Gerard Hughes Predicts and Calls For Farrell-Kerr Winner
Gerard Hughes is targeting the winner of Saturday night’s eagerly anticipated BUI Celtic title fight – and he thinks that will be old foe Ruadhan Farrell.
Farrell and Connor Kerr compete for the pretty strap at the Ulster Hall on the same Breakout card as Hughes appears and compete in the Belfast fighter’s weight division.
It means the Padraig McCrory-managed fighter will be one of the more interested spectators of the Conlan Boxing card’s chief support.
He certainly wants to watch how it pans out because he wants the winner.
Considering ‘Short Fuse’ and Farrell were involved in an entertaining blood-and-guts battle at the SSE Arena late last year, the Pete Taylor-trained fighter could have challenged for the strap in a rematch this weekend. However, he wanted to get a fight with his new team under his belt before returning to domestic affairs.
“Me and Rudy had looked at fighting on the January Matchroom card but unfortunately both of us had lost family members within a week of each other so it didn’t make sense.
“Then I’d made the change, so to do it right I had to get a fight in with Pete before going into another big fight. Once I get this over me then we can look at the winner,” Hughes tells Irish-boxing.com.
In keeping with the general feeling around the clash, Hughes claims it’s hard to pick a winner, but is leaning toward his ‘El Nino’.
The Dublin-trained super bantamweight believes Farrell’s past exposure to the big night will play a part.
“Anything can happen in these fights,” he adds. @That’s why they’re called 50/50 fights. However, I’m backing Rudy to do it. I think his experience of the bigger nights will come into play. He’s also big for the weight. I know people are talking about Kerr’s amateur background but it means nothing in the pros. They are two different sports,” he adds before doubling down on his desire to fight the winner
“We are all fighters we fight! I think with me taking the Rudy fight so early on shows I’m not scared of jumping in. However, with the change in team, I needed a fight. Once we get it over us let’s do it.”
This weekend’s fight with Luke Fash is Hughes’s first since relocating to Dublin and teaming up with Pete Taylor in Ballyfermot.
The 26-year-old, who expects a workout from the English away corner fighter, believes the move has helped him improve and believes that will be apparent come Saturday night.
“Expect to see me trying things,” he adds. “I’m learning in the gym, Pete hasn’t done what he’s done in the game for no reason. Just even talking about the fight you can hear his experience.
“I’m very very happy. I feel like I’m a pro now. From how the sessions are structured to the sparring we don’t do anything without reason. It’s all planned out. The lads are all great to, it’s a proper professional environment.”
Speaking about Saturday’s fight he says: “We all know what these opponents bring. Tough and durable, I’m just happy to be out again and under my new team.”
