WHILE the main interest will be focussed on the Wayne McCullough Jose Luis Bueno World Boxing Council bantamweight title fight, at The Point Depot in Dublin on Saturday night, there will also be considerable interest in the supporting bouts, mainly the two featuring promising young professionals from Sligo and Donegal.
Vince Feeney from Maugheraboy in Sligo has been making steady progress in the professional ranks after an amateur career which saw him box 73 times with only eight defeats.
The peak of his amateur career came when he boxed five times for Ireland at intermediate level and he can boast that he has also sparred with McCullough. He has won six of his last seven fights.
Feeney has already fought twice at The Point where he was given great vocal support by a big contingent of Sligo boxing fans and they will expect him to add to his quite impressive record of 14 fights with nine wins, four losses and a draw.
Boxing under the nickname "The Sligo Kid" he is now trained by Frank Moloney.
Boxing professionally for the first time in Ireland will be Anthony McFadden from Creeslough in Donegal. Known as "The Monk", both his parents are Irish born and although he was born in Yorkshire he has spent considerable time in Donegal.
He must be one of the few practising quantity surveyors in the ring at the moment and is also studying for a university degree. His club in Donegal was Dunfanaghy and he won two Irish titles at junior and intermediate level before turning professional.
Among those he has beaten at amateur level are Paschal Collins, Steve Collins' brother. He, Feeney and another Irish professional, P J "Gail Force" Gallagher, all train at the Henry Cooper gym in London where they are under the direct influence of the respected coach Colin Wilson.
Of some interest to Irish boxing fans is the fact that Al "Blue" Lewis is in town for the McCullough fight. On his last visit he took Muhammad Ali to 11 rounds in Croke Park in a fight which is still vividly remembered.
Lewis also has a clear recollection of the occasion. "I remember every punch. Ali was not world champion at the time, having lost his title to Joe Frazier, but I knew that it was a very big chance for me and if I managed to beat him I would probably get a world title fight.
"I gave it my best shot but Ali was still in his prime and the fight was stopped in the 11th round. But I can always say that I went 11 rounds with one of the best if not the best, heavyweight of all time," he said.
Yesterday McCullough and Bueno were putting the final touches to their preparations and will not meet again until the weigh in at the Burlington Hotel tomorrow evening.
McCullough is well aware of the problems which Bueno will pose. And he will probably remember that when Barry McGuigan made his world title defence in the RDS in 1986 a young man from Cost a Rico called Danilo Cabrera surprised everyone, including McGuigan, by going 13 punishing and bloody rounds before being forced to capitulate.
On that occasion McGuigan had to have several stitches in cuts around his eyes and Cabrera illustrated just how tough boxers from that part of the world can be with a world title at stake.
Bueno's handsome features do not betray the fact that in his professional career he has fought 28 times with 20 knock outs and only six defeats and one draw.
He comes from a deprived background in Mexico City and believes that he now faces the biggest opportunity in his life to help both himself and his family.
In that frame of mind, and given the fact that he has already won the junior bantamweight title from Sung Kil Moon on his own turf in Korea, McCullough knows perfectly well how much is at stake for both fighters.
The main supporting bout features Shannan Taylor from New South Wales and Corey Johnson from Detroit in a 10 round light welterweight bout. Both boxers are experienced campaigners and the main event follows at approximately 10.15.
