Team Hogan to open talks with Frank Warren this weekend

Team Dennis Hogan will be ringside for Liam Smith v Liam Williams in Newcastle this weekend and hope to go head-to-head with Frank Warren following the fight to try and work out a plan moving forward.

It is hoped that defeating Yuki Nonaka in a WBO light middleweight title eliminator at the Brisbane Convention Centre last month will lead to a vacant title fight for ‘The Hurricane’ against the winner of this weekend’s big BT Sport rematch.

Miguel Cotto is still in possession of the strap and fights Sadam Ali in New York on December 2nd, which hold things up. The Puerto Rican, however, is widely expected to win and retire off into the sunset.

Hogan’s team at DDP Sports are hoping to secure a final eliminator for the #7 ranked Kildare man for early next year and they will talk to Frank Warren this weekend to set out a plan.

The veteran English promoter looks after the career of #2 Williams, #4 Smith, and #6 Jimmy Kelly.

It may not be the case that the big draw Down Under will fight the winner of the two Liams in the Spring, but a pathway to a World title fight may be trashed out.

“We are already planning show number two in late February or early March,” DPP’s Paul Keegan told Irish-Boxing.com. 

“Myself and Danny are heading to the UK this weekend to watch the Smith v Williams fight and we have a couple of meetings there to see what we can make work for Dennis. “

“Because of the Cotto fight everything is up in the air but as we said all Dennis can do is keep beating lads ahead of him then they can’t stop him winning that title.”

“We want Dennis’s next fight to be a final eliminator or for a mandatory position so that’s what we are pushing for. We will talk to Frank [Warren] to see how we can work moving forward.”

The DDP-Hogan relationship is a unique one, but one that looks like it could prove successful.

The pair worked together for the first time last month, indeed it was DDP’s first ever show. They went big and it paid off according to Dub Keegan.

“The show went great everything came off as we had planned in terms of professionalism and entertainment. All the fights were very entertaining for boxing fans and the feedback was great for our first show.”

Keegan also revealed Hogan [26(7)-1(0)-0] fought through the pain barrier to make sure the show was a success.

“I was so proud of Dennis’s performance on the night. He called me 10 days before the fight to say he has a bad injury. My whole world came crashing down but he pushed through and didn’t train for really the last 10 days before the fight, so to absolutely dominate a guy who was ranked above him the way he did was really enjoyable to watch.”

“It was the performance we had hoped. It’s been Dennis, Danny, and myself since the start so when you have that tight relationship it always adds a bit extra when he is fighting.”