Boxing In Ireland: Casey, Hyland Go Face To Face On RTE One

ByBoxing Press

European title protagonists Willie “Big Bang” Casey and Paul Hyland will come face to face on the The Saturday Night Show on RTÉ One tomorrow night from 9:40.

Host Brendan O’Connor will have to act as referee when both men join him exactly one week before their European Super Bantamweight title showdown on the Hunky Dorys Fight Night: Big Bang Theory at the University Arena in Limerick on Saturday week.

The bout (which will be live on RTÉ Two) will see two Irishmen contest a European title for the first time ever as they bid to claim the title that Bernard Dunne won in November of 2006 when he defeated Esham Pickering at the old Point (now The O2) in Dublin.

The opportunity for this unique Muster – Leinster clash only arose last weekend after defending champion Kiko Martinez was forced to withdraw from his scheduled defence against Casey with a rib injury forcing him to vacate the title. With Hyland already in place as the number 1 rated challenger and preparing to fight the Russian Champion on the Limerick event he had no issues stepping in to take Martinez’s place.

The European title clash between Casey and Hyland headlines a huge night of championship boxing in Limerick which also features the return of Martin “Iron Man” Rogan. The inaugural Prizefighter Champion and former Commonwealth Heavyweight Champion will step back into the ring a year to the day from his last fight in Belfast having made a successful recovery from a career threatening neck injury.

Cork based Cuban hotshot Luis Garcia faces a massive step up in class in just his eleventh pro fight when the World Junior amateur champion takes on former 2 time World Champion Byron Mitchell – the hard hitting American is best known on this side of the Atlantic for being the first man to put Joe Calzaghe on the canvas.

Garcia’s compatriot Alexei Collado also features with the Cork based Cuban looking to extend his phenomenal 100% record which has seen him win all 13 of his pro fights to date by stoppage.

An Irish title will be up for grabs in Limerick when Anthony Fitzgerald and Lee Murtagh finally look to get it on with Fitzgerald’s Irish Super Middleweight title at stake. The duo were scheduled to clash on 2 previous occasions but both encounters were scrapped after Murtagh was forced to withdraw through injury but he will be hoping it’s third time lucky on this occasion.

Also featuring on the card is unbeaten Limerick based Galwegian Alan Donnellan and exciting Dublin prospects Brendan Fitzpatrick and Gavin Prunty while Galway’s Jon Fogg makes his pro debut against unbeaten Spanish cruiserweight and Kiko Martinez’s training partner Ricky Pow.

Tickets for the Hunky Dorys Fight Night: Big Bang Theory priced from €40 are available from Ticketmaster.ie / 0818 719300 and all usual outlets.