Boxing News Boxing News
Promoter Brian Peters has expressed his disappointment at Kenny Egan’s withdrawal from the Hunky Dorys World Title Fight Night at The O2, Dublin on Saturday, March 21.
The 2008 Beijing Silver Medallist had been set for a rematch of his Olympic final on the undercard of Bernard Dunne’s world title bid but he withdrew yesterday admitting that he would not be ready for the fight.
Speaking following Egan’s pullout, Peters said, “Clearly Kenny is going through a difficult time right now in his life and he needs all the help and support he can get at the moment because his health and well being is obviously paramount.
“It’s unfortunate because Xiaoping Zhang had accepted the fight and Kenny’s coach Gerry Fleming and the Irish Amateur Boxing Association were instrumental in working with the President of the Chinese Boxing Federation Chang Jianping to secure the fight for The O2 on March 21st.”
A six man delegation from China including Xiaoping Zhang and the Chinese head coach had been all set to arrive in Dublin early on the week of the fight, but Peters believes that Egan ultimately made the right decision for himself.
“A lot of hard work had gone into securing the Olympic final rematch from all parties,” revealed Peters. “We had finalised all the details late last week and Kenny was due to announce the bout on a planned appearance on Tubridy Tonight last Saturday. Clearly, Kenny has issues that he needs to address before getting back in the ring and he felt that the March 21st date was simply too soon.
“It’s disappointing for everyone involved including Xiaoping Zhang, who was really looking forward to coming to Dublin. However, I’m sure it’s even more disappointing for Kenny to have to withdraw but in this case his health and well being must come before everything else.
