New Faces: Brian Cusack

1 July 2010 – By Steve Wellings

Belfast light-heavyweight Brian Cusacks impressive away win on May 29 was in danger of slipping through the net. But irish-boxing.com recently caught up with the former Immaculata pupil to discuss his surprise KO of touted debutant Emmanuell Oshinronde in Bedford.

They clearly brought me over to get beaten, he laughed. The Boxing News said it was an upset because nobody expected me to go over and win the fight.

Shipped over as an opponent and expected to provide nothing more than a reasonable test for Oshinronde, Brian failed to read the script and starched his opponent in the third-round.

The fight went really well for me and I was probably behind in the first two rounds but I came back and stopped him in the third round. He was meant to be up and coming, it was in his home town and they were talking about him getting ready to do good things.

Apparently hed just come back from sparring in America, Brian added.

Fans who attended Belfast Promotions last fight night instalment in the Holiday Inn would do well to remember the show opening performance from a debuting Cusack. The man co-trained by Paul McCullagh and Tony Dunlop outpointed slippery veteran James Tucker on that night.

James Tucker was hard enough to hit, Cusack continued, but it was a handy fight for my debut and I didnt get troubled in any way by him. Tucker fought on the same bill as me in Bedford and actually won his fight [first win in five recent attempts], beating a guy called Danny Goode who was 12-3 which was a good win for him and makes my win over James look even better.

Cusack had been absent from the ring for a lengthy period before deciding to ditch the vest and headguard and return – this time in the paid ranks.

I hadnt boxed in about five years when I fought in the Holiday Inn and was back and forward a bit during that time. I won the Ulster Juniors and County Antrim tournaments as an amateur, boxing out of the Immaculata club.

I was doing a bit of training with Tony and Paul and amateur boxing just didnt appeal to me anymore. If you werent going to get into the national squad then there wasnt really much point in doing it. The pro style suits me better.

Cusack is certainly a promising addition to the domestic circle and if he keeps upsetting the form book, as he did in Bedford, it wont be too long before the stylist is knocking on the door of Irish title honours.

I would be aiming for Irish titles within the next year or so, after getting another few fights under my belt, said Brian.

I want to keep busy and hopefully Ill get a few fights in September or October time. Im training in Belfast every day with Paul McCullagh and already working towards my next bout.