Title challenger Tommy Hyde plans to continue Cork Cali celebrations

Not quite an Oscar-like fellow Cork man Cillian Murphy but Tommy Hyde believes he will win something shiny in California this weekend.

Hyde, who visited the venue of the Oscars to show his support to the Oppenheimer actor before his big win, takes on Craig McCarthy for the BUI Celtic super middleweight title in San Francisco on Saturday night.

It’s a title the Irish Boxing Awards Prospect of the Year winner put on his radar last year.

Hyde was on the same card as McCarthy when Built2Last beat Graham McCormack in a high-octane and entertaining clash in Waterford.

The 24-year-old instantly set his sights on the belt and now hopes to win it on St Patrick’s weekend.

“Last April I fought in Waterford and Craig was the co-main event of that show, and ever since then I have had my eye on him and he hasn’t fought, but I knew that was a title I wanted to go for,” Hyde said before once again suggesting he is in for a tough fight and hinting a war may break out.

“He’s a southpaw, fit and always in top shape, and he always comes to fight. I’m a boxer but if we get in the center of the ring, I’ll go toe-to-toe with him, and that will really get the Irish fans into it. It’s going to be a good night on St. Patrick’s Day Eve, the parade is on the same day as the show but in the afternoon.”

Hyde has had a six-week training camp in LA preparing for this Saturday’s fight under the direction of head trainer Pedro Nemes.

The title fight comes in just the NoWhere2Hyde fighter’s first fight of his second year as a pro, which it seems was all part of the plan.

“It’s exactly what we set out to do. We wanted seven six-rounders in my first year and got it. Then, the step-up this year to fight for a title in eight-rounders, and 10 by the end of this year. The plan is to collect titles and names and stay busy this year, fighting at my second home in Boston, San Francisco again, and back home in Cork, Ireland.”