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Craig O’Brien Secures Massive Fight on Matchroom Card

Craig O’Brien [12(1)-2(1)] has secured a possible career-changing fight on a Matchroom promoted DAZN broadcast card.

‘The Iron’ will take on undefeated Samuel Nmomah [15(4)-0] on October 1 in Italy.

The Dubliner joins the likes of former European champion Francesco Patera and local favourite Daniele Scardina on the high-profile bill set for Allianz Cloud Arena in Milan.

The Pascal Collins trained fighter does face an away corner mission against Lagos-born Italian adopted Nmomah.

However, O’Brien won’t be daunted by the task. The 24-year-old Piemonte based fighter has yet to taste defeat but also has yet to be seriously tested. Out of 15 fighters beaten by Nmomah only three have winning records and the four KO’s to his name are not overly scary.

It’s by no means a gimme but the Irish light middleweight champion has proved himself a skilled operator that has the talent to out-box solid level foes.

It also represents a chance to inject real life into his career. The popular Inner City Dub has had a difficult time with regards fight dates of late being one of those fighters particularly affected by the pandemic.

The 31-year-old did manage to get out in March of this year on a show in Belgium but has only fought once since late 2019. He now has an opportunity to register a victory on a massive platform, a platform proven to change the trajectory of fighter’s careers.

Tommy McCarthy’s run to the European title and a Matchroom contract started with a win on a Matchroom Italia card. ‘The Mack Attack’ beat Fabio Turchi to re-kickstart his career, granted an International ranking title helped, but still, O’Brien will be hoping for a similar occurrence.

The Celtic Warrior Gym fighter’s two career defeats have come on Matchroom cards. Anthony Folwer stopped him in the summer of 2018 and Kieron Conway outpointed him in December 2019. There is a different feel to this one and the chances of an upset are much higher.

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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