Hearn: Fighting Irish perfect for Prizefighter
Jonny Stapleton
Eddie Hearn thinks the fighting Irish are perfeact for Prizefighter and believes the tournaments Irish debut will be a special occasion.
The fan friendly competition comes to Belfast with May 5 the most likely date, and the Matchroom boss confirmed it will be an all Irish affair.
The Prizefighter promoter has an ever growing list of Irish middleweights he expects to whittling it down to eight before May.
EBA champion and WBA world top 15 fighter Anthony Fitzgerald, former amateur stand out Eamonn O’Kane and Joe Rae seem certs for the fight night that Hearn believes will raise the roof of either the Kings Hall or the Odyssey Arena.
Kildare’s Queensland middleweight champion Dennis Hogan, Allan Donnellan, American based Arklow man James Moore, Joe Hillerby, Ryan Green and Brendan Fitzpatrick are some of the others touted as fighters who could compete for the £32,000 winner’s cheque.
Regardless of the final eight Hearn is confident the come to fight attitude of the pugilists on his list mixed with the boisterous Irish fight public will ensure a sensational night.
“We had planned an International heavyweight tournament, then Ireland versus England tournament, purely because we didn’t know the depth of quality at middleweight in Ireland,” Hearn said yesterday.
“We have a list of 16 Irish middleweights here and its growing. The fighters on it are all credible, have decent records and most importantly they have fighting spirit. They come to fight. I am sure it will be a massive spectacle. Prizefighter is a fun night and I am sure the Irish fight fans will raise the roof.”
Picking eight fighters from a list that could grow to 20 will prove difficult but Hearn will begin the Xfactor like cutting very soon.
“People who just fought in Ireland once are trying to get on the card. They are all coming out of the woodwork. We have growing numbers but it will come down to personality, ticket selling ability, fighting style and we want pockets of fans from different parts of the country. So there are a lot of factors to take into account.”
