CONLAN Boxing is expected to confirm this week that this year’s Feile an Phobail will take place on Friday, August 4 and that super-middleweight contender Pody McCrory will headline the show at Falls Park.
‘The Hammer’ is expected to face vastly-experienced Englishman Steed Woodall (18-1-1) at Feile and the undercard could include Sean McComb, Fearghus Quinn, Kurt Walker and England’s Georgia O’Connor.
McCrory is determined to force his way to a world title fight and the West Belfast venue has been a happy hunting ground for him in the past.
McCrory caught the public eye when he stopped Steve Collins junior to win the Celtic title at Fall’s Park in 2019 and he brought the house down two years’ later when he battered previously unbeaten Russian Sergei Gorokhov into submission to win the coveted WBC International Silver Super-middleweight title.
AARON McKenna wants to resurrect the Kings Hall glory days of fellow Monaghan fighter Barry McGuigan after he won the WBC international middleweight title last Friday night.
McKenna, who’s dad and coach Fergal trained with McGuigan during his early amateur days, won a unanimous decision against African Uisma Lima who stepped in after Shakiel Thompson had pulled out because of an injury.
Lima came with a 10-0 record and was awkward and determined but he couldn’t match McKenna’s well-schooled movement and power and there was clear daylight between them on all three judges’ scorecards.
What’s next for McKenna? He hopes it’s a duel with Welsh hardman Liam Williams.
The former world title challenger laughed off the suggestion on social media but McKenna is 17-0 now and, if not Williams, then a high profile opponent will come along soon for the 23-year-old.
“I was very happy with the performance against a good, unbeaten fighter,” said McKenna.
“I was preparing for Thompson who was a lot taller and then I got the late change of opponent but I think Lima was a better fighter. I’m really happy with the way it played out, it was the type of fight I needed. He came to fight and have a go and it brought the best out of me.”
McKenna says he’d love to “get a crack” at Williams and the iconic Kings Hall – scene of glory nights from ‘Rinty’ Monaghan to McGuigan would be his preferred venue. The SSE Arena and indeed Fall’s Park, have taken over as boxing’s Belfast base over the last decade and now McKenna wants to bring the fight nights back to their traditional home.
“I think the Williams fight would be a good one in Belfast,” he said.
“The Kings Hall is an iconic venue and it would be great to get fighting going again in it. I think we would definitely fill it out and there’s no better atmosphere than the Irish fans – the atmosphere in London on Friday night was unbelievable.”
JASON Quigley’s first title fight in the USA ranks among the most unfortunate damp-squibs in Irish boxing history. The Donegal middleweight took on Demetrius Andrade on his home turf in New England but wasn’t able to raise a gallop on the night.
Bitterly disappointed, the Ballybofey native temporarily retired from boxing but time is a great healer and he returned to training with Andy Lee who will be in his corner at Madison Square Garden on Friday night when he fights Edgar Berlanga for the WBO’s NABA super-middleweight title.
“There is no question about what this fight can do for me and what a win can do for me,” said Quigley.
“A win would put me right back in the world title mix again, be it Canelo or some of the other guys in the division. I have shared the ring with David Benavidez in sparring in LA before and Caleb Plant is out there too. There are a lot of tasty fights at super-middleweight for me.
“That is all dependent on fight night and I am not looking past Berlanga. This is a world title fight for me because I know what this one can do for me.
“I know that Berlanga is already looking well past me and already talking about Canelo. That will play right into my hands. I know what this fight can do for my career and where it can put me. I am not focusing on that now, I am focussed on myself, we have had a great camp and we are really looking forward to putting the game plan into action.
“It's easy to hype a man up, but when you strip it down and put it all in black and white, Berlanga is nowhere near a Canelo fight. He has a lot of pressure on him.”
Former world champion Andy Lee was absent when Quigley fought Andrade and that was obviously a massive factor in the Donegal fighter’s below-par performance. He says “It's massive, it's huge” to have the experience of the affable and knowledgeable Lee in his corner.
“I have great faith, great belief, great trust, and a great relationship with Andy,” he said.
“We have done everything these past few years together, drilling techniques, drilling gameplans and creating a bond and relationship. To have him in the corner is massive - there is no other way to say it, it's massive to have him there for the whole week and on fight night.
“I'm walking, running, going for dips, doing pads and sparring with a man who has gone through everything that I have.
“It's there right in front of me that it's possible. It's right there walking, talking, breathing in front of me. There is no better incentive or belief that you can do it to have a man like that training you.”
Quigley did hang up his gloves after the Andrade loss but he realised that, in boxing, there are second chances and one defeat doesn’t have to mean the end. He says he’s ready to “rock-and-roll” at ‘The Garden’.
“I’m still the same person I was, I’ve just had a few different experiences and I’ve done a bit of learning and maturing over the last year or two,” said the recently-married former Ireland international.
“That’s stuff that you can’t buy. I’ve always been confident in myself, I always thought: ‘Jeez, I’m a very confident person’ but through life experiences you find out that maybe you weren’t so confident. I believe that what I’ve experienced and been through in my last couple of fights, and just life in general, has made me a much more rounded, grounded and confident person inside.
“I’ve always known that you have to grab the opportunity but it’s another fight and I have prepared myself better than ever, I’ve a great team around me, I’ve had a great training camp and a great lead-up so I’m ready to rock-and-roll.”
