Coleraine History Maker Matthew Boreland Plans Showgrounds Show
It’s not as big as Windsor Park – but it would mean a lot more to Matthew Boreland.
The new Irish super bantamweight champion has his sights set on a Coleraine Showgrounds homecoming and insists that swapping the 20,000-seat stadium in Belfast for his hometown ground would not be a downgrade.
In fact, he calls it a dream come true – and one he genuinely believes will become a reality.
“I said a year and a half ago in the boxing club that I was going to make it happen, and at the time it felt impossible,” Boreland explained when speaking to Boxing Tickets NI last week. “But if I keep winning fights and keep selling tickets, it will happen. You could fight anybody in the Showgrounds and it would sell out.”
For Boreland, the link between football and boxing is no gimmick – it’s at the heart of who he is. “I’ll always remember where I’m from and I’ll always remember Coleraine,” he said. “We changed the ring walk song to make it more relevant to the club. It brought the crowd together – that’s what it’s all about really.
“I spoke to [Coleraine FC owner] Henry Ross and he said he’ll see what can be done, and Jamie Conlan is going to speak to the Board.”
The Ryan Burnett -trained IGB boxer has proved himself entertaining and popular since he turned over. HIs Irish title stoppage win over Ruadhan Farrell on the Crocker-Donovan card allowed him to prove he was also top of the domestic tree, and he did that by displaying he possesses an unbelievable work rate and fight-changing power
“The plan was to be on him from round one – and I was,” Boreland said. “I train every day, I devote my life to boxing, and I knew I had it more in the tank. I didn’t expect to get him out of there as early as I did – Farrell’s never even been down before. That shows the power I have. We haven’t really been looking to land big shots in camp, but it comes naturally, and last night was a good example of it.”
It was a defining moment not just for Boreland, but for Coleraine. The town had never produced a professional champion before, and the breakthrough was not lost on the fighter himself.
“Somebody in Coleraine to win the first-ever belt is really special,” he said. “I never won an Irish title as an amateur, so this one means everything. I just hope I’m not the last – hopefully the younger generation can look up to me and go for it themselves.”
