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FORWARD – Martin Quinn refusing to let controversial defeat hold him back


“I don’t want to go backwards!” declares Martin Quinn [2(1)-1(0)].

The Crumlin lightweight lost in his most recent fight but isn’t taking a rebuilding route and has instead decided to jump into another domestic dust-up.

Quinn was defeated by Karl Kelly by a one-point margin in the ‘Celtic Clash 7’ chief support, a bout which the majority of onlookers felt had done enough to win.

A BUI Celtic title rematch looked likely but Kelly would instead go on to fight Feargal McCrory for the Irish belt, being stopped in the ninth.

Quinn admits that he lost motivation when it became apparent that an immediate rematch was not going to happen but the hunger is back now, with ‘Mighty Martin’ set to box Blanchardstown light welter Francy Luzoho over six rounds on the TG4-broadcast ‘Clash of the Titans’ bill at the National Stadium on Saturday March 30th.

The Dubliner’s reasoning is simple and he explained to Irish-Boxing.com how “the way I see it is, and I don’t want to keep repeating it, I won that Kelly fight, so I’m going forwards not backwards.

“I asked Jay what the story was and he said he thinks Karl is retiring so what can I do? I ain’t bleedin’ waiting around.”

“It annoys me even talking about it at this stage, I should be fighting Karl for that belt. I lost a bit of motivation after that fight, I trained hard for that fight, I lost a lot of fucking weight for that fight – and I was a bit tired from cutting the weight, I left it a bit late.”

It’s all coming together now, though, for Quinn who is happy to step up in weight to face his old amateur rival Luzoho [1(1)-0].

“I’m happy with that, this is at 64kg. 64kg, I’ll do that with my eyes closed and I’ll hit a lot harder, I’ll be coming in at 67, 68kg.”

“Listen, he’s a good fighter, we’ll see how it goes. Francy is a good boxer, he’s stylish but can he handle the toughness.”

Experience, too, will be a factor in the 30-year-old’s favour, with Luzoho having never gone past three rounds.

“Six rounds are no bother to me, I’m definitely more experienced,” said Quinn.

“Some people will say ‘oh, he’s only had two more fights’, but two more fights including a six rounder is an awful lot in the pro game. And I’ve had a lot of camps.”

Looking forward, Quinn is keen for a title fight in bout #5.

The colourful character outlined how “when I beat Francy I want to fight for a belt, I’ll fight Victor [Rabei, BUI Celtic champion] at 63.5kg.”

“I would have fought Victor on this show, I asked for it, but I’m on the backfoot a bit after the result of the Karl fight.”

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)

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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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