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“You’ve been boxing bums your whole career” – Anthony Fowler hits back at Craig O’Brien


Anthony Fowler has lashed out at Craig O’Brien [8(0)-0] ahead of the pair’s fight this Saturday night.

The Liverpool light middleweight takes on the Dubliner at the O2 Arena in London as part of the Dillian Whyte v Joseph Parker pay-per-view undercard and was not happy with some comments made by O’Brien.

In a recent interview with Irish-Boxing.com, ‘The Iron’ expressed his confidence ahead of the eight-round clash as well as stating his belief that Fowler was not one of Matchroom’s premier prospects.

READ: Craig O’Brien confident of surprising Anthony Fowler

One quote in particular perturbed Fowler – O’Brien’s summation of his Rio Olympic campaign where he was dropped and dominated in his opening bout by eventual quarter-finalist Zhanibek Alimkhanuly of Kazakhstan.

The inner-city Dub said that “this kid [Fowler], he went to Rio and he did fuck all in Rio. He went to Rio and he got beat in the first round and the simple reason why was because he wasn’t bleedin’ good enough. He’s no Josh Kelly, he’s no Ted Cheeseman.”

Fowler [6(5)-0] would respond on Twitter, promising to make O’Brien “eat these words”, detailing the pedigree of Alimkhanuly, and taking aim at O’Brien’s pro career thus far.

Fowler’s coach, Dave Coldwell, would also pitch in.

The fight this weekend will be the biggest test of both fighters’ respective pro careers, with Fowler being a heavy favourite.

The pair have one common opponent – Jay Byrne – who O’Brien outpointed over ten rounds for the Irish title and Fowler impressively stopped in the fourth of their six rounder.

Byrne, labelled a bum by Fowler, would have a joking response and the Scouser would then belittle the result.

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Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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