Guaghran Hits Out at ‘Bollocks’ Talk Around Freeman-Byrne Rivalary
Ian Guaghran has come out swinging in defence of James Freeman, stating the IGB fighter never “ducked” Glenn Byrne.
There have been murmurs of a possible clash between the pair since early 2024, after Freeman made his fight intentions clear after watching the Dub in the Ulster Hall.
Team Byrne took umbrage at the manner of the call out and have said they have tried to make the fight on numerous occasions since. It was made for the proposed Galway card before the bill fell through. JB Promotions say they offered it for the ‘Return of the Mick,’ Michael Conlan topped card in the 3Arena, only for it to be rebuffed. Before his impressive victory on that TV bill, the BUI Celtic title challenger told Irish-boxing.com he’s ‘done with Freeman’, sharing a belief the former GAA footballer of note’s interest wasn’t genuine.
Guaghran is adamant his charge hasn’t avoided the conflct. Indeed, the manager, who more often than not holds a calm approach, has come out very strong in defence of Freeman, feeding into the rivalary in the process.
The IGB boss says he is “pissed off” by what he calls baseless chatter and ‘bollocks’ surrounding the clash.
“There’s been an awful lot of bollocks knocking around,” the manager told Irish-Boxing.com. “Some of what’s been said has really pissed me off, to be honest. People are making out like James went missing or avoided Glenn — that’s complete nonsense. He’s not ducking anyone. He’s a fighting man.”
According to Guaghran, the collapse of the Galway bill left Freeman in limbo. With five months of training in the bank, he sought an alternative fight, boxing in Alicante to stay sharp, before taking a well-deserved break with his family.
“When Galway fell through, James came to me and said, ‘Get me a fight.’ We did exactly that. He boxed in Spain and got rounds in. After that, he needed a holiday. He’s got a partner and a baby. He can’t just train flat out 12 months of the year without a break,” Guaghran explained.
A Galway meeting not happening was out of both boxers and their teams hands. However, Team Byrne and the boxers supporters expressed confusion as to why the Armagh native wouldn’t fight on high profile TV broadcast Conlan card.
Freeman’s manager, hints, he and not the boxer turned down the offer.
“He’d have had three and a half weeks to prepare for a 50/50 fight,” Gaughran explains. “That’s not enough. Nobody takes a fight of that magnitude off the back of a short, half-camp. And if they do, they’re doing their fighter a disservice. My job is to protect James and make sure he has the preparation needed to give his best.”
The manager also addressed critics who claimed that Freeman’s reluctance to jump at the September slot meant he was avoiding Byrne.
“Absolute rubbish,” Guaghran responded. “James has said from the start he’ll fight Glenn Byrne. He’ll fight him in October, November, December — whenever. There’s no fear here. We want the fight, but it has to be done properly. Glenn deserves James at his best, and James deserves the same.”
