Irish P4P list

[No Contest]

Good to hear, hopefully he can bounce back after that shelling by Martinez. He didnt look right in that fight, and Kiko was like a little pitbull in there. I need to see improvement on his defense before I can get behind him. He doesnt have the k.o. power his record would indicate, and he's gonna have to rely on defense and good technical boxing to outpoint the better fighters in the division. I think James Moore is a solid fighter he should be stepping up his opposition soon enough, keep an eye out. Just saw that he has a fight against J.C. Candelo which is a decent step up, even though J.C. has been on a losing streak.

[donnydarkoIRL]

I'll confirm tonight whether Michael Sweeney will be boxing on that card if you want.

[sligobhoy67]

I'll confirm tonight whether Michael Sweeney will be boxing on that card if you want.

any news??

[donnydarkoIRL]

Michael has been in training with Sean Mannion* out in Rosmuc, twice a day, so I presume that he is.

*For all non-Irish people Sean Mannion is thye guy who fought Mike McCallum in America, when the lights were turned out mid fight.

[sligobhoy67]

i've updated the list. Let me know what ye think of the changes

[sligobhoy67]

March is historically one of the busiest times of year for any self respecting Irish boxer, and this year is no exception. As usual these Celtic warriors have been drafted in to bolster fight cards in the US in an attempt to satisfy the pugilistic appetite of the Irish Diaspora as they sup on their celebratory pints of Guinness for St. Patrick’s Day.
Furthermore we are treated to the additional (and extremely rare) delight of having a world title fight in Ireland when Bernard Dunne faces Ricardo Cordoba at a redeveloped Point Depot. It is the first fight on these shores for a recognised world title since Wayne McCullough fought Jose Luis Bueno for the WBC bantamweight title also at the Point Depot 13 years ago - yes, thirteen.

Dunne’s fight against Cordoba, the current WBA champion, gives a number domestic pro’s a chance to show their skills, Stateside reports indicate that “Erin Go Brawl II” has been scrapped and this will deny six Irish and two Irish-American fighters a chance to further their impact on the world scene.
Whilst March may see a plethora of Irish fighters take a bow the first quarter of 2009 has been relatively quiet. However, one star shone brightest during that period and that was the Belfast taxi driver Martin Rogan. Against all odds this likeable heavyweight has beat two of Britain’s leading men in the division. Rogan played out a real life version of Rocky to beat Commonwealth and European champion Matt Skelton. Skelton, who fought Ruslan Chagaev for the WBA title in 2008, had never been stopped or experienced the sensation of being floored prior to meeting the unstoppable Ulsterman who dispatched the Bedford Bear in an intense 11th round.

Current Top 20

1 - John Duddy 26-0 (17 KO) Middleweight, Overcoming ongoing contractual disputes, Duddy’s recent win over “gatekeeper” Matt Vanda has put a potential fight with Kelly Pavlik back on track. Add to this an upcoming fight with journeyman Billy Lyell in April and possible move to light middleweight and Duddy is a busy boy.

2 ↑ 1 Paul McCloskey 18-0 (8 KO) Light welterweight, British light welterweight Champion, McCloskey made the biggest impact of any Irish boxer in 2008 with wins over former World champion Cesar Bazan and former European champion Colin Lynes. The first defense of his new title is due in mid March.

3 ↑ 1 Bernard Dunne 27-1 (14 KO) Super bantamweight, John Duddy may be the most recognised Irish boxer in the world but on home turf there is one man that eclipses his fame and that is Bernard Dunne. Question marks remain over Dunne’s chin following the loss of his European title in a first round KO defeat to Kiko Martinez remain but Dunne has slowly rebuilt his career and is due to face WBA super bantamweight title holder Ricardo Cordoba in Dublin on 21 March.

4 ↓ 2 Andy Lee 16-1 (13 KO) Super middleweight, Irish super middleweight Champion, Recent inactivity has spoiled Lee’s attempted return following his controversial loss to Contender’s Brian Vera. The cancellation of the “Erin Go Brawl II” bill has further exacerbated his frustration.

5 ↑ 7 Martin Rogan 12-0 (6 KO) Heavyweight, Commonwealth heavyweight Champion, Unbeaten Rogan has gone from “Martin Who?” to Rogie in just twelve months. From winning the inaugural Prizefighter series to exposing Audley Harrison and dethroning European and Commonwealth champion Matt Skelton its been a year to remember. But who is next for Belfast’s Entertainer?

6 ↓ 1 Matthew Macklin 23-2 (16 KO) Middleweight, The Birmingham born Irishman, spent almost a year on the sidelines following his dramatic defeat to current European champion Jamie Moore, however since then Macklin has won six straight fights and faces Wayne Elcock for his BBBofC middleweight title on 14 March.

7 ↓ 1 Martin Lindsay 13-0 (5 KO) Featherweight, IBF Youth featherweight (possibly vacated), For much of Lindsay’s early career he was flying under the radar of many fight fans despite having an excellent record as an amateur, however, following his return from a short spell in Canada with the IBF Youth featherweight title he has hit the headlines with wins over former IBO super flyweight champion Edison Torres and a spectacular knockout win over former WBU champion Derry Mathews. Lindsay is due to face Scotland’s undefeated British featherweight champion Paul Appleby on 25 April.

8 ↓ 1 Brian Magee 32-3-1 (22 KO) Super middleweight, British super middleweight Champion, Slowly but surely Magee has rebuilt his career following an eleventh round knockout loss to Carl Froch. Since that defeat he is unbeaten in eight fights, including a draw for the British light heavyweight title against Tony Oakey, he has gone on to capture the British super middleweight title, which he will defend on 23 March.

9 ↓ 1 Stephen Haughian 17-1 (7 KO) Welterweight, Irish welterweight Champion, At only 24 years of age Haughian is already established as a stalwart on the Irish professional scene. With only one defeat on the Lurganman’s record Haughian has since gone on to win a convincing reversal of that defeat a to Giammario Grassellini and wrestle the Irish title from Cork’s Billy Walsh.

10 - Andrew Murray 13-0 (6 KO) Lightweight, Irish lightweight Champion, Now more active since his return to Ireland and joining the Breen Camp. This stalwart of the Brian Peters’ undercards for Bernard Dunne fights is looking to add the European Union strap to his growing list of trinkets when he faces Daniel Rasilla on 21 March.

11 - Michael Gomez 38-9 (25 KO) Super featherweight, The rollercoaster ride that is the career of the “the Irish Mexican” rumbles on. Always talking a good fight, Gomez failed to overcome Amir Khan’s size and speed in June 2008 but Gomez did have Khan on the canvas during their fight for the Commonwealth lightweight title. Gomez now has a chance to capture the super featherweight version of the title when he battles Ricky Burns in Scotland on 27 March.

12 ↑ 1 Jim Rock 29-4 (12 KO) Middleweight, Irish light heavyweight Champion, With more titles than Louis Mountbatten, Rock’s longevity seems unending. The clean living Dublin businessman, who is a four weight Irish champion, now drops back down to middleweight to fight Alessio Furlan.

13 ↑ 1 Patrick Hyland 15-0 (8 KO) Featherweight, Irish featherweight Champion, One of three brothers who are making waves on in the professional ranks, “Pajo” had a real break through year in 2008 winning all of his seven fights. Although Hyland has mostly been matched with lightly regarded opposition he has notable wins over fellow Dub Paul Griffin in the Battle of the Liberties and a first round first minute KO win over John Gicharu. Patrick is slated to face Carlos Guevara on 14 March.

14 ↓ 5 James Moore 16-2 (10 KO) Light middleweight, 2008 was an annus horribilis for the 31 year old Wicklowman. At the end of 2007 Moore had a record of 13-0 with a 70% knockout rate but 2008 brought a points loss to lowly rated Gabriel Rosado and a failed attempt to capture the NABF light middleweight title against Yuri Foreman, on which Moore was outclassed from the first bell to the last.

15 ↑ 2 Dean Byrne 10-0 (4 KO) Light welterweight, Little has been seen of Byrne on these shores since his days as an amateur champion. But since joining Freddie Roach, the widely travelled “Irish Lightning”, is starting to attract attention through fight reports and clips of his sparring on Youtube. His chance to appear on TV in Europe seems to have been scupperd following the cancellation of “Erin Go Brawl II”
16 ↓ 1 Oisin Fagan 22-6 (13 KO) Light welterweight, The Gael Force was blown away inside two rounds by Amir Khan. To add insult to injury Fagan broke his leg during the fight. Doctors inform Fagan that he could be out of the ring for up to a year, however Fagan is planning on returning before that - afterall weddings are not cheap!

17 ↑ 2 Paul Hyland 13-1 (4 KO) super bantamweight, Irish Super Bantamweight Champion, Like his brother Patrick, Paul had a busy 2008 and started 2009 off well to with a points win on the undercard of the Rendall Munroe and Kiko Martinez fight in February. However, Hyland blemished his unbeaten record dropping to close points loss against journeyman Lucian Gonzalez raising doubts as to whether this Hyland brother has what it takes to make it to the top - 2009 will provide us with more answers in relation to that particular teaser.

18 ↓ 2 Henry Coyle 9-1 (8 KO) Light middleweight, With an impressive amateur background, only one loss as a pro and seven straight wins since that defeat many have been disappointed with the lack of progression in Coyle’s career. After ten fights Coyle has yet to beat a boxer with a positive record, however Coyle has a chance to put that right on 27 March when he faces Dave Saunders (9-4)

19 ↓ 1 Neil Sinclair 31-7 (24 KO) Light middleweight, At 35 Belfast veteran Sinclair’s star appears to be fading due to a combination of inactivity and a loss to Daniele Petrucci.

20 New Entry Tyson Fury 3-0 (3 KO) Heavyweight Fury’s frustration as an amateur has lead to this mountainous man exploding onto heavyweight division.