Returning Walsh to top bill at Cork fight-night

BILLY WALSH won his first national boxing title in City Hall back in 1985 when the championships were staged in Cork as part of the “Cork 800” celebrations where Sugar Ray Leonard was among the celebrities watching him perform.

That was the first of nine national titles won by Walsh — a few years later he would stand alongside his younger brothers Kevin and Patrick when the family equalled the records of the Christle brothers from Dublin, and the famous Joyce brothers from Sunnyside, as the only families to win three national titles on the same night.

On February 17 Billy Walsh will return to Cork City Hall to top the bill at the “Valentine’s Weekend Massacre” — an exciting presentation of professional boxing packaged by the “Nowhere to Hyde Promotions” headed by Gary Hyde.

“This is the first of three professional shows that I will be promoting in 2007,” Gary Hyde pointed out at yesterday’s launch at the Clarion Hotel. “Cork has a huge boxing following. We all thought Steve Collins was from Cork when we turned out in our thousands to watch him box Chris Eubank back in 1995.

“And when Bernard Dunne boxed for the European title at The Point a few weeks ago almost 1,000 fans made the trip from Cork to watch him.”

Almost 200 of those fans travelled from east Cork to watch Billy Walsh from Shanagarry outpoint Rocky Muscas on the undercard, so it is hardly surprising that over 600 tickets have already been sold for the February 17 extravaganza. With a capacity of 1,000, this leaves just over 300 tickets available for the show.

The bill will include two of the three Walsh boxers. Pa, who will be preoccupied with the national senior championships over the coming weeks, is all set to make his professional debut.

A finalist at just 17 years of age, he has not boxed the seniors since losing on a countback to John Duddy in the semi-finals four years ago. Duddy is now seen as hot property on the American scene.

He was not only the only current star to touch gloves with Pa Walsh. Ricky Hatton admitted that he was lucky to survive when they crossed paths around the same time.

“I lost interest in the amateur scene after that but the hunger is back,” Pa Walsh insisted.

“I think Billy has rekindled a lot of interest. I am looking forward to boxing the senior championships. Whether I win the title or not doesn’t really matter. The important thing is that I get a couple of fights in before I box in City Hall.”

With wins over Shaun Hanson and Muscas behind him, Billy Walsh has a record that he wants to keep intact and he left for Boston last night to rejoin Packie Collins — younger brother of Steve — to prepare for the assignment.

“There is so much out there,” Billy Walsh said. “I mean you have the likes of James Moore and John Duddy at my weight all making names for themselves. And I have a bit of unfinished business with Francie Barrett. I would like to box him again.”

He was referring to how Francis Barrett put paid to his Olympic hopes back in 1996 when the Galway man was lucky to come out on the right side of a desperately close decision to earn his ticket to Atlanta where he made his name.

“That’s a fight I still think I won. I remember Jimmy Magee saying it was a contest that could have been fought in a telephone kiosk, it was so close,” Billy Walsh recalled.

Gary Hyde, with a surname that is synonymous with Cork boxing, made it to a couple of national finals and also boxed the Southern ABA championships in England.

“Since Steve Collins boxed in Millstreet and Pairc Ui Chaoimh I have always wanted to put on a professional show in Cork. I mentioned it to Brian Peters, the best promoter in the country, but he told me I would definitely need a Cork boxer on the bill.

“Then Billy Walsh went to the US and when he rang me and told me he was having his first professional fight it got me thinking,’’ Hyde said.

“Now I will have two Corkmen on the bill and I can assure fans that this will be exciting. There are no journeymen there.

‘‘The six fights will feature the likes of Stephen Haughian from Lurgan, who has been unbeaten in seven professional fights, James Gorman, a light welterweight from Belfast who is aiming for a shot at an Irish title later in the year, unbeaten featherweights Andrew Wallace, who is based in London, and Paul Truscott from Middlesborough — both of who have had stellar amateur careers representing England.

“Wallace has been a regular sparring partner of Bernard Dunne and has five straight wins, while Truscott has won his three professional fights to date.”

He said he will be naming Billy Walsh’s opponent over the coming weeks. Tickets are available at the Castle Tavern in Riverstown.