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Eddie Hearn wants Tommy McCarthy for big fight on Matchroom card next month


Tommy McCarthy [12(6)-1(0)] fights for the second time under new manager Mark Dunlop next Saturday and, should he win, the Belfast cruiserweight could be in line for a major fight.

‘The Mac Attack’ takes on Jiri Svacina over eight rounds on the MHD Promotions ‘A Night To Remember’ bill at the Ulster Hall on Saturday February 9th and Eddie Hearn has plans for a big fight just four weeks after this.

Today a Matchroom JDNXTGEN bill has been confirmed for Saturday March 2nd at the Peterborough Arena which will be headlined by Commonwealth featherweight champion and local lad Jordan Gill.

While it is not confirmed, event promoter Hearn, who has a close working relationship with manager Dunlop, has revealed that he wants McCarthy to fight unbeaten English cruiser Richard Riakporhe [8(7)-0] on the bill.

Speaking to iFL TV today, Hearn said that “we’re talking about, possibly, Riakporhe against Tommy McCarthy.”

Riakporhe last fought in November on the Usyk-Bellew undercard where he scored an upset win over McCarthy’s Champ’s Camp team-mate Sam Hyde.

Down on the card, the Londoner was able to force an eighth round stoppage, with the towel coming in for Hyde who had suffered some quite gruesome damage around his eye.

This fight was the 29-year-old’s first major contest since turning pro in 2016.

The win saw Riakporhe pick up the WBA Inter-Continental title and he is currently ranked #13 with the organisation – offering the perfect motivation for McCarthy.

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The Lenadoon former top amateur linked up with Dunlop late last year following almost 12 months of inactivity and would quickly pick up a rust-shaking win over Kent Kauppinen and continues his return to sharpness next weekend.

Commonwealth Games silver medallist McCarthy, who has been training out of the Belfast Kronk Gym since linking up with MHD, has featured live on Sky Sports once before back when he scored a career-best win over Jon Lewis Dickinson in Glasgow in May 2016.

On top of this, his bout with Peter Hegyes in Belfast in October 2017 was streamed live on the Sky website while he also featured on the ‘Return of the Mack’ card in Dublin in November 2014, stopping Martin Horak.

The 28-year-old was forced to turn down a short-notice fight with British champion Lawrence Okolie in December due to a lack of sharpness and a slight knuckle injury.

The card next month sees Gill headline versus Emmanuel Dominguez for the WBA International title while American character Anthony Sims Jr will be the chief support along with a potential title fight for Leigh Wood.

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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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