WILLIE “Big Bang” Casey returns to camp on Monday to prepare for his World title fight against Cuban sensation Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux at the Citywest Conference Centre on March 19.

GUILLERMO “El Chacal” Rigondeaux returned to his training camp in Houston, Texas, yesterday with words of warning for Willie “Big Bang” Casey in advance of their WBA title fight at the Citywest Conference Centre on March 10.

THE crowd that packed the UL Arena in Limerick last Saturday night came for high-class, high-energy boxing. They got just that and, as a bonus, they left with an inspirational story to cherish in these gloomy times.

WILLIE ‘BIG BANG’ CASEY will headline a big professional boxing show at Neptune Stadium, Cork, in January.

A JOURNEY which began on a halting site edges towards sporting glory at the University of Limerick Arena tonight.

WILLIE ‘Big Bang’ Casey and Paul Hyland were primed for battle as they weighed in for tonight’s all-Ireland European title thriller at the University Arena in Limerick.

IT is virtually impossible to separate Willie “Big Bang” Casey and Dubliner Paul Hyland, in Saturday night’s European super bantamweight title fight at the UL Arena in Limerick, according to former Commonwealth heavyweight champion, Martin Rogan.

BARRY McGUIGAN wants the winner of Saturday night’s all-Irish European title fight between Willie Casey and Paul Hyland to give Carl Frampton a shot at the belt.

A rib injury has ruled Kiko Martinez out of his European title showdown with Willie “Big Bang” Casey on the Hunky Dorys Fight Night at the UL Arena on Saturday, November 6th.

WILLIE “Big Bang” Casey took his rivalry with newly-crowned European super bantamweight champion, Kiko Martinez, to a new level when they met face-to-face for the third time in the plush surroundings of the new Grand Canal Theatre in Dublin yesterday.

WILLIE CASEY will provide Kiko Martinez with an opportunity to explore the “Big Bang” theory when he challenges the Spaniard for his new European super bantamweight belt on what will be an historic night’s boxing at the University Sports Arena in Limerick on November 6.

WITH two European titles, one Irish title and several reputations on the line, tonight’s mammoth nine-bout televised Hunky Dorys Fight Night at the National Stadium is overflowing with promise.

PAUL HYLAND could hardly be blamed if he has one eye on the European title fight involving teak tough little Spaniard Kiko Martinez and Arsen Martyrosian, an Armenian who has based himself in France, at The National Stadium on Saturday night.

WILLIE “BIG BANG” CASEY will not be the only boxer with bigger things on his mind at the CityWest Hotel tonight.

KIKO MARTINEZ is all set to return to Dublin in a bid to reclaim the European super bantamweight title that he took from Bernard Dunne at the old Point three years ago, and he said yesterday that he is hoping his achievement in winning back the title will lure the Dubliner out of retirement for a return fight.

PAUL HYLAND turned in the best performance of his career when he stopped Eugene Heagney 2 minutes and 45 secs into the third round in his defence of his Irish super bantamweight title and emerged as a possible opponent for the former world champion, Bernard Dunne.

MATTHEW ‘Mack the Knife’ Macklin has big plans for next year but the European and British middleweight champion knows they will be meaningless unless he beats Uruguayan light-middleweight champ, Rafael Sosa Pintos, when they headline the televised Sierra Fight Night at the National Stadium tonight.

PAUL HYLAND is hoping Bernard Dunne will reclaim the world title so he can then be part of what would be a sensational world title fight between two Dubliners in their native city.

After his polished TKO win over Bulgaria's Georgi Iliev, Darren Sutherland is looking forward to a short holiday before returning to training on January 10.

ONE European champion and two Commonwealth champions went to the scales in defence of their titles but, amid he chaos at The Hub in DCU, fans jostling for a glimpse left no one in any doubt who the star act was at yesterday’s big fight weigh-in when Darren Sutherland, himself a student and former resident on campus, stepped up.

DARREN SUTHERLAND is not just going to be a world champion — he is going to be one of the great world champions — according to his trainer Brian Lawrence.

Light heavyweight prospect Tommy McCarthy is two bouts away from claiming an Irish title at the National Youth Championships just a few weeks after going all the way in the Ulster Senior Championships.

BATTLING cousins Patrick Hyland and Paul Griffin will touch gloves in anger for the first time when they battle it out for the vacant Irish featherweight title at the National Stadium on April 19 on a bill that will feature all three Hyland brothers with Edward set to contest the Irish super featherweight belt with Kevin O’Hara from Belfast.

BILLY WALSH admitted yesterday that he was irked by the suggestion from Belfast opponent James Gorman that he only had temporary custody of the All-Ireland welterweight championship belt.

The Four Nation International Cadet Championships got underway at 6pm this evening with twenty two bouts at the National Stadium in Dublin. Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Lithuania are taking part in this years event which concludes on Sunday next (June 3rd).

OISIN FAGAN made a dramatic return to his home town by stopping Richie Scifo in 1 min 23 secs of their lightweight contest at the National Stadium last night.

BERNARD DUNNE had no problem at the scales in advance of tonight’s IBC world super bantamweight title fight at the National Stadium.

BERNARD DUNNE faces Sean Hughes in an IBC world super bantamweight title fight at the National Stadium on Friday following the withdrawal of first choice opponent, former European champion Noel Wilders.

Former British and European champion Noel Wilders has been forced to pull out of Friday night's IBC Super Bantamweight title fight against undefeated Dubliner Bernard Dunne.

Dubliner Bernard Dunne made a victorious return to his native city last night, as he claimed a fifth round decision over Jim Betts of England at the National Stadium.

BERNARD DUNNE’S amateur coach Peter Perry predicts an early end to the Dubliner’s sell-out homecoming fight at the National Stadium on Saturday (Live RTÉ Two).

BERNARD DUNNE is set to relaunch professional boxing in Ireland and will be joined by former Olympian Francis Barrett.

PAUL McCLOSKEY got his Olympic boxing qualification campaign off to the perfect start when he beat Halas Martin of the Czech Republic 37-13 in Warsaw last night.

WITH Limerick southpaw Andy Lee safely through to the Olympics, the remainder of Ireland’s Athens boxing hopefuls are currently training in Heidelberg in advance of next week’s qualifying tournaments in Plovdiv, Bulgaria and Warsaw.

LIMERICK’S Andy Lee, a former Irish Examiner/TV3 national junior sports star, takes on England’s Commonwealth Games gold medallist Darren Barker in the last 16 of the European Senior Boxing Championships in Pula, Croatia today.

WINNING an Adidas Belt at the Box Cup Tournament in Hamburg may not have compensated James Moore for the loss of his national senior crown but the performance, coupled with the defeat of his conqueror, Henry Coyle, in Helsinki over the weekend, has re-ignited his hopes of Olympic qualification.

ANDY LEE took his first step towards Olympic qualification with a fourth round victory over up-and-coming Patrick Murray from the St Matthews club in Ballyfermot to retain his middleweight title at the Star National senior boxing championships finals at the Stadium last night.

THOMAS LEE (Oughterard) and Eric Donovan (St Michael’s, Athy), members of the Irish team for the multi-nations tournament in Cork, will be in action at the national under-21 boxing championships finals at the National Stadium tonight, while a third member of the squad, Conor Ahern (Baldoyle), gets a walkover in the light flyweight division.

ANDY LEE (St. Francis, Limerick) claimed his first National Senior Championship title by doing what had to be done at the National Stadium last night when he out-pointed Eamon O’Kane (St. Canices) 27-12 in the eagerly awaited Middleweight final.

LIMERICK’S Andy Lee is on course to become the star of this season’s national senior boxing championships with just Eamonn O’Kane blocking his route to the 75kg (middleweight) title at the National Stadium tomorrow night.