Noel Murphy determined to keep bandwagon going

Three years and three days on from the contentious judges’ decision that encouraged Noel Murphy to abandon his amateur career, the Cork welterweight hopes to make a victorious return to the National Stadium tonight.

Having built up an undefeated 8-0 paid record in New York, the Macroom native will fight as a professional for the first time in Ireland when he takes on Spanish novice Avelino Vazquez (4-2) on a Red Corner Promotions bill topped by Dubliner Luke Keeler’s clash with former English middleweight champion Lewis Taylor.

As a former national intermediate champion, Murphy had harboured ambitions of reaching the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, but his disgust with a split-decision loss in his first National Elite Championship campaign put paid to those plans and prompted a move to he paid game.