Late swap made to Ireland’s Last Man Standing line-up
There has been a late change to the line-up for this Saturday night’s [March 3rd] inaugural Ireland’s Last Man Standing tournament.
Eight fighters will battle it out in a single-elimination competition at the National Stadium in Dublin, live on TG4, and this evening it can be revealed that one of the original eight has been forced out and has been promptly replaced.
Dubliner Bernard Roe [6(1)-0] has been pulled from the line-up and in has stepped Stoke light middleweight Owen Jobburn [4(1)-0-1].
The 28-year-old, of Athlone ancestry, comes to the tournament looking to make a smash-and-grab and take the guaranteed minnimum top prize of €25,000.
A pro since 2016, the orthodox fighter comes into the night off the back of a dubious draw with unbeaten prospect Sam Evans. Their fight back in September was ruled a 77-77 draw after eight rounds, however many felt Jobburn had done enough as well as noting that a second-round knockdown scored in Evans’s favour seemed to be a slip.
#Boxing Sam @samtaffyboxer Evans 9-0 vs Owen @owenjo89 Jobburn 4-0 Controversial #KD in R3 Friday:https://t.co/h7UDEICfLr #boxeo #video #TTR pic.twitter.com/HCixAi4nTs
— the13thround.com (@the13thround) September 2, 2017
Evans is trained by Ricky Hatton, who is coach of another Last Man Standing entrant in Chris Blaney, and Jobburn’s addition to the roster adds another interesting element going into the big card.
Alongside Roe and Jobburn, the other six entrants in the tournament with a €59,000 prize pool are JJ McDonagh, Roy Sheahan, Nick Quigley, Jack Cullen, Ger Healy, and Vladimir Belujsky. The draw for the Prizefighter-style competition will take place at the weigh-in on Friday.
The late swap sees the line-up finalised. Just two of the original eight [Blaney and Sheahan] announced last month remain, however last week’s pledge from co-promoter Kaz Evans that “the show must go on” looks set to be fulfilled following a period of uncertainty.
The undercard for the big Dublin fight night features an Irish light middleweight title fight between Jay Byrne and Craig O’Brien, and an all-Irish scrap between Victor Rabei and Mark Morris, as well as appearances from Dylan McDonagh, Max Wicks, and Israel Duffus.
