Darragh Foley – ‘A Man Born in the Wrong Era’
The road to World title glory is clear for a few, they start as a junior boxer, enter the Elites, win a National title, win a major tournament such as the Olympics and then get taken under the wing of a major promoter who guides them carefully and cautiously through the rankings until the perfect opportunity arises for the āBig Oneā.
For others, the path isn’t so easy. Meet the one and only Darragh ‘Super’ Foley, 20-4-1 with 9 knockouts! Foley didn’t have an extensive amateur career and wasn’t brought up through the national system whilst being nurtured and moulded into the finished article like many other stars.
An amateur career of just eleven fights with only one win didn’t exactly have the boxing World expecting great things from the Dublin raised Irishman. But one thing the World didn’t know then is that “Super” as he likes to be called wasn’t the kind of man to let what others believe deter him from his goal.
His trainer Ben Savva describes him as “A man that was born into the wrong era.
“Darragh is cut from the cloth of those born during the Roman Empire, he’s a born Gladiator.I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know what fear is but that can be a double-edged swordā. Ben went onto say,
āIn the past Darragh has taken silly fights on short notice, because he just wanted to fight and test himself rather than pad his record like most fighters in the modern era do, this is where I come in. During the next stage of Darraghās career I want him to take the smart path. We are maybe two fights away from a World title, so we need to get this part right and help Darragh finally realise his dream”.
At a recent press conference to announce Super’s next fight against Blake Minto for an IBO regional title, Foley described himself as “Fast with my mouth and even quicker with my hands, a man who fights like I don’t deserve to live in every fight”. Those that have seen Darragh fight over the years will know that this is a scarily accurate statement.
When you look in Foley’s trophy cabinet you will see a mountain of awards from Australian titles to regional belts in all the major bodies. However the path for Foley hasn’t been a smooth one, losses along the road to some of the world’s best, more blood spilled than any medical professional would ever like to see, injuries, surgeries and scar tissue around the eyes just adds to his character. As far as Foley is concerned the mission will not be over until one of those belts in his cabinet says World Champion.
Off the back of a fight described as “fight of the decade” by boxing legend Jeff Fennech. The major Australian promotional company āNo Limitā signed Darragh to a two fight deal, because they too could see the potential the Australian based Irish man has, add to his talent his witty, confident and brash interviews which are always a sure-fire way to sell tickets, get the ratings up and create an electric atmosphere before and after the fight it can only serve to work well for both parties.
In his first fight with No Limit, Foley fought the tough Hunter Ione in a fight that as per usual, had the entire crowd on their feet. Foley was clearly dominating the rounds but as everybody knows, where there’s ‘Super’, there’s drama. A head butt from the desperate Ione had both men covered in blood, low blow after low blow, shots after the bell from his opponent, lead to a knockdown by a dangerous right hook from the Blanch native all made great viewing.
Even after the final bell rang, another near scuffle took place due to Ione refusing to accept the fight was over which led to him leaving the ring prior to a decision being announced and Foleys hand being raised. It was all just another typical ‘Super’ roller-coaster of a night for the fans to enjoy.
This leads us too today. A win over his next opponent the battle-hardened Blake Minto, could see āSuperā Foley in pole position for a shot at the IBO World title against the current champion in the highly avoided Mexican warrior Alejandro Meneses.
Thanks to his current form and with the might of āNo limitā behind him this Cinderella story could well see āSuperā, a larger than life, āRockyā type character secure his shot at the āBig Oneā on Saint Patrick’s day 2023, in his adopted home of Australia in a double World title header with fellow Irishman – Dennis Hogan, a Man also on the verge of winning the same title in a higher weight division.
