Dennis Hogan knows he’s “close” to world title opportunity

Dennis Hogan is four weeks out from his massive world title eliminator.

The Kildare light middleweight faces Japanese champion Yuki Nonaka [31(10)-8(1)-3] at the Brisbane Convention Centre on October 14th.

Hogan, ranked #3 by the WBO, will be looking to end the Far East southpaw’s 13-fight, seven-year unbeaten run.

39 year old Nonaka comes highly-rated by all four major governing bodies (WBC #15, WBA #14, IBF #6, WBO #9).

A win could potentially put Hogan [25(7)-1(0)-1] in line for a shot at the WBO belt held by Miguel Cotto. The Puerto Rican legend is set to retire following one more defence before the end of the year, and a bout between the winners of Hogan v Nonaka and Liam Smith v Liam Williams for a vacant title looks a likely path.

With the stakes so high, Hogan is leaving no stone underturned in camp with coach Glenn Rushton – the mastermind behind Jeff Horn’s shock win over Manny Pacquiao during the Summer.

The Kilcullen fighter told Fox Sports that “I’ve put in a lot of effort. I just wont switch off, I’ll put in as much as I can to keep gaining and evolving every single day to get me to the point of being world champion.”

“I know I’m close.”