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Craig O’Brien secures ‘massive’ title fight on Sky broadcast NXTGEN

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Craig O’Brien [11(1)-1(1)] has secured a massive break through chance after securing a slot on the next installment of the NXTGEN series.

The Inner City Dub will trade leather live on Sky Sports for a title on the Matchroom December 19 card.

The fight night will be topped by former Tommy McCarthy foe Richard Riakporhe and Jack Massey’s British cruiserweight title fight.

Who ‘The Iron’ will face and for what title remains unconfirmed, but his details should be revealed early next week.

Speaking on Off The Ball’s Off the Brawl, O’Brien’s Celtic Warrior Gym stablemate Niall Kennedy revealed details of the bout.

“Craig will be announcing a massive fight on the NXTGEN card for December 19. [It’s a] title fight, a 10 round fight the opponent will be announced during the week. He is flying Craig O’Brien is really going well. A big win for him sets him up, which would be a great because he is a good guy with a great story.”

Whilst the entire details of the clash have yet to be confirmed it remains a huge opportunity for the Irish light middleweight champion.

The 30-year-old did appear on Sky previously, but was stopped by Anthony Fowler after giving a good account of himself. He gets a second chance before Christmas and if he manages to secure victory he comes out with his reputation and profile significantly enhanced, not to mention a title.

Indeed, a good performance could help him secure high profile British level opponents such as Scott Fitzgerald, Tedd Cheeseman or even a Fowler return.

Interestingly Matchroom light middleweight Kieron Conway has been confirmed on the card and it could be O’Brien has been brought in as the opponent.

The Northampton native has been working his way up the ladder and drew in a British title fight with Cheeseman.

O’Brien has endured a frustrating time of late. He has been relatively active of late, but was frustrated he couldn’t kick on after winning his Irish title live on TV and hasn’t been overjoyed with the level of opponent since his Fowler defeat.

There has been talk of some Murphy’s Boxing promoted American bouts in 2020, but first O’Brien has a chance to impress closer to home.

dpg

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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