Irish title dream made Paul Hyland Jr take Stephen Ormond risk

The opportunity to fulfill an Irish title dream persuaded Paul Hyland Jr [16(6)-0] to accept an offer to fight Stephen Ormond, according to manager Mark Dunlop.

The Belfast fighter was offered a chance to trade leather with the experienced Dub on the Ryan Burnett b Zhanat Zhakiyanov unification clash at the SSE Odyssey Arena in Belfast on Saturday October 21st.

Having aced what was meant to be a tough test by stopping Adam Dingsdale in a round, the war loving lightweight may have been forgiven for an opponent that would enhance his British title hopes.

However, the undefeated 27 year old, who grasped a career changing chance live on Sky with both gloves last time out, is Irish title keen and determined to prove he is best lightweight on the island so has accepted a risky clash with Ormond [24(13)-4(1)].

“The Irish title was a big thing for Hylo. It means the world to him. You know the graft I put in to try and get it for him before and a fight with Ormond hopefully means he gets to fight for it,” Dunlop told Irish-boxing.com.

“Eddie phoned me and said do we want the fight and we accepted. I believe Hyland is the best lightweight in Ireland so we were delighted we get the chance to prove it. Hylo is looking forward to proving it now.”

Team Hylo are preparing for a tough 10 round clash, but could be hoping Ormond is on the wane.

‘The Rock’ was tipped to fill the void left by Bernard Dunne’s retirement late last decade, but his peak years coincided with some lean boxing times and he never really got the exposure his talent deserved.

Big fights also came at the wrong time – none more so than his World title final eliminator with Terry Flanagan which took place just days after his grandmother passed and a second final eliminator with Alejandro Luna that was shelved in suspicious circumstances – and by the time things started to pick up in Ireland again the 34 year old suffered had two heartbreaking defeats.

First to Zoltan Szabo, which he eventually avenged, and then to Craig Evans – a reverse that prompted him to seriously consider retirement.

Dunlop notes Ormond is getting on, but claims the Paschal Collins trained puncher could still be dangerous and claims it will be interesting to see how he fairs against his young hungry lightweight.

The one thing he is certain of is the two action junkies will serve up a fan-friendly fight.

“It’s a brilliant fight for the fans there is no doubt about it Ormond is a brilliant fight a real champion. He is up there, obviously he is getting on, but he is game and strong.”

“Then you have Hylo who is young, fresh, and game as a badger. You look at his record on BoxRec – in his last 10 or 11 he fought lads with winning records.”

“He has also carried a lot of people so we could keep getting him fights and not to scare too many away. This one is one to really excite the fans. ”

The undercard next month also features Tyrone McKenna v Tommy Coyle, James Tennyson v Darren Traynor, Feargal McCrory, Tommy McCarthy, Gary Cully, David Oliver Joyce, Jay Byrne, Joe Fitzpatrick and Josh Kelly.

Tickets for the night cost £30, £40, £60, £100, £150 (VIP), and are available from the boxers involved or through HERE