Boxing in Waterford on Saturday, December 7 when Tyrone McKenna and Dylan Moran headline a bumper 16-fight card. As the week goes on, this number may decrease slightly, but hopefully most of the main characters will be defeated. It’s been a while since a show of this magnitude spread across the island’s unconventional battle zones.
Backed by state broadcaster RTE, Brian Peters has previously ventured out of the main hubs of Belfast and Dublin to perform in Magherafelt and Letterkenny for Paul McCloskey, Limerick for Andy Lee and Willie Casey and a small international tour for Bernard Dunn during his post-Kiko recovery.
Since then, mainly from non-boxing gigs, marked by the Irish Boxing Union’s reluctance to play while matters were resolved, the shows south of the border have been top notch.
Back at Waterford’s SETU Arena, constantly on the brink of retirement, Tyrone McKenna is being recalled for “one last job”. Dylan Moran is a good guy coming back from heavy losses to Denis Okot and Florian Markou. Moran’s recent trip to the rings of Austria, Germany, the USA and the UK was a blow to Owen O’Neill’s confidence. Last time Waterford hosted a tough boxing event, Moran defeated Argentina’s Mauro Godoy by stoppage.
He now faces McKenna, who has lost three of his last four, two by stoppage, including a recent rematch with Muhammad Mimoun. Conlan Boxing has partnered with Florida outfit Pro Box TV to present these Irish shows.
Tyrone McKenna
The first was held in Belfast on November 1 and featured a sterling main event between Padraig McCrory and Colombia’s Leonard Castillo. If McKenna and Moran recreate something similar, it will be a night to remember.
“With this event, I thought it was the only fight worth it against Tyrone McKenna. The fans are going to be the real winners here,” said Moran, who once toured the world as a kickboxer.
“I have the utmost respect for Tyrone McKenna, he is an Irish boxing legend and it is an honor to share the ring with him. What better place to do this than Waterford? I’ve always said I want big fights and there’s nothing bigger than me and Tyrone. We know what Tyrone brings, I know what I bring and the fans are going to be real winners.”
