Sport

McShane fired up by chance for revenge

Daniel McShane (right) makes his return against former paratrooper Zsoltan Horvath at the Europa Hotel on February 3
Daniel McShane (right) makes his return against former paratrooper Zsoltan Horvath at the Europa Hotel on February 3 Daniel McShane (right) makes his return against former paratrooper Zsoltan Horvath at the Europa Hotel on February 3

DANIEL McShane takes on former paratrooper Zsoltan Horvath at the Europa Hotel on February 3 and insists that this time it’s the Hungarian who will be getting dropped.

McShane, AKA ‘Insane’, lost to tough journeyman Horvath back in 2015 after dislocating his shoulder and he hung up his gloves in the wake of that defeat which was the first of his 10 fight career. But he returns to action at the Europa determined to avenge the loss against well travelled Horvath (3-40-1).

World number four ranked James ‘The Assassin’ Tennyson tops the bill as he kicks off a year that could lead to a shot at the WBA world super-featherweight title with McShane-Horvath one of the highlights of the undercard

“I have been in some great fights,” reflected McShane.

“My best was a victory over the now world number five ranked Zsoltan Kovacs which shows that a loss does not mean the end of the road.

“I’m moving up to light-welterweight for this contest but I am confident I can put the record straight - there will be fireworks it will be mental.”

His manager Mark Dunlop has put together another entertaining six-fight card at the atmospheric venue and predicts a “ding-dong battle” in the chief support.

“It’s a tough comeback but he’s determined to avenge his only defeat,” for Daniel said manager Mark Dunlop.

“Daniel struggled to come to terms with the defeat in a contest that would have seen him go a perfect 10-0 undefeated and he decided that the Horvath return would be the only contest he would return to.

“Horvath himself now is also older and wiser and his now a veteran of 44 contests the last being a six round victory in the away corner in Italy at the end of October last year.

“This is going to be a real ding dong battle. Daniel has to prove he has still something to give while Horvath will be keen to make a statement that his victory over McShane was no fluke. It has the potential to be fight of the night.”

The MHD Promotions, in association with A McLean’s Bookmakers show, is heading towards another sell-out with tickets proving very popular again. The remainder of the six-fight show consists of Coalisland’s ‘Fearless’ Fergal McCrory v Rafael Castillo in the chief support, Ronnie ‘The Shark’ Clark versus Dean Evans, Lucas Ballingall v Karl Kelly and Stevie Quin jnr (8-2) who makes his return Edwin Tellez.

Tickets: VIP Ringside £75, reserved ringside (£45), un-reserved (£35). Tel. 07712473905, email: info@mhdpromotions.com, or contact the boxers.

MIDDLEWEIGHT Conrad Cummings is the headline act at ‘Danger at the Devenish 3’ on February 10.

The Tyrone middleweight will top an action-packed Ginley Promotions card, with former English light-welterweight champion Anthony Upton and Belfast middleweight Gerard Healy also featuring at the Devenish Complex on Finaghy Road North.

WBO European champion Cummings returned to the ring after an eight-month absence in December and the 26-year-old is happy to be back in action just two months later as he prepares for a big year.

“I’m delighted to get on another show so quickly. I took a few weeks off around Christmas, but I’m back in the gym now,” he explained.

“I had a bit of a cold for a couple of days – the man flu was the toughest fight I’ve had in a while! But I’m dead on now and back in action. I can’t wait to get back in the ring. I’m looking forward to cracking on in a big year and get a bit of momentum behind me.”

Cummings claimed his second six-round points win over Hungarian journeyman Norbert Szekeres last month in his first bout since claiming the vacant WBO European belt last March.

After seeing a number of fights fall through, the Coalisland man switched up his team and is now working with trainer Jamie Moore head of what he hopes will be a busy 2018.

“I’d built a bit of momentum heading into last year before all the cancellations, so I just want to pick it up again and get ready for a big year,” said Cummings.

“I want to have this fight and then I want to get a few championship 12-rounders after this, but you don’t know how things will go or what fights will arise. I just want to crack on and take whatever opportunity comes.”

The former Clonoe ABC prospect has been linked to an all-Ireland rumble with Donegal rival Jason Quigley and has been called out by Paul Upton recently. He says he takes the attention he has been getting as “a compliment”.

“Everyone’s calling me out - I don’t know what their beef is,” he said with a laugh.

“Every time I’m on Twitter there seems to be someone calling me out.

“I don’t know whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing! I’ll take it as a compliment. Bring them all on. Whatever opponent makes sense, let’s get it on. It’s all about the right fight at the right time.”

The bill also features Belfast prospects Pádraig McCrory and Seán Magee. Fight details and opponents will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for the February 10 show are priced at £35 (general) and £65 (ringside) and are available from Ginley Promotions on 07803799537).

ANTHONY Joshua will continue his quest to be crowned the undisputed world heavyweight champion when he faces New Zealander Joseph Parker in Cardiff on March 31.

Joshua, who holds the WBA and IBF versions of the title, will add Parker's WBO belt if he triumphs at the Principality Stadium, leaving only American WBC champion Deontay Wilder on his title hit-list.

The announcement brings an end to months of fractious negotiations with Parker, who defended his crown with a points win over Hughie Fury in Manchester in September and was holding out for a bigger percentage of the purse.

It will be Joshua's first fight since a gruelling late stoppage win over late replacement Carlos Takam at the same venue in October and a win will move him closer to his goal of being the first heavyweight to hold all four major belts simultaneously.

Joshua said: "I would like to announce the official news that myself and Joseph Parker will be fighting on March 31 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

"It is a unification heavyweight championship fight. We all know what happened last time I was in a unification heavyweight championship fight - it was gruelling, it was interesting and we both left the ring with masses of respect.

"These fights aren't easy because there is a lot on the line, so respect to team Parker for taking the challenge. I am looking forward to it, training camp is under way and before you know it March 31 will be upon us."

Parker, who has won 18 of his 24 professional bouts inside the distance, is the natural next step for Joshua despite his underwhelming performance against the back-pedalling Fury, when he escaped with a majority decision.

The 26-year-old claimed the WBO crown by beating Andy Ruiz Jr in Auckland in December 2016 and made a low-key defence against Razvan Cojanu before venturing out of the southern hemisphere for only the fourth time to face Fury.

It was this relatively low-key career - in stark contrast to Joshua's stadium-filling antics against the likes of Wladimir Klitschko - which prompted the disparity in expectations between the two negotiating parties.

The problem for Joshua's camp was the lack of obvious alternatives in a relatively low-key division, with a deal with Wilder still some distance away and former champion Tyson Fury still yet to return.

Parker clearly believes Joshua may be underestimating him, insisting: "Anthony Joshua is in for a huge shock. A couple of months ago I heard him say 'why should I be worried about this little kid from New Zealand'?

"Well, now he's about to find out. And the world is about to find out whether AJ can really take a punch. My entire existence is now devoted to proving what the boxing world already knows."