The Best of the Irish - 24th October 2009 at the National Stadium

Vintagekits

I would urge people to go along and support this bill. We are always banging on about "grass roots" boxing and complaining that Peters should have more bills like this.

Well Peters has waived his exclusivity deal on the Stadium and DolPhil have stepped up to the plate and bring you a decent bill with cheap admission.I believe if this bill doesnt prove financially viable then it could be curtains for "grass roots" professional bills of this nature.

Oisin Fagan vs Jonnie Greaves
Edward Hyland vs T.B.A
Anthony Fitzgerald vs Robbie Long
John Waldron vs Jamie Norket
Finbarr Eade vs T.B.A
Gavin Prunty vs Asen Bonev
Willie Casey vs Stoyan Serbezov
Alexei Acosta vs T.B.A



Professional boxing returns to its spiritual home in the National Stadium this month amid calls for Irish fans to help create the next Bernard Dunne. DolPhil Promotions hosts the first professional card in the Stadium since July 2008, entitled Best of the Irish, when homegrown fighters such as Eddie Hyland and Willie Casey attempt to capture the imagination of the Irish public the same way that former WBA super-bantamweight champion Dunne did..

The two men behind DolPhil Promotions, businessman Don O'Leary and legendary Irish Olympian Phil Sutcliffe, are calling on Irish fans to get behind the smaller promoters in the long-term interest of Irish boxing.

Don O'Leary said: "It's quite simple. We need the stadium to be packed out come fight night. Not to make a profit - it's all but impossible to do so in this game - but because it is imperative if Irish boxing is to succeed in the future. Irish boxing had a setback with Bernard Dunne losing his title, but there is plenty to still be excited about and there is a whole new generation ready for the limelight.

"We are putting on smaller shows for supporters and boxers alike at great expense. If we were in it for the money, we'd have run a mile by now. People sometimes complain that there are no marquee opponents for our fighters. But we are a fledgling promotional outfit. If we get people behind us who come to our shows and pack the place out, Phil and I will be able to build on that and make stronger cards every time. You have to walk before you can run.

"However, there can be no complaints about this card. Eddie Hyland will be up against someone with real pedigree, while the rematch that everyone wanted to see between Anthony Fitzgerald and Robbie Long has been negotiated and is on. Fans will also get to see Cuban sensation Alexei Acosta in action, and I can guarantee that nobody will be left in any doubt that featherweight Willie Casey is a champion in the making."O'Leary insists DolPhil are prepared to put their money where their mouth is by keeping prices down. With tickets as low as €10, he says it is a win-win for all concerned.

"We want to make a deal with the fight public. Come to see what we have to offer and we'll take keep our prices down. The most expensive ticket is €50, while a family ticket costs €55. That entitles two adults to bring two children under 16 to the National Stadium. The gallery seats are €20 while children under 16 get in for €10. That is great value to see the next generation of Irish stars. It will also help to keep producing better and bigger shows as we move forward."

A packed card sees Tallaght's Irish super-featherweight champion Eddie Hyland (13-1, 4KO) co-feature at the top of the bill, with the promise of an opponent that prepares him for a shot at the European title in 2010.

The long-awaited rematch between Sheriff Street's Anthony Fitzgerald (4-2, 2KO) and Tallaght's Robbie Long (4-0, 1KO) also stands at the top, with the two men hoping to reach the thrilling heights reached in six rounds of frenzied action back in January of this year.

Gary Hyde's big-hitting Cuban starlet Alexei Acosta (7-0, 7KO), who is now based in Belfast, will be looking to keep up his perfect record before an expected assault on an international title in November on the undercard of Paul McCloskey's European title challenge against Souleymane M'Baye.

Perennial crowd favourite Oisin Fagan (24-7, 15KO), who once took the heavily touted Julio Cesar Chavez Jr the distance and lost on a split decision against former world champion Paul Spadafora, is fresh off a victory on the undercard of Dunne-Poonsawat and has still not given up the dream of professional honours. He dropped a decision to Eddie Hyland in the National Basketball Arena in July in one of the best fights in an Irish ring in recent times.

Limerick's Willie Casey (1-0, 1KO), known as the Big Bang, enters the ring with coach Phil Sutcliffe convinced he has the tools to be a world champion. The West of Ireland will also be represented with Galway's John Waldron (2-2, 1KO) and Mayo's Finbarr Eade (1-0), while Dublin's Gavin Prunty (0-1)attempts to record his first in-ring victory.O'Leary said he was confident that Saturday, October 24 could be the next launching pad for Irish boxing.

"It is always special to be in the National Stadium and it always brings out the best in Irish fighters. If fans pack the place out like we expect them to, we will make it a night to remember together. World champions emerge from nights like it. It will be a great occasion."

Big Ears

Maybe slightly hypocritical of me as I won't be going(at least I have the excuse I'm in another country ) but I also would urge people to go to this and support Irish boxing.

These are the type of shows we need to get people to attend, and for anyone thinking the quality isn't good enough....well it's not going to get any better if they can't sell this show out, but it will if they do.

Plus the rematch of Robbie Long and Anto Fitzgerald would be worth the admittance fee alone, and with that fight at least you know you're guaranteed a good night and your not just getting Irish fighter v foreign opponent who hasn't a hope.
Plus Alexei Acosta is like a little hurricane in there and is a must see for anyone who hasn't witnessed him before.

I do have the question of why Luis Garcia is on the fight poster instead of Acosta ?

Anyway 8 fights and one guaranteed war which is likely to be very competitive and all for as little as a tenner. €10 wouldn't even get you two pints in some parts of the country, nevermind a nights entertainment.

MBC

Was on the phone yesterday to phil sitcliffe........he is doing family tickets 2 adults and 2 kids for €60 :eek: fair play to him.

Will be at this meself and looking forward to it.

bamboozler

Big Ears wrote: »

I do have the question of why Luis Garcia is on the fight poster instead of Acosta ?

noticed that too. If acosta is belfast based is garcia stil in newcastle

joepenguin

Same as others. Cant get to it but especially if you are in Dublin head down. Pricing is decent and we need to have a steady stream of fighters coming through all the time.

murpheile

Under 21 finals in the stadium on the Friday night and this on the Saturday, not a bad way to spend the long weekend!!

Vintagekits

joepenguin wrote: »

Same as others. Cant get to it but especially if you are in Dublin head down. Pricing is decent and we need to have a steady stream of fighters coming through all the time.

well said

Vintagekits

murpheile wrote: »

Under 21 finals in the stadium on the Friday night and this on the Saturday, not a bad way to spend the long weekend!!

its the following weekend mate.

murpheile

Vintagekits wrote: »

its the following weekend mate.

are you sure? I had been told the under 21 finals night was the 23rd and this is on the 24th?

Vintagekits

murpheile wrote: »

are you sure? I had been told the under 21 finals night was the 23rd and this is on the 24th?

sorry my mistake - the U-21's start this weekend - its not the finals

http://www.rte.ie/sport/2009/1014/boxing.html

Vintagekits

Eddie fights Mark Alexander.

scruff321

Im presuming you can buy tickets at the door? think il head to this..

Vintagekits

Vintagekits wrote: »

Eddie fights Mark Alexander.

the opponant has now been switched to Kirkor Kirkorov and Acosta's opponant has been confirmed as Elvis Garcia - decent challenge.

drzhivago

Any results

Times like this I wish I was at home

Vintagekits

drzhivago wrote: »

Any results

Times like this I wish I was at home

From elsewhere -

Fitzgerald KD Long in 3 and went on to win on points, he won 78-76 it was an out and out war between the 2.....It is pointless putting them against each other again unless its for the Irish Title....

Anto Fitz won by using his brain rather than being dragged into a complete brawl. I feel if there was no knock down the fight would have went to the wire completely. IMO a rubber match will be on the cards some time next year. Anto Fitz has shown he has really learned from his two losses.

He showed fantastic boxing skills at times and made long miss punches at vital points in the fight

Eddie Hyland won with an impressive 3rd rd KO, Destroyed his opponent in a 3rd round stoppage after having him down 3 times in the 2nd

Oisin Fagan won on points, he was good against Greaves..He is one tough Journey-man

Casey looked impressive winning,

Waldron fantastic 7th rd KO.

Acosta is all hype fighting some Romanian BUM Ko'd him in 1 with a body shot

Gavin Prunty looks like a very good prospect....Naz Hamed stlye over the ropes and everything...

About 800 turned out for this and by all accounts it was a great show,

http://www.boxrec.com/show_display.php?show_id=585603

-mcguire-

Anto's Knock Down of Robbie Long!



Willie Casey



Oisin Fagan



Eddie Hyland

drzhivago

-mcguire- wrote: »

Anto's Knock Down of Robbie Long!



Willie Casey



Oisin Fagan



Eddie Hyland

great pics thanks a million

Vintagekits

great shots mcguire! what type of camera did you use?

-mcguire-

Vintagekits wrote: »

great shots mcguire! what type of camera did you use?

Thanks very much. It was my first big event so was quite anxious about how the pics would come out.
I have the new canon 7d with a 24-70 lens. The 19 point af and the 8 frames per second are a joy to use for these events.

Perfect fit

Perfect fit

megadodge

Vintagekits wrote: »

From elsewhere -

Fitzgerald KD Long in 3 and went on to win on points, he won 78-76 it was an out and out war between the 2.....It is pointless putting them against each other again unless its for the Irish Title....

Anto Fitz won by using his brain rather than being dragged into a complete brawl. I feel if there was no knock down the fight would have went to the wire completely. IMO a rubber match will be on the cards some time next year. Anto Fitz has shown he has really learned from his two losses.

He showed fantastic boxing skills at times and made long miss punches at vital points in the fight

Eddie Hyland won with an impressive 3rd rd KO, Destroyed his opponent in a 3rd round stoppage after having him down 3 times in the 2nd

Oisin Fagan won on points, he was good against Greaves..He is one tough Journey-man

Casey looked impressive winning,

Waldron fantastic 7th rd KO.

Acosta is all hype fighting some Romanian BUM Ko'd him in 1 with a body shot

Gavin Prunty looks like a very good prospect....Naz Hamed stlye over the ropes and everything...

About 800 turned out for this and by all accounts it was a great show,

http://www.boxrec.com/show_display.php?show_id=585603

Was at the show and have one or two problems with the above report.

Fitzgerald/Long was easily the fight of the night, maybe not as good as their first but pretty close. I thought Fitzgerald won clearly, with the beautiful knockdown highlighting the difference in ability between the two. Long is just so easy to hit ! Great heart and very good chin, but needs to learn to move his head.

Eddie Hyland's oppenent was crap. Complete rubbish. Hyland won't learn anything from it and it was a completely pointless match.

Fagan and Greaves was a decent scrap. If Greaves had a punch Fagan could have been in trouble as he was walking onto southpaw left uppercuts all night. Good bout though. Can't understand why it was only 6 rounds.

Willie Casey was NOT impressive against a very passive opponent. Arm punching most of the time and looked very tired in the last 2 rounds.

Waldron took his time, obviously looking to put rounds in the bag and finished it impressively.

The best fighter on view was Acosta against an opponent who was a hell of a lot better than at least FOUR of the other 'bums'. Relaxed and fluid, this is my second time seeing him and have been very impressed both times. I have no idea how someone can big up Hyland's performance and then claim Acosta is a hype job. I can only put it down to jealousy or maybe racism because it makes zero sense to me.

Prunty gets the award for best conditioned boxer of the night. I only wish I had a sixpack like his. My buddies had seen him in Galway and (to put it mildly) were telling me they never saw such a bad fighter. They were stunned at the difference this time out. He looked quite good against an admittedly hopeless opponent, but the speed and snap in his punches weren't bad from what was expected to be a farce.

Finally, the MC was poor. Besides his general below average announcing, he announced Hyland's opponent as "former European and World champ" and Carl Greaves (in his brother's corner) as "former world champ". I remember a Bulgarian with a similar name to Hyland's opponent who was a top amateur and Carl Greaves won a WBF title in the fight after he lost a British title fight, but to stretch the imagination by stating both were professional world champs really was ridiculous.

Overall, not bad entertainment for the price.

Good photos above too.

engrish?

Perfect fit wrote: »

That photo is savage.

damiendar

Fagan and Greaves was a decent scrap. If Greaves had a punch Fagan could have been in trouble as he was walking onto southpaw left uppercuts all night. Good bout though. Can't understand why it was only 6 rounds.

Speaking of Fagan walking onto upper cuts...

Big Ears

megadodge wrote: »

Was at the show and have one or two problems with the above report.

The best fighter on view was Acosta against an opponent who was a hell of a lot better than at least FOUR of the other 'bums'. Relaxed and fluid, this is my second time seeing him and have been very impressed both times. I have no idea how someone can big up Hyland's performance and then claim Acosta is a hype job. I can only put it down to jealousy or maybe racism because it makes zero sense to me.

It was wrote by a relation of the Hyland's, hence the bias.

I saw Prunty's fight on GoFightLive, and I have to say I was very surprised considering what I had heard from his pro debut. He never fought as an amateur, and apparently had done **** all before his debut(hence him looking awful), which is why there's been such a big improvement. It'll be interesting to see how he develops considering he's only started boxing this year. Should be an exciting fighter anyway.

adamburke83

Big Ears wrote: »

It was wrote by a relation of the Hyland's, hence the bias.

It wasnt bias in any way....I was looking forward to seen him Fight Elvis Garcia(Original Opponent) But i was just disappointed at the last minute change of opponent

adamburke83

megadodge wrote: »

Was at the show and have one or two problems with the above report.

Fitzgerald/Long was easily the fight of the night, maybe not as good as their first but pretty close. I thought Fitzgerald won clearly, with the beautiful knockdown highlighting the difference in ability between the two. Long is just so easy to hit ! Great heart and very good chin, but needs to learn to move his head.

Eddie Hyland's oppenent was crap. Complete rubbish. Hyland won't learn anything from it and it was a completely pointless match.

Fagan and Greaves was a decent scrap. If Greaves had a punch Fagan could have been in trouble as he was walking onto southpaw left uppercuts all night. Good bout though. Can't understand why it was only 6 rounds.

Willie Casey was NOT impressive against a very passive opponent. Arm punching most of the time and looked very tired in the last 2 rounds.

Waldron took his time, obviously looking to put rounds in the bag and finished it impressively.

The best fighter on view was Acosta against an opponent who was a hell of a lot better than at least FOUR of the other 'bums'. Relaxed and fluid, this is my second time seeing him and have been very impressed both times. I have no idea how someone can big up Hyland's performance and then claim Acosta is a hype job. I can only put it down to jealousy or maybe racism because it makes zero sense to me.

Prunty gets the award for best conditioned boxer of the night. I only wish I had a sixpack like his. My buddies had seen him in Galway and (to put it mildly) were telling me they never saw such a bad fighter. They were stunned at the difference this time out. He looked quite good against an admittedly hopeless opponent, but the speed and snap in his punches weren't bad from what was expected to be a farce.

Finally, the MC was poor. Besides his general below average announcing, he announced Hyland's opponent as "former European and World champ" and Carl Greaves (in his brother's corner) as "former world champ". I remember a Bulgarian with a similar name to Hyland's opponent who was a top amateur and Carl Greaves won a WBF title in the fight after he lost a British title fight, but to stretch the imagination by stating both were professional world champs really was ridiculous.

Overall, not bad entertainment for the price.

Good photos above too.

Just to put the record straight.....That report was put together by a few different posts on a different forum...
and i agree with you on some of the points....Terrible MC,Fagan vs Greaves but Eddies opponent weighed in at 9`12 which is Light-welterweight, 2 weights above Eddie and at that weight he has never been stopped which Eddie managed to do in 3 rounds...So i dont see it been a pointless fight especially after the war him and fagan had in july..

So about the Acosta thing, I apologise if it sounded Racist or with hints of Jealosy as it was not intended...;)