No World Title for Fury Says Jeff Mayweather – 29th November 2012 Fury Takes Aim at ‘Fat Pudding’ Johnson – 29th November 2012 Kevin Johnson: Giant Fury Won’t Dominate Me – 30th November 2012 Tyson Fury: I’m the Greatest Heavyweight Since Lennox Lewis – 30th November 2012 Johnson Reckons He’s One of the Most Feared Heavyweights Out There – 30th November 2012 Fury Overcomes Johnson in Tame Odyssey Affair – 1st December 2012 Peter Fury Slams John Breen’s Corner Tactics – 3rd December 2012 Price Is Not a Worthy Opponent Reckons Team Fury – 4th December 2012 Fury Rubbishes ‘Old Man’ Vitali’s Recent Run of Opposition – 5th December 2012 Kessler Has Big Respect for New Champion Magee – 6th December 2012 O’Kane Suffers First Pro Loss As Ryder Cruises Battle of the Unbeaten – 8th December 2012 Brave Byrne Pushes Jones Close and Gets Career Back on Track – 8th December 2012 Brave Showing from Magee But Classy Kessler Hacks the Body Down – 8th December 2012 Tyson Fury Reveals His ‘Name and Shame’ List – 9th December 2012 Michael Waldron Primed for New Year Explosion – 22nd December 2012 Sauerland Monitoring Irish Talent – 23rd December 2012 Casey Looking to Cause a ‘Big Bang’ in 2013 – 10th January 2013 Anthony Cacace Named as Irish Boxing Prospect of the Year – 6th February 2013 Irish Hero Tips Frampton to Get the Job Dunne – 7th February 2013 Boxer of the Year Frampton Prepares for Kiko War of Attrition – 8th February 2013 World Title Shot a Possibility for Frampton, But He Still Wants Quigg – 8th February 2013 Frampton Smashes Martinez to Become Euro Champ But Lindsay Fails to Tame Beastly Selby – 9th February 2013 Fitzgerald Pushes Lee Hard While O’Kane Gets Back to Winning Ways – 9th February 2013 Jamie Conlan Leads the New Breed on Belfast Undercard – 9th February 2013 Eddie Hearn Plots Frampton Route to World Title – 10th February 2013 Say That Again? Frampton Can’t Recall Final Blow That Ended Kiko’s Euro Reign – 12th February 2013 No Pain − No Gain for Refreshed O’Kane – 15th February 2013 Frampton Admits to Kiko Power and Targets Further Improvement – 17th February 2013 Lindsay’s Courage and Selby’s Quality Provide Perfect Mix – 19th February 2013 Time for The Board to Step-Up and Grant Conlan Title Shot – 20th February 2013 McGuigan Lauds Frampton Performance and Credits Bernard Dunne – 21st February 2013 Shane McGuigan: ‘Carl Outboxed and Outfought Kiko’ – 23rd February 2013 Irish Elite Championships 2013 Full Report – 23rd February 2013 Frampton: ‘I Beat the Best Version of Martinez’ – 25th February 2013 Book Review: Ringside with the Celtic Warriors by Thomas Myler – 27th February 2013 Irish Boxing Prospects