Celtic Clash 8 to switch North
‘Celtic Clash 8’ will take place in Belfast.
Boxing Ireland Promotions have confirmed that their next instalment will take place in May the Titanic City with full details to be confirmed shortly.
An announcement of the card has been pending for the past few weeks and Dublin was said to be the location.
It is believed that rising insurance, venue, and sanctioning costs have prompted the switch along with the recent acquisitions of a number of Ulster fighters.
The first Celtic Clash bill took place in Belfast back in September 2013 at The Devenish Venue and featured the now-legendary cruiserweight war between Stephen Reynolds and Declan Trainor.
The series was revived with ‘Celtic Clash 2’ in Dublin in May 2017 and the outfit would run an unprecedented six shows in 18 months in the capital, turning over a record number of new pros.
A Belfast expansion has always been mooted, with Dennis Morrison coming on board as Head of Northern Operations while the toe was dipped in in November when they co-promoted the ‘Back in Belfast’ bill at the Shorts Sports and Social Club with Team Alio.
While Boxing Ireland have been a major factor in keeping the fight game afloat in Dublin, Belfast has been prospering with a total of NINE shows in 2018 – three major Queensberry bills, three MTK cards, two MHD shows at the Europa Hotel, and the aforementioned ‘Back in Belfast’ night.
The Irish boxing schedule currently features two cards, both at the famous Ulster Hall in Belfast, with MHD going on Saturday February 9th topped by James Tennyson v Garry Neale before the rematch of Luke Keeler and Conrad Cummings on Friday March 29th.
Boxing Ireland’s Leonard Gunning, who runs the venture alongside Dubliner Stephen Sharpe, said that ‘Celtic Clash 8’ will feature “a fantastic line up and quality matches.”
Full details of the bill will be announced over the weekend.
The Boxing Ireland stable features, among others, top featherweight Eric Donovan and Irish super bantam champion Carl McDonald along with a host of Ulster fighters such as Kelvin McDonald, Conor Doherty, Conor Cooke, Jamie Douglas, with more in the pipeline.
