Frustrated Tyrone McKenna Calls for Title Fight to be Rescheduled
Tyrone McKenna remains desperate to fight Nicholas Esposito and has called for their IBO world title fight to be rescheduled for Belfast.
The popular Belfast welterweight was due to fight for the vacant strap on the proposed RDS September 16 card, only for the fight night to fall through a few days shy of fight week.
The event cancellation hit the proposed bill topper’s heart and pocket hard but he hasn’t given up hope of winning the strap.
The 33-year-old hopes it can be rescheduled for some time next month.
“I just need a fight,” he told the Irish News.
“I’m still eligible for the IBO title so I still want to fight for it, I still want to win the belt. I think Esposito still wants the fight so if we could find a new date in Belfast in October it would be nice.”
Conlan Boxing have big plans for December in Belfast and had hoped ‘The Might Celt’ would feature high up an SSE Arena card, potentially against Lewis Crocker. They may see the IBO world title fight as ideal for that bill, although McKenna doesn’t seem to want to wait.
“I need a fight ASAP, I’ve trained the last 10 weeks, I’m on the weight and I’m ready to fight so I’d like it to be rescheduled as soon as possible, even if it was in the Ulster Hall. I’d like to get something booked straight away.”
More than a career setback, the fight nightfall through hurt McKenna financially. The Oliver Plunket graduate had been camping in Dublin in prep for the title scrap and reveals he was left thousands out of pocket.
“No fight in 13 months… I was buzzing for that title fight as well, it would have kicked me on to have big fights after it but now I’m back to the drawing board and I don’t see where I’m going to go now.
“The hard bit in boxing is the camps and the fighting is the fun bit. All I have been doing recently is the hard stuff, the camps. This is the second time in-a-row that I’ve had a fight called off a week before it was supposed to happen.
“It’s frustrating. I’ve got nothing covered – the team tracksuits are £1200, the shorts are £600, the buses that I booked were £400 each deposit… I’ve lost all that money.
“Staying down in Dublin for the last 10 weeks cost a fortune… I’m out thousands and thousands of pounds and I don’t get reimbursed for any of it. It’s a joke.
“That has happened for my last two fights and I haven’t fought in 13 months and you don’t get paid if don’t fight… So I’ve been going 13 months without getting paid.”
