St Pierce's Day weekend is coming. It’s going to be a big night of boxing at the 3Arena on March 14, headlined by the world title fight between Anthony Cacace and WBA champ, Jazza Dickens. The chief support bout sees Pierce O’Leary fighting in Dublin at long last. The local boxer takes on Portsmouth’s Mark Chamberlain for the IBO world title at light-welterweight. Big Bang has previously held the European title and is one of the leading lights in a red-hot division, where UK rival Dalton Smith recently became WBC champion with a sensational knockout of Subriel Matias in New York. Other belt holders in the division include Teofimo Lopez, who holds the WBO strap, and Richardson Hitchins, who’s the IBF kingpin right now. Ireland’s also got talent in there, with Sean McComb clearly a match for anyone given his recent performances, and he’s been heavily linked with a showdown with O’Leary which could possibly go down later this year. Gary Cully, who boxes on the Dublin card, is also hoping to join the mix after moving up a weight class. But first, while the headliner is a mouthwatering contest, for many this is the O’Leary show. Promised a homecoming for several years now, he’s linked up with Brian Peters, who brought big-time boxing back to Dublin in the 2000s with Bernard Dunne and did it again in recent years with Katie Taylor. Now O’Leary is the man to take the mantle. His performances in recent years have absolutely warranted it, his popularity is undeniable, and now it’s here. Today he’ll tell us why he’s ready to deal with all the pressure that comes with it, why he and his team get annoyed with being typecast as simply a banger, and why he’ll finish out his camp back in his hometown. We also hear from Chamberlain. The 27-year-old from Portsmouth, with 17 wins, 1 defeat and 1 draw, is by some distance O’Leary’s biggest obstacle yet. He tells us why he feels all the pressure is on his opponent, how he’s dealt with his own experiences of pressure after being anointed as Saudi powerbroker Turki Al-Sheikh’s favourite fighter, and how he came to boxing as a way of dealing with potential bullies as a kid. Last week we heard from a young Dublin heavyweight who’ll be making his professional debut on the show, in Adam Olaniyan. Today it’s the turn of rising light-middleweight Bobbi Flood, who’ll also be joining the paid ranks on March 14 after signing with Queensbury Promotions. Flood’s name is well known within Irish boxing circles and he’s ready to announce his name to the world, going in with the aim of becoming world champion inside five years. He’s been sparring with pros since his mid-teens and, after a spell working as a mechanic, realised he had to go all-in to pursue his dream. This is The Rocky Road to Dublin, Part 2. (Podcast Photo Credit: Andrew Heeney Media)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
