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

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.”

The UK-based GBM company are a promotional outfit founded in 2022 by former pro boxer Izzy Asif. It later emerged that they missed the deadline to pay the rental fee, reported to be around €12,500, and pulled the show. Molloy immediately announced the end of their relationship.

“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.

“All of the hard work was done. I put a lot of time and energy and everything into that. That was my childhood dream to fight there.

“It's just put on hold for a while. Yeah, it was a shame, just the way it all fell through in the end.

“Look, this is the way it goes sometimes in boxing. It is a business and some people have different ideas. I was just more disappointed for everyone who had bought tickets and planned a weekend away.

“The people who support me, they're hard-working people. They had all bought tickets, took time off work. Hotels and everything in Galway are not cheap. It was a kick in the teeth, that’s for sure.”

It was set to be his crowning night. The Oughterard native grew up being coached by his father, yearning for Connacht or Irish titles. It was a place where their ambition found room to run. Galway footballer Matthew Tierney was the first boy to bring an Irish title back to their gym.

As Molloy advanced in the amateurs, he was invited to spar with Katie Taylor, a strategic call to prep her for a consistently tricky southpaw.

He had given enormous thought to the historic day in Salthill. His promoter had not.

“To be honest, I don't think they thought it through enough. They never priced anything.

“They left everything on the long finger. We're very lucky that the GAA were right behind us. They were very supportive and they were brilliant.

“But it's just the promoter's side, they've never done all their checks and all their stuff. They had to pull it because it didn't suit them from a business point of view. Even though I had over 2,000 tickets sold, there was a lot of money in the pot already for them.”

That’s boxing. That is what they say anyway. A sport all too familiar with industry chaos and heartbreak and a cold lack of sentimentality. Fighters know that. They sign the contract.

How about their families? How do you explain to a mother who had no interest in the sport until her teenager showed some talent that the fight, scheduled and promoted, is gone overnight?

“The tough one that happens is that I'll get a text or a call off my mom. She'll be all upset. I actually feel worse for them sometimes than myself.

“I knew what I was getting myself into when I signed pro. I've heard stories. I've seen it firsthand with other fighters. It's never smooth sailing until you get there, I suppose.” Molloy carries all of that with him on Friday night as he prepares to face Nourdeen Toure on a show that will be air live on Channel 5.

“People see fighters go into the ring and fight, but that's actually the easy part. It's all the stuff that goes on. You could be getting ready for one fight, but it could be four months of preparation.

“Fights might fall through. You're training twice a day for eight or ten weeks and you're only fighting then for six or eight rounds. The main thing is that's why we do train hard, so we can make it look easy in the ring and entertain people. Every time you step foot in that ring, you should be the best version of yourself in the best condition, because the people who are coming to watch you have paid.”

So maybe it shouldn’t be a surprise that Molloy isn’t effusive when asked about the future of Irish boxing. The talent is there. Of that he is certain. But the opportunities? The realistic prospect of regular big nights? That’s another matter.

“It's hard to say because I know out in the States now a lot of the promotion outfits are not in with TV anymore with ESPN, I think they've dropped out so the main shows are kind of in Saudi Arabia or else they'll be coming to sort of Britain.

“I do think there's always going to be headline fights in Ireland with the 3Arena or it could be Belfast but it's only a matter of time before Katie Taylor and Michael Conlan are gone.

“It's up to us then to step up. There is great talent. Callum Walsh has got a big fight on the Canelo and Crawford card, the McKenna brothers, Donovan versus Crocker, Kurt Walker. It’s just that I think it's at a stage right now where boxing has so much money involved now by Turki Al-Sheikh that it's only the elite fighters are making those headlines, look hopefully they'll start changing and other fighters start getting their opportunities.”

He is a free agent now. A statement performance could earn him a new promotional deal and set him on the road towards the ultimate goal. To be a world champion, a two-weight world champion, to finally come back to Galway.

“I still want to bring it all back to where it started and to put that on the big stage, that would have meant a lot to me. Big time boxing in Galway. It's never happened before. We will get there, like I keep saying. When the time is right.”