Moore out to clinch Irish title in bid to earn Duddy bout
This was always going to be an important fight for Moore who gets the opportunity as a result of his parentage. Apart from the fact that should he beat the Belfast man, he will become the first man in history to hold the Irish, British and Commonwealth light middleweight titles, he will be keeping himself on track for a European title fight in September.
The 29-year-old southpaw relinquished his British and Commonwealth belts last December to challenge Zaurbek Baysangurov for the European title when he emerged as the No1 contender.
That fight was re-scheduled for various reasons — not least two operations on a shoulder — but now it is all systems go for the Salford Gladiator.
Then the possibility of a clash with John Duddy emerged yesterday morning when Tommy Egan, who promotes Saturday night’s bill which goes out live on TV3, was speaking to Duddy’s manager, Eddie McLoughlin, and asked him if there was a possibility Duddy might fight Moore for the Irish title should he beat Healy.
“We were discussing the fact that John Duddy is stepping down light middleweight to box Vernon Phillips for the world title in September,” Egan said. “Then Eddie McLoughlin said that — with no disrespect to the Irish title — he would not challenge for it but that he would give Jamie a shot at the world title, should he win it, next spring.
“Obviously I was taken aback somewhat by that offer but you could not walk away from it. That’s a fight that would pack Madison Square Garden. From here on I will be looking after Jamie’s interests.
“Obviously John Duddy has to win that fight and I have to keep winning,” Moore said. “But, down the line, it looks like a big possibility.
“John has made a big name for himself in the US and I have a big fan base over this side of the pond and my name is already becoming known in America so it would make for a fantastic fight.”
Reflecting on his fight of the year with Matthew Macklin two years ago he promised more of the same against Duddy.
“If I fight John Duddy I know it would be something similar because he has a great chin,” he said. “We are talking about another war of attrition and it would be a great fight to watch.
“When I fought Matthew (Macklin) a lot of people expected me to lose the fight but the result was an incredible fight that could have gone either way. I was lucky in that I threw the decisive punch in the end and that increased my profile enormously. Suddenly everybody was talking about me.
But it also worked against him. Nobody was going to offer him a shot at a title and the only way he was going to get an opportunity to challenge was to fight his way into a mandatory position.
“Then, when I put myself into the mandatory position I was plagued with injuries,” he said. “So the European title fight in September is very important — at this stage in my career every fight is important.
“That means I must beat Ciaran Healy on Saturday night and it is not going to be easy. I am confident I can win the fight but it is not going to be easy.”
Ciaran Healy turned in a career-best performance when he defeated Lee Murtagh for the title at the Kings Hall in Belfast in December. Last August he got plenty of exposure when he provided the opposition for Andy Lee’s homecoming fight on the undercard to Bernard Dunne and Kiko Martinez.
And Martinez, who shocked the Dubliner with a stunning first round victory that night, will be on the under-card this time around when he returns to Dublin.
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