Morrissey v Cronin – First all Irish title fight of 2023 confirmed
The first all-Irish title fight of 2023 has been agreed and will be confirmed very shortly.
Jamie Morrissey [4(1)-0] and Kevin Cronin [5(2)-0] will trade leather for the BUI Celtic light heavyweight title in February.
Irish-boxing.com understands the fight will be confirmed for Belfast and early February in the coming days.
The Munster men have been linked for well over a year, with chatter regarding the exciting Limerick v Kerry clash increasing significantly in volume since Morrissey defeated Ben McGivern to claim the BUI Celtic title at super middleweight.
There was a suggestion it’s a fight Conlan Boxing looked at for their entertaining December 10, SSE Arena card, while Cronin had pitched it as an ideal bout for the proposed Katie Taylor Croke Park homecoming.
However, Irish-boxing.com understands there is a new plan in place, and the fight will top an MHD and IGB fight card next year.
The Shaun Kelly-trained, Ian Gaughran-managed Morrissey’s BUI super middleweight Celtic title won’t be on the line, as the pair trade leather for the light heavyweight version of the strap.
In 8/9 weeks I’ll take on the Biggest Challenge of my Professional Career and look to create history👀 And the biggest fight of my Boxing career in whole, 10 years working to this moment👑
— Kingdom Warrior (@kevincronin_ky) December 14, 2022
I’ll be training 3 days a week with my pro coach in Dublin and the other half in…⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/C53gvnSM1f
Rumour also had the fight taking place in either Kerry or Limerick but is Belfast bound.
In a more general sense, it’s a brilliant start to the year for Irish boxing. 2022 saw the return of the all Irish fights, leading to highly entertaining clashes between the likes of Colm Murphy and Liam Gaynor, Graham McCormack and Dominic Donegan, Donegan versus Owen Duffy, Duffy versus Owen O’Neill and more – and the trend looks set to continue next year.
The fight looks a perfect fit for one of the TG4 broadcast cards but, as of now, it’s not a TV fight.
