Eade, Coveney Ready For Irish Title Clash In Castlebar
Henry Coyle’s bid to lift the WBF Light Middleweight title against Italy’s Elio Cotena headlines a night of championship boxing at the Royal Theatre, Castlebar on Friday but he won’t be the only Mayo man looking to wrap a belt around his waist on the night.
Westport’s Finbarr “The Rock” Eade is hoping that he will be crowned Irish Super Featherweight Champion when he takes on London based southpaw Mickey Coveney for the vacant title. It’s a massive step up for Eade in just his seventh professional fight as he takes on the seasoned Coveney but the unbeaten Mayo man is determined to make the most of the opportunity.
“I was out of the sport for 12 years from my last fight as an amateur to my first fight as a pro in 2009,” explained Eade. “People told me I was mad to come back and have a go at the pro ranks but it’s been so far so good and I want to go as far as I can with it.
“People have been saying to me, isn’t it great you’re getting to fight for the Irish title but it’s about winning the Irish title for me, not just fighting for it. I don’t want to sound cocky but I want to go further if possible and I’m very confident about this fight.”
For Coveney it will be his second Irish title bid having failed in a brave attempt for Patrick Hyland’s Featherweight belt in Dublin last year and he’s determined that he will not be returning home empty handed this time around.
“I’m coming to win, that’s all thats on my mind,” said Coveney who qualifies for an Irish title courtesy of his father who was born in Cork. “I’ve watched a bit of Eade in action and he looks alright but I’ve picked up on little things. He makes some amateurish mistakes and I can use my experience to take advantage of those. I think on the night you are going to see the difference between a real pro in there and a guy still learning his trade.”
Coveney though is adamant that he won’t be taking anything for granted. “I’m sure Finbarr will be well up for it. He’ll be dangerous early on because he will have all the crowd behind him and it’s practically a hometown fight for him. I’m very confident though and going into the lions den holds no fear for me. I feel like I’m at the top of my game right now. I’m absolutely buzzing in the gym and winning the Irish title would mean so much to me. I felt like I was so close last time but I switched off in that seventh round and got hit with a good shot.”
Eade says he has taken inspiration from Coveney’s previous Irish title bid in preparations for Friday’s bout. “I’ve been based up in Dublin for this fight sparring with the Hyland brothers and working with Paddy Hyland Snr fand obviously they know all about Coveney from Patrick’s win over him last year. I was actually at that fight and I remember thinking at the time that he would be a good fight for me down the road and here we are and it’s great that the Irish title is on the line as well.
“My preparation for this fight has been the best of my career, I only took a week out after my last fight in June and then it was straight back in the gym and it’s been pretty much full on since then. I’ve been sparring Patrick and Paul and they have given me excellent work. I sparred 8 rounds with Patrick the other day and I could easily have done the 10 so there’s no worries on that front.”
However Coveney doesn’t believe that linking up with the Hyland camp will make any difference to the result on Friday night. “I presume he thinks that Patrick’s father knows how to beat me but I’ll be a much stronger fighter at the 9 stone 4 Super Featherweight limit. I watched the Hyland fight back afterwards and I boxed ok, I was fast and accurate but there was no power in my punches because I had drained myself to make 9 stone. Make no mistake though on Friday night I’ll be buzzing, I feel so fit and strong and super feather and I’m taking that belt home this time.”
Both Patrick and Paul Hyland are also in action on Friday night’s card with Patrick featuring in the first ever bout to be broadcast live on TG4 when he takes on Italy’s former European title challenger, Fabrizio Trotta. Younger brother Paul (also a former European title challenger) also features as he takes on two weight Welsh Champion, Dai Davies.
An eagerly awaited all Mayo clash on the card features former Irish Champion John Waldron taking on Michael Sweeney in an Irish Light Heavyweight title eliminator.
Another all – Irish clash rounds out the card with Roscommon’s unbeaten Darren Cruise taking on Leeds based Belfast southpaw Lee Murtagh.
Friday night’s boxing is live and exclusive on TG4 with coverage of DornalaÃocht Beo starting at 9:30pm and also streamed live, worldwide over the internet at www.tg4.tv.
Tickets for the August 12th event priced from €30, €40, €70 and €100 are on sale from the Royal Theatre Box Office on 0818 719 300, Ticketmaster.ie / 0818 719300 and the boxers on the bill.