BELFAST IS BOOMING
George Gigney previews another stellar show in the thriving Northern Irish capital
BOXING in Northern Ireland – Belfast in particular – is on an upward swing. At the weekend, Ryan Burnett delighted his home crowd to become IBF bantamweight champion [see pages 26-28], while former two-weight world king Carl Frampton last week announced his next fight in the city. Heywood’s small hall promoter Kieran Farrell is also making a conscious effort to stage more shows there.
This Saturday ( June 17), Queensberry Promotions hold a card at the Waterfront Hall, live on Boxnation. Blackwood southpaw Craig Evans takes on Dublin’s Stephen Ormond in a lightweight 10-rounder, with a WBO ranking at stake.
A former British title challenger, Evans is looking to build on his majority points win over 2012 Olympian Thomas Stalker in November. After their first two meetings ended in split draws, Craig stamped his authority in the trilogy fight.
Ormond is in the process of rebuilding after a pair of strange losses. In 2015, he was disqualified against Terry Flanagan for persistent use of the head. Then, in October, he was knocked out by unheralded Zoltan Szabo. Since then he has notched three victories, one of which was over Szabo, and is now looking to get himself back in the mix.
It’s a cracking matchup and difficult to call. With points wins over Adam Dingsdale and Derry Mathews, Ormond is more proven than Evans, but at 34 is slowing down. The tentative pick is for Evans, 27, to prove elusive enough to frustrate Ormond and sneak a close decision.
Hometown amateur standout Paddy Barnes continues his swift progression in the paid ranks by taking on Madridbased Romanian veteran and ex-european titlist Silvio Olteanu, 39, for a WBO flyweight ranking.
Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Barnes has won both his professional fights so far, and the 30-year-old is keen to be moved quickly – hopefully in the direction of Zou Shiming, who defeated him twice at the Games. Barnes should outpoint Olteanu over the 10-round distance.
An enticing 12-round super-feather scrap will see Perthbased Dubliner Jono Carroll collide with Liverpudlian John Quigley in a battle of unbeaten southpaws. Though he lacks power, Carroll has the ability to take this on points.
THE VERDICT An intriguing assortment of bouts on this Belfast bill.