Big Bang will bounce back, vows Sutcliffe

WILLIE “BIG BANG” CASEY will be back in the gym in two weeks, according to his trainer, Phil Sutcliffe, who admitted yesterday that they were all very disappointed with Saturday night’s loss to Guillermo Rigondeaux.

“We believed sincerely Willie could do it,” Sutcliffe said.

“He just got caught and maybe Rigondeaux could have been the one to get caught and then it might have been a different scenario, a different fight and a very different outcome. But that’s boxing and not knowing what’s lurking around the corner is what makes it such an exciting sport.

“Willie was in great physical shape and he still is. It’s just you can do nothing against body shot like that. He got caught early and he just couldn’t recover. The writing was on the wall. Willie was unlucky but you have to hand it to him because very few boxers get up from a shot like that.

“He has to bounce back from this and I know he will. Obviously he will stay away from Rigondeaux until we come up with something but there are other champions out there, IBF, WBC, WBO, and none of them are as good as Rigondeaux.”

Casey relinquished his European super bantamweight title to fight the Cuban for the world title. At the time plans were advanced for a defence against former champion, Kiko Martinez. The Spaniard was due to defend the title himself against Casey but relinquished it when he had to withdraw with a rib injury. That cleared the way for the memorable Casey-Hyland showdown in Limerick.

“Kiko Martinez could come back into the equation again,” Sutcliffe said. “But I understand the fight is going up for purse bids. It would be a great fight and it could be held in Citywest. We would do it differently next time. We are still learning.

“We need a big sponsor to come on board. It was a fantastic show on Saturday night, great atmosphere, great venue but we had even to pay for TV coverage, which was a big drain.

“The fans were fantastic and they will come back again in droves. We just need a businessman to come on board and join the DolPhil adventure because we have the future of Irish professional boxing here in the gym. We have to keep the dream alive.

“And ‘Big Bang’ will still be here. He was still a hero when he walked back into the hotel on Saturday night. You saw the crowd that remained on long after the fight was over.

“We will take on a couple of domestic fights to get him back on the bike, rebuild his profile although I don’t think we will have much trouble there. Willie will be back on the horse in two weeks. In the meantime he can just relax and spend time with his family.

“Willie will come back and he will do us proud again. It has been an amazing adventure. He is only two and a half years a pro, he was European champion after 11 fights, in his 12th fight he was challenging for a world title and is still the people’s champion.

“The fans proved that when they stayed back in their droves to cheer him back to the hotel after the fight.”