GOLDEN TICKET – Marku win could set up Conor Benn clash for Dylan Moran
Dylan Moran believes he is going to cash in his ‘golden ticket’ and set up a mega fight with Conor Benn.
The Waterford star faces Florian Marku in what has grown into a highly anticipated grudge match on the Liam Smith-Chris Eubank 2 Sky Sports PPV card in Manchester on Saturday.
‘The Real Deal’ goes into the fight confident of victory and assured a win with open huge doors for him.
Indeed, the 28-year-old, who has had to fight hard just to get a breakthrough fight, believes making his mark by beating Marku should get him a Boxxer contract and see him become a Sky Sports regular.
He also sees it as a route to a fight with the controversial Conor Benn.
“I would 100% like to fight Conor Benn if I get a statement performance against Marku, I know Florian is my golden ticket,” he said.
“He is the man standing in the way of me achieving my dreams, I have given my life to this game. I’m not looking past him to be fair, but he [Benn] is someone I would love to face next to welcome him back to the ring.
“First I have to deal with Florian but I’m going to stand him on his head and then sign for Boxxer.”
Moran goes into the fight as an underdog with the bookies, understandably so when his resumé is considered
However, he points out he hasn’t been given the chance to secure a win of real note – until now that is.
“I’ve had to come up a different road; selling tickets, doing what I have had to do and I haven’t fought guys at the level of Florian yet – that’s clear to see. But, in saying that, this fight is going to bring out a Dylan Moran you haven’t seen yet. I’ve pushed through all those bad days, the struggles and the challenges.
“I knew that when the opportunity comes, I am good enough to beat these guys and, if I didn’t believe that, I would have just packed it in.”
Moran also suggests the fight may not play as the brawler versus boxer battle many predict it will be.
Waterford’s ‘Real Deal’ insists he won’t attempt to play matador to the Albanian King’s bull, rather he will look to set the pace.
“We plan on pushing the pace, if you watch Florian he tends to take the first minute of the round-off. He likes to walk around, talk to the referee, there are three minutes in the round and he probably works for a minute of it.
“Our plan is to push the pace while he spends those remaining two minutes trying to get his breath back. When we do that, we will plan to take him into deep waters.”
