Seedings announced for Ireland’s Last Man Standing
The seedings have been announced for Ireland’s Last Man Standing.
Rather than an open draw, four boxers have received seeds for the Prizefighter-style single-elimination competition in Dublin on Saturday night.
The four seeds are:
1 – JJ McDonagh – [15(7)-3(1)] – Mullingar
2 – Chris Blaney – [9(3)-0] – Navan
3 – Roy Sheahan – [1(0)-0] – Athy
4 – Jack Cullen – [9(3)-0] – Bolton/Dublin
These four fighters, in order, will select a quarter-final opponent from the four unseeded fighters following the weigh-in tomorrow afternoon.
The process adds an interesting angle, raising the question of who the top three seeds will pick. Will they go for a perceived easier opener? or try and get a big rival out of the way early?
The four non-seeds are:
Nick Quigley – [15(3)-3(2)] – Liverpool/Wexford
Vladimir Belujsky – [2(2)-0-1] – Mitchelstown
Gerard Healy – [7(0)-4(1)-1] – Belfast
Owen Jobburn – [4(1)-0-1] – Stoke/Athlone
The fighters will then face off in the opening round, live on TG4, at the National Stadium, with the winners progressing to the semis and finally, the grand final where a €25,000 top prize will be on offer.
Prior to the announcement, McDonagh had hoped for an opening round clash with Blaney. This is now no longer possible, however ‘The Ginger Ninja’ may get his wish of a quarter-final versus Jobburn.
The bracket has also been confirmed, with the winner of the fight involving the first seed [McDonagh] facing the winner of the clash involving the third seed [Sheahan] in the first semi. The winners of the bouts involving Blaney and Cullen will then partake in the corresponding semi-final.
Following the conclusion of these six fights, the Irish light middleweight title fight between Jay Byrne and Craig O’Brien will take centre stage, before the mega-money grand finale.
