No fun in the sun – Connor Coyle ready to do the business against serious Mexican

Connor Coyle [13(6)-0] suggests Edgar Ortega [18(11)-12(3)] could be the best he has faced in his mini Mexican run but wouldn’t be surprised to see the south of the border operator head south to the canvas like those who have come before.

The Derry fighter goes into his fourth successive fight against Mexican opposition in Cancun tonight. All three of the previous sluggers from the fight famous country – Rafael Roman Ramirez, Miguel Dumas and Esteban Villalba – failed to see the final bell.

Ortega, according to Coyle, has the abilty to buck the trend. The 11 stoppage wins on ‘Nene’s’ record suggest he can punch but it’s his resilience Coyle points to when explaining somewhat of a test awaits. Ortega has brought a host of Canada’s best prospects the distance and was there until the final bell against the likes Samuel Vargas and more recently Carlos Molina.

‘The Kid’ foresees a tricky test in Cancun tonight as a result but is confident he has the tools to secure victory and wouldn’t be overly surprised if registered his seventh career stoppage win.

“He’s so unpredictable, he’s an awkward fighter. He’s fought at world level a few times so he will be a serious opponent. I’m not taking anything away from him or taking anything for granted because anything can happen in the fight game,” Coyle, who is scheduled to fight Germany in July, told the Derry Journal.

“But I just feel my ring craft and footwork and hand speed and power might just be too much for him. I’ll just take it round by round, win a round at a time and if I see a knockout there we’ll take it as usual.

“I’m confident in my abilities and confident in my fitness. I’m just going to go in and enjoy it on Friday night. I don’t mind if I get a few rounds under my belt because I haven’t gone more than two rounds in over two years. My last four opponents were stopped.”

“He’s obviously crafty and tough if he’s taking world level operators the distance so I’ll take it round by round and if I see an opening, I’ll take it. Everything will come off the jab and I think my jab is going to be too fast.”

“My arms are a lot longer than his and so I’ll just keep him at bay with the jab and pick my shots.”