Kieran Molloy was set for his dream stadium homecoming. Then they pulled the plug

“It was shocking, really,” he says now, days before he fights on the undercard of Michael Conlan’s first Dublin pro bout at the 3Arena this Friday.

Kieran Molloy will fight on the undercard of Michael Conlan’s first Dublin pro bout at the 3Arena this Friday. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

In the theatre of his mind, this is how Kieran Molloy staged the childhood dream: top of the bill, under the lights, Pearse Stadium in his own Galway, a European title on the line, DAZN cameras rolling. At last, real. And then it was gone.

Last June, a few days after the official press conference with famous commentator Adam Smith overseeing proceedings between Molloy and Kaisee Benjamin, news broke that the event was off. Promotional company GBM Sports pointed to “circumstances beyond our control.”