Darren believes he would Cruise to Fitzgerald victory

June 11 Jonny Stapleton

Darren Cruise claims he will prove the hype surrounding WBA world number 14 Anthony Fitzgerald is undeserved if the pair rumble in the Royal Theatre, Castlebar on August 12.

The former sparring partners and Dolphil stable mates are in talks re a potential bout that if made will continue the recent trend of cracking domestic dust ups on Irish shows.

Both pugilists seem open to the fight and Cruise believes if the pair were to trade leather in the West he would shoot ‘Fitzy’ down.

Its is a brave step up for the Roscommon native, but Cruise claims his performances in sparring with the Dubliner has given him the confidence not only to take the fight on the under card of Henry Coyle’s WBF world title tilt, but to predict victory as well.

The three fight novice claims he has a lot of respect for the Crumlin gym graduate and did admit he has yet to face anyone of the Irish super middleweight champions calibre.

However, the westerner hint Fitzgerald is fortunate Cruise doesn’t qualify to challenge for the inner city Dub’s EBA middleweight, Irish super middleweight or WBF Inter Continental titles because he would relieve the Phil Sutcliffe trained fighter of his straps leaving pride the only thing left for “The Pride” to fight for.

“I was asked if I wanted to fight Anto on Monday and I said yes straight away,” Cruise told www.irish-boxing.com. “It is a big fight, but one thing is for sure I wont be getting knocked out. I have a lot of respect for Fitzy, but I do believe I am the better boxer. He is very over rated and is hyped up too much.”

Even without a title at stake Cruise believes he has a lot to gain by defeating Fitzgerald.

The Roscommon native is hoping a victory over a world rated opponent in just his fourth fight will propel him up the career ladder.

“Its a huge stepping stone for me. Fitzy is a tough guy. He has three titles and is world rated, but I believe I am the better boxer. I am 100 per cent confident i can beat him. I did spar him a lot previously. We had tough spars, but I believe that I came out on top all the time. I am hoping when I get this eight rounder out of the way I can fight for the Irish title.”