Ryan O’Rourke Targets Stateside Statement
‘The Silent Assassin’Ryan O’Rourke [8(1)-0] is ready to start making some noise in America.
The 22-year-old makes his stateside debut on a Star Boxing card at the Rivers Casino and Resort in New York tonight.
The 2020 Irish Boxing Awards Prospect of the Year winner faces a test of sorts against French man Faycal Rezkallah on a sizable platform, certainly the biggest he’s ever fought on, and as a result, has a chance to impress.
It’s not quite a breakthrough fight but as the Dubliner points out it is an opportunity to start making inroads into the American scene and level up.
“Is it career changing? Maybe you could say that. Not many people get to box in the states so I’m gonna make the most of it while I’m here.
“If I can go out and make a statement, perform to my best, I could start to make a name for myself out here and that could bring my career to a new level.”
Discussing his opponent he adds: “He holds a good record, and he’s obviously not used to losing. I’m expecting him to come to fight which should make for a great fight. I’ll be ready for a fight if he wants one.”
The O’Rourke’s gym fighter was one of Ireland’s busiest fighter’s throughout the pandemic. He managed 8 fights in 18 months but hasn’t been seen since he registered a step-up win against Wilson Mendes on the All Eyez in Brussels 2 card.
Just as he made people sit up and take note he slipped off the radar for a period of time. However, the Steven O’Rourke trained light welter assures that while he was out of the spotlight he wasn’t out of the gym.
“Obviously it was very frustrating,” he explains.
“For someone as active as I was for so long then not to fight was hard. We had a few fights fall through and it would’ve been easy to get down about it, but during that time we were on the road to get some top-quality sparring. We were all over Manchester and sparred the best it has to offer, which was a great learning experience. I will show just how much I’ve improved during those 10 months away from the ring.”
