Darragh Foley to fight in world title eliminator next month

Darragh Foley [11(8)-2(0)] will look to shoot up the world rankings next month.

The Blanchardstown light welterweight is currently ranked #15 by the World Boxing Association (WBA) and holds the body’s Oceania title.

Foley had called for a fight with Filipino dangerman Czar Amonsot [34(22)-3(2)-3] who holds the interim version of the WBA Oceania title (yet is ranked at #4 with the organisation) and is considered the mandatory challenger to Foley. However a deal could not be made with South East Asian, so the Irish 28 year old will now take on WBA Inter-Continental champion Jaider Parra [28(17)-2(2)-1].

Southpaw Foley will face the Venezuelan on Friday June 23rd in Sydney, with further details being released next week.

Parra won the Inter-Continental belt in January in Spain with an upset twelfth round knockout over home favourite Nicolas Gonzalez. Parra challenged for world honours in 2013, being stopped in the fifth in Japan by WBA super featherweight champion Takashi Uchiyama. His second loss would come to Colombian Darleys Perez a year later in an interim title fight.

The 34 year old South American is ranked #12 with the WBA, and a win for Foley should see him, at the very least, assume this position.

Indeed the fight is, by definition, a world title eliminator, and would put the Dubliner one step closer to the summit of the rankings currently topped by Namibian Julius Indongo.

Foley won his WBA Oceania belt last Summer with a rematch victory against Joebert De Los Reyes. He would defend it in December against Sergio Eduardo Gonzalez via a turgid points decision before a stunning knockout win over Sonny Katiandagho in his second defence last month.

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Joe O’Neill and Gavan Casey speak to Jason Quigley on Episode 5 of The Irish Boxing Show: