The band plays again for Irish boxing
COMEBACK: Ray Moylette ahead of the 'Rising Out Of The Ashes' event' at Celtic Warriors Gym. Picture: INPHO/Dan Sheridan
IN the nation’s capital, boxing has always occupied a special place.
Muhammad Ali’s 1972 comeback included Dublin, where he fought at Croke Park. The city played a central role in a leading candidate for Irish sport’s greatest day when Bernard Dunne’s name rung out as world champion from the O2 just hours after the first Grand Slam in 61 years.
At different points the sweet science’s symphony saw Lennox Lewis, Naseem Hamed and Tyson Fury all roll into town. When the likes of Andy Lee, Steve Collins and Wayne McCullough made their Irish entrances after emergences Stateside, they did so from South Circular Road.
Then the music stopped. The damage wrought by Daniel Kinahan’s ascent to the sport’s top table was particularly acute in his birthplace. For the guts of a decade, the band scarcely mustered a note.
Until now.
“We are bringing it back, it needs to happen,” says Barry Walsh of Elite Sports Promotions. On Saturday night the National Stadium will play host to a ‘Rising Out of the Ashes’ fight night. It is the first card of any description in Dublin since early 2019.
Walsh’s son, Kerry teen Liam, is one of several upcoming prospects in action. The middleweight, who hails from the Castleisland club where he won Kerry and Munster titles as an amateur, is trained by Tony Davitt.
“There is a lot of brilliant Irish kids training away, my son Liam one of them. All of Liam’s fights tell the story. He made his debut in Belfast a year ago. His other fights were in England.
“He is managed by Carl Greeves, the Sky Sports matchmaker who has done it all for this show. Someone needs to get the ball rolling. A successful card will get it off the ground.”
This weekend Irish veterans Craig O'Brien and Ray Moylette return to action, both vying for a spot on a potential Katie Taylor Croke Park undercard. Donegal’s Brent McGinty, trained by Ricky Hatton, is set for a home debut.
Fighting for the first time as a pro is five-time Munster champion and twice Irish champion Cathal Crowley. Until recently, the Cork light heavyweight couldn’t see a path to his dream of becoming world champion.
“For the last couple of years, it was hard to see me turning professional living in Cork,” he explains. “There were no shows in Ireland and you have to sell tickets to get on the other shows. When I heard about this card, I thought hopefully this is it. It needs to kick on.”
Paschal Collins is overseeing his transition to the paid ranks. Looking ahead to 2023, the goal is that young Irish fighters like Crowley will be on cards facing off against other Irish contenders, creating a vibrant competition and ongoing narrative where for too long there was none.
At this stage of a lengthy and erratic history, Saturday is just the first step for Irish boxing. Prize-fighting is still a distance from establishing a significant footprint, but the simultaneous attempts to establish a local scene and Katie Taylor’s enduring aspiration for a homecoming mean it is finally ready to step forward.
The costs are frightening. Hosting in Dublin means hosting in one of Europe’s most expensive cities. For fans and away fighters, accommodation is an ongoing difficulty. The event also clashes with a domestic card in Belfast live on TG4.
Thus, it will not be televised, something Crowley feels has to be an immediate priority.
“There is a good crowd coming up from Cork. If we could get shows on regularly, you would see more talent emerge. There isn’t much support right now. Even with the success in the amateurs, RTÉ doesn’t cover it unless it is the Olympics. If we could get a few shows on TV, it would be a massive help.”
Nor has it all been plain sailing for the participants. Popular Gorey heavyweight Niall Kennedy and Kingdom warrior Kevin Cronin were originally included on the ticket but had to pull out, Kennedy forced to retire due to a neurologist's assessment in a mandatory pre-fight brain scan.
For Walsh, it is crucial to dot every i and cross all the t's. They stand on the cusp of something. Saturday must be a success and with all the potential comes pressure.
“People need confidence to come back. People want to see it is professionally run. We think it is a great card, we have big plans coming into the new year. We have to start somewhere and there is quality on the card.
“It could fall on its face. There has been talk from a lot of people about doing this show or that show, and it never materialised. There is a huge focus to get it right. We don’t want it to be a one-off.
“We are working hard with investors. With the right investment, we can go to another level. We have fantastic coverage with livestreams but we want to bring terrestrial tv behind it. You have to have a platform, that is what we are trying to establish. You can’t run before you walk.” Time now to take one important step in the right direction.
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