MYSTERY WHY DUBLIN SHUNS PRO BOXING

BARNEY EASTWOOD has always been mystified to Dublin’s lukewarm relationship with professional boxing and has never understood how the sport hasn’t captured the heart of the city – as it has done in Belfast.

Apart from a brief explosion when Bernard Dunne was WBA Super bantamweight champion and sold out the Point, pro shows are confined to smaller venues such as the National Stadium and Citywest.

‘I often thought that Dublin was the ideal city for professional shows, that it was set up for it. But it has never really taken off there and I don’t know why,’ Eastwood says.

‘There was a couple of years there with the young Bernard Dunne, but the scene faded again. Even when we had Barry McGuigan and Steve Collins, there wasn’t as much interest as there should have been. And I always thought it was set up for professional boxing to take off.

‘Maybe now with young [Eddie] Hearn giving Katie Taylor (pictured) the push she deserves, they might be able to do something next year.

‘But it has always been a mystery to me why shows never took off there.’