“There’s no better feeling in the World” – Larry Fryers delighted with MSG debut

If you were at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Friday night for Mick Conlan’s debut, it’s likely you noticed the many fans milling around in black t-shirts sporting the tri-coloured name of Lethal Larry Fryers.

Indeed, if you were in from the very start you would even have gotten to see the Monaghan brawler open the show with an exciting points win over Gabriel Solario that saw him move his record to 3(1)-0/

The New York-based Clones welterweight was the sole Irishman to be given the call for a slot on the undercard of the Top Rank bill and, despite suffering an injury, Fryers [3(1)-0] was in dreamland.

“Madison Square Garden, opening up for Michael Conlan, there’s no better feeling in the world,” he told Irish-Boxing.com afterwards.

Looking back at the fight, the 26 year old recalled how “I went in, started finding my range, dominating him, and an overhand right put him down near the end of the first round, he got up, I went at him, and the bell saved him a bit.”

“In the second I started using the jab and hit him with another big overhand right and that’s when I think I broke my right hand, it swelled up like a balloon. Hopefully it’s just a bad sprain. The downside was, I probably could have got a good knockout win, but it is experience.”

“From the end of the second round and the whole third round I just had to use my jab, the right hand was giving me a lot of problems.”

“Then, come the fourth round, the hand went a bit numb and I just let it go, dominated again and started to really catch him.”

“I’d like to dedicate this win to my father, Gerry Fryers, only for him I wouldn’t be back in the sport of boxing. Even when I had given up myself, he kept pushing me and pushing me. I have a great manager, Bob Miller, who is one in a million, this win’s for Bob too, an unbelievable manager, an unbelievable friend, and an unbelievable person,” Fryers added before discussing whether an association with Top Rank, who are planning regular New York dates for Conlan, is a possibility.

“Look, if they would ever ring again and say ‘Michael’s coming back [to Madison Square Garden], would you like to fight there again,’ you’d have to be stupid to say no. The opportunity they have given me to be boxing here is unbelievable.”

“I had big support. I had a lot of people out from Ireland, a lot from New York. It was a brilliant atmosphere.”

“I want to keep going, I want to make a name for myself in the sport. I’m hoping to keep the momentum going, hopefully there’s no long-lasting damage [to his right hand].”

“This is my time to push on.”

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)