Comeback opponent named for John Joe Nevin
Westmeath super featherweight John Joe Nevin [7(4)-0] makes his long-awaited return to the ring on Friday night.
The Mullingar Shuffler fights in Philadelphia after nine months out, in which time he had a 4lb metal bar removed from his leg.
On his return bout Nevin will face Florida journeyman Jesus Lule [8(1)-18(6)-1] in a four-round contest on a Hard Hitting Promotions card at the SugarHouse Casino.
Lule has faced many up-and-coming prospects such as Lamont Roach, Mason Menard, Alberto Machado, and Zhimin Wang. Notably, he also went five rounds with current WBO featherweight champion, and former Nevin Olympic opponent, Oscar Valdez in 2013.
Friday night will hopefully mark a fresh start for Nevin after a frustrating few years. Since debuting in 2014, the Olympic silver medalist has had a stop-start career, with three sustained lay-offs – first through injury after a vicious assault, then outside-the-ring problems, and most recently due to recovery from the surgical removal of the temporary metal bar inserted following the assault.
Fans will remember the pain posed by the metal bar from the 2014 ‘Reality Bites’ documentary on RTÉ2, and it is hoped that Nevin will be back near to his best this weekend and going forward following it’s removal.
Photo Credit – Ricardo Guglielminotti: The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish).
