Taylor to fight on pro-am card

THE FIRST glimpse on a big Dublin stage of World amateur champion Katie Taylor, combined with a possible repeat of the Beijing Olympics light-heavyweight final, is expected to decorate the O2 Arena next month.

While Bernard Dunne highlights the March 21st night with a world title challenge for Ricardo Cordoba’s WBA super-bantamweight belt, both Taylor and Olympic silver medallist Ken Egan will provide an imaginative and quality undercard for what is the first pro-am boxing event to be staged in Ireland.

Along with Olympic bronze medallist Paddy Barnes and lightweight world junior champion Ray Moylette, promoter Brian Peters has gathered the best of Irish amateur and professional boxers for a 10-fight card, with those involving Dunne, Egan and Taylor to be screened live on RTÉ.

In total the national broadcaster is showing three hours of the five amateur- and five-professional fight event.

Taylor is now widely known as a three-times European amateur champion and double World amateur champion, but few have seen her perform either on television or live, while Egan, who spurned the chance to turn professional after the Olympics, hopes to meet his Beijing nemesis, Chinese gold medal winner Zhang Xiaoping.

“I think I’ve only boxed in Ireland seven or eight times and I’ve had over 100 fights. Most people here have never really seen me so I’m really excited about it. We’re looking for the 63kg American girl (Quanitta Underwood). I don’t want anyone whose going to run around,” said Taylor adding, “Yeah I’ll fight a man. I’m so used to boxing in front of about 20 people, 9,000 is going to be huge.”

Taylor only ever spars with men, so that probably would not be an issue for the quietly-spoken Bray girl, although it would certainly be to a whole host of interested parties.

Egan will be better known to fight fans and his initial focus is on the Senior Championships, which begins this weekend at the Stadium. He is seeking a record ninth successive Irish light-heavyweight title. He also has an international fixture against the USA before stepping onto the stage in front of what he hopes is a full O2 Arena.

“The seniors start on Friday so that’s my first target. A lot of lads are looking for my scalp this year,” said Egan. “Once I get that out of the way I’ll look ahead to the O2 fight. To box in something like that is special. I went to see Coldplay there in December and it’s a very impressive venue. Last time I had a crowd like that was in the Olympic final and 99.9 per cent of them were Chinese.”

The combination of amateur and professionals on the one card has not come about easily and despite Dunne’s challenge being the first world title fight to be staged in Dublin for 13 years, promoter Peters looks on the night as being a cross-coded celebration of Irish boxing. There has been a woman’s bout on the professional card before in a Peters’ promotion but not involving fighters of the calibre of Taylor, who hopes to find out next month if women’s boxing will become part of the 2012 Olympic schedule in London.

“This will be the first time we’ve done this,” said Amateur Irish Boxing Association vice-president Tommy Murphy. “Under our rules over the past years this couldn’t have happened. But if we don’t change we’ll be left behind and at the moment amateur boxing in Ireland is on a high.

“This is the green light now. There were 99 per cent of the people in the association said that this was the way to go. The whole boxing game has changed. I think amateur and professional boxing can work together hand in hand. We want to be the Cubans of Europe.”

Others on the bill include the Cavan prospect Andy Murray and veteran Dubliner Jim Rock, who made his debut in the Point back in 1995.