“No hesitation” from Darragh Foley to step in and face “avoided” foe

Darragh Foley [15(8)-2(0)-1] had no qualms about stepping in to face one of Britain’s trickiest and most avoided fighters.

It was confirmed yesterday that the Dublin light welterweight has taken a fight with Akeem Ennis Brown [10(1)-0] at the York Hall in London on Friday December 14th.

The awkward and busy Gloucester fighter had been due to face Johnny Coyle but the Prizefighter winner pulled out and Sydney-based Foley has jumped at the opportunity to feature on another BoxNation Friday night show.

In his last outing, ‘Super’ Foley headlined the inaugural bill of the MTK-BoxNation link up in Glasgow where he was forced to settle for an unsatisfactory technical draw when opponent Chris Jenkins suffered a cut after an accidental clash of styles.

The Blanchardstown boxer, ranked #6 with the WBA, has since returned to camp in Boston and jumped at the chance to replace Coyle in the IBF European rankings title fight.

While the belt itself won’t boost Foley’s world title chances – and is unlikely to afford him a top 15 ranking with the IBF – another big fight live on BoxNation should set him up nicely for 2019.

Foley described how “there was no hesitation in taking this fight because six weeks is enough to prepare for any style. I’ve been in the gym for a good few weeks so I’m already in good shape.”

“It’s pretty close to Christmas but I should get a good turnout in terms of fans on the night. I’m going to finish 2018 on a high and then pick up the chase for world title honours early next year.”

“I started off the year on a high getting to eighth in the world. After this fight I want to pick up that hunt for world titles. I respect that Akeem is trying to fight his way to the top too. This is about two avoided fighters going in there to face each other.”

Brown defeated Jenkins last time out, picking up a fifth round technical decision following another clash of heads and Foley has warned the youngster that he will have him figured out by December 14th.

The powerful southpaw noted how “his style is very unorthodox and awkward. This camp will be long enough to work him out. If he thinks he can fight me the way he’s been fighting other guys, he’s in for a shock. I’ve got respect for him though – he’s fought some good fighters and he’s still young.”

“Any time we go into a fight, we study the opponent, assess their weapons and then nullify them. He’s busy like a little ant but I’m pretty confident I’ll neutralise that with good thorough boxing and tactics.

The card next month also features Luke Keeler, a friend of Foley, who defends his WBO European middleweight title versus former 154lbs title challenger Brian Rose.