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Declan Geraghty aims to steal show on big Burnett bill


Ryan Burnett is rightly the main event on the #MTKFightNight Ulster Hall show tomorrow night but Declan Geraghty believes his domestic clash with Marco McCullough is the main attraction.

The Dubliner claims not only has the fight the potential to be a show stealer to the extent that it’s the bout people leave the Ulster Hall talking about this weekend, but also points out it’s the pairing on the lips of the fans ahead of the ESPN+ broadcast event.

Geraghty [19(4)-3(2)] agrees there should be a great deal of excitement around former unified world champion Ryan Burnett’s return from injury, but he believes his genuine 50:50 domestic dust-up with McCullough [21(10)-4(3)] is the fight people are looking forward to seeing most.

“It’s great see Ryan back and great to see him working with MTK.  I hope is great night MTK and for everyone full stop and I hope Ryan gets the reception he deserves, but this fight should steal the show,” Geraghty told Irish-Boxing.com.

“It’s already the one everyone wants to watch and it’s the most talked about fight on the card. It’s two Irish lads and two good fighters against each other in a fight that means a lot. It was always going to be the one the fans are looking forward to.”

This Friday’s fight represents a the Dubliner’s fourth All Irish affair – and whilst he excelled in such dust-ups as an amateur, he has lost all his derbies as a pro.

The most recent of those reverses came after he was broken down by recent world title challenger Jono Carroll and the time beforehand he was stopped against James Tennyson who, like Carroll, challenged Tevin Farmer for the IBF super featherweight world title.

Upon looking at those scraps, Belfast’s McCullough is predicting he will take control down the stretch and ultimately secure victory.

However, the Dublin have of the Dublin versus Belfast battle warns he is fit and ready for action.

“I never tired with Tenny I just got caught. Jono, okay I blew my muck early, but I know what happened and I learnt the lesson there. That was my worst performance ever in a ring and if he is going by that he is taking me lightly.”

“I hope I see the best Marco because I can promise him the best version of me. I don’t think he really thinks I will tire or I will slow down. If he is under estimating me, which I doubt he is, he would be in for a surprise and in trouble. It would also mean I don’t get the chance to beat the best Marco which I wouldn’t be happy with.”

The Inner City Dub hasn’t fought in his native city since 2015 and is on the road again this weekend.

Fighting away isn’t really an issue for the well-travelled former Irish International amateur, but he does note that McCullough brings a crowd and believes he may have to emulate what Luke Keeler did at the same venue against Conrad Cummings in March to ensure they don’t play a part.

“I expect a big crowd for him. I have 100 or so coming, but I heard he brings 500 odd. I hope he brings a massive crowd it would be good for the show as a whole and I hope it’s a success for MTK.”

“Crowd-wise I think it will be like the Luke and Conrad fight. I expect it to be the same atmosphere. I am not sure if many noticed but Luke got booed coming out for that fight. It’s going to be hostile like that for me, but look what Luke did he took control from the start. Luke didn’t let Conrad get any momentum and then the crowd lost momentum.”

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Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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