It’s very nearly five years since Poonsawat Kratingdaenggm floored Bernard Dunne and thousands of onlookers at the O2, but Matthew Macklin has promised that he is the man to finally bring big-time boxing back to this country.

Irish favourite Matthew Macklin will hope to secure a fourth shot at a world title when he takes on Jorge Sebastien Heiland in an official eliminator for the WBC middleweight crown at the National Stadium in Dublin on August 30.

All-Ireland winning Tipperary hurler Lar Corbett and international boxing star Matthew Macklin have set their sights on purchasing Hayes Hotel in Thurles — the birthplace of the GAA.

The look on Andy Lee’s face when the referee called a halt to his bout with Ferenc Hafner, after just 1 minute and 19 seconds of round two, said it all about the man’s current level of ambition.