Press Conference

SUPER-FIGHT, AT SUPER-FEATHER, DUBLIN, IRELAND

Well, professional boxing is back in Ireland in a big way and it’s not only Bernard Dunne and his team that hold the spoils this time. The International Boxing Federation (IBF) have just sanctioned a fight, which could be one of the most intriguing ‘IBF International’ fights of all time, particularly that both contestants are Irish and not to mention, both from the working-class area of Tallaght, Dublin.

The current Irish Super-featherweight champion, Eddie Hyland, one in the trio of highly-rated brothers, is due to step-up-to-the-plate, against the former Tallaght-man, renowned tough man and the former, Irish Light-welterweight champion, Oisin Fagan.

Eddie Hyland, 12 wins, with just 1 loss, has been touted as one of Ireland’s brightest prospects, along with his brother’s, Patrick and Paul. Paddy, their dedicated father, trainer and manager, has up ‘til now, been very vigilant in matching his sons carefully, as they climb the ladder to stardom; however, he has surprised many in this very brave move, by hunting down, none other than one of the toughest fighters in the game and stepping up in class against Oisin Fagan.

Hyland said, “It was Eddie’s decision to take it to another level. And when Oisin’s name was mentioned at the press conference, Eddie said, ‘That would be a war- lets do it!’”

He said, “It’s a very tough fight, but one that Eddie feels he can win and one that can propel him up the rankings. It promises to be another ‘Ward-Gatti’ type of a fight and the winner will jump up into the world’s top 15, which means it’s an extremely important fight for both boxers.”

Fagan, now with 23 wins and 6 losses on his record, has an amazing story that some journalists have been very keen to ink as his life-story. However, Fagan is not biting, as he’s a writer himself, telling me that once his boxing career is finished, he’ll probably write the book in his spare time. Fagan, now resides in Portmarnock with his parents, after moving as a family from Tallaght as a teenager. He then relocated to the US in his twenties on a soccer scholarship, where, after graduating from USAO, with honours in physical education and journalism, he fell on some hard-times, financially. Although, to make ends meet, he incredibly, began a professional career in boxing, at the ripe old age of 29; after having, just 3 (three) amateur fights, (which ultimately, is unheard of nowadays) all to make a few dollars, for a plane fare home to Dublin.

However, he surprised many, including himself, when he won his first pro fight… and obviously, with the meagre $200 he earned that night, he had to stay in the US, but soon after, he found a job as a PE teacher in Oklahoma City and taught at Columbus Elementary for five years. By day, he was a public schoolteacher and moonlighted as a boxer in his spare time; however, on his adventures, he’s notched up some very impressive fights, wins, titles and furthermore, he fought some of the biggest names in boxing to controversial, split decisions in their hometowns- even against undefeated world champions and formidable foes, including, ‘The Pittsburgh Kid’ Paul Spadafora (42-0), Julio Cesar Chavez Junior (39-0) and Verquan Kimbrough (21-1). However, last December, in a bizarre incident, he broke his leg (left fibula) in the very first round, resulting in losing a fight against Britain’s Olympic medallist and soon-to-be world champion, Amir Khan (20-1). However, the leg has recovered fully now and after a warm-up fight and good win against the former Bulgarian champion, Assen Vassilev last month, Fagan is now back in fine form and ready to take this huge opportunity by the scruff.

Fagan remarked, “This fight means so much to me- it came out of the blue and at just the right time- it’s got to be the prayer I’ve been asking for, to turn the disappointment I felt from the Khan Fight, into an opportunity to fully redeem myself with a shot at an internationally recognised title. I know I broke my leg against Khan in December and couldn’t do anything about the outcome, but I felt so embarrassed. I didn’t care about the pain, so I got back up to fight, but kept on falling down, without even being punched as my leg kept buckling underneath me. So, even though it wasn’t my fault, I still felt my supporters were let down. Talk about Murphy’s Law- what incredibly terrible timing to break my leg, with thousands in attendance and millions watching on Sky Sports. I was disgusted, especially, when you think of the career I’ve had thus far- I’ve ducked nobody and have given world champions a run for their money in their hometowns and on their own shows, so it’s very important for me, to set the record straight and restore the bad luck I’ve endured in my career thus far, with a big win against Hyland. I feel like it’s my time to shine!”

Finally, he said, “Eddie is a great lad and we’re actually friends. I think he’s a very good fighter- very tough and very slick, but this is business and I can tell you, we’ll both not let our friendship get in the way of a classic match-up for the fans. Hopefully after the fight we can have a few beers together, but we have a job to do now and I am confident that it will be an epic battle, but one that I can emerge victorious from. There will be no stopping me on the night and please God, winning this, will put me in a position to fight for a proper world title and fulfil my dreams, before I retire in a couple of years.”

Words by Mr. B. Powers