Hyland to take on Fagan
02 July 2009 – By Mark Doyle
Eddie Hyland and Oisin Fagan will meet for the vacant IBF International super-featherweight title at the National Basketball Arena in Dublin on July 25.
Hyland has long been considered one of Irelands most talented young fighters and has won all but one of his 13 professional fights to date, while Fagan remains one of the toughest and most colourful characters on the domestic scene.
Hylands father, trainer and manager, Paddy, is well aware that Fagan represents the toughest test of his sons career to date but is supremely confident that his boy will come out on top in what promises to be a classic encounter.
It was Eddies decision to take it to another level, Paddy explained. And when Oisins name was mentioned at the press conference, Eddie said, That would be a war; lets do it!
Its a very tough fight, but one that Eddie feels he can win and one that can propel him up the rankings.
It promises to be another Ward-Gatti type of a fight and the winner will jump up into the worlds top 15, which means its an extremely important fight for both boxers.
The fight will be Fagans first outing since breaking his leg in the opening round of his second-round stoppage defeat by Amir Khan in December.
Unsurprisingly, Gael Force is overjoyed at being handed such a swift opportunity to put the Khan loss behind him.
This fight means so much to me, he confessed. It came out of the blue and at just the right time.
Its got to be the prayer Ive been asking for, to turn the disappointment I felt from the Khan fight into an opportunity to fully redeem myself with a shot at an internationally-recognised title.
I know I broke my leg against Khan in December and couldnt do anything about the outcome, but I felt so embarrassed.
I didnt care about the pain, so I got back up to fight, but kept on falling down, without even being punched as my leg kept buckling underneath me. So, even though it wasnt my fault, I still felt my supporters were let down.
Talk about Murphys Law- what incredibly terrible timing to break my leg, with thousands in attendance and millions watching on Sky Sports.
I was disgusted, especially, when you think of the career Ive had thus far: Ive ducked nobody and have given world champions a run for their money in their hometowns and on their own shows, so its very important for me to set the record straight and erase the bad luck Ive endured in my career thus far with a big win against Hyland.
I feel like its my time to shine!