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Dennis Hogan would take Canelo clash – “I want my shot at the WBO title”

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Dennis Hogan [25(7)-1(0)-1] feels he is a much better fighter than the one that lost on points to Jack Culcay in a WBA interim title challenge last December, so much so that he would welcome a call from none other than Canelo Alvarez.

The Kildare light middleweight successfully defended his WBO Oriental title over the weekend registering a victory over Taiwanese threat Yao Yi Ma which moved him up to #8 in the organisation’s rankings.

The 31 year old former Australian champion believes he is above Continental level and is ready for a World title shot.

The only problem is, Alvarez is the current champion with the WBO and is eyeing big-money fights with the likes of Miguel Cotto, while also being constantly linked with Kazakh middleweight king Gennady Golovkin.

Considering he isn’t yet the mandatory, Hogan acknowledges that he can’t force a fight with the Mexican. However, he claims he is ready if the call comes. and will continue to work toward his shot if it doesn’t.

“I am 100% above Continental level,” he told Irish-Boxing.com following his victory over Yao Yi Ma.

“The plan was to win the Oriental title, defend it, and get ranked higher with the WBO. That puts me in a very strong position next year.”

The lilywhite feels has improved since his competitive loss to Culcay in Germany last year, where he feels being overcooked was a factor. ‘Hurricane’ Hogan believes that he is World title ready, and explained that “to be honest, I am not the same fighter I was 12 months ago and people are starting to see that now.”

“I want my shot at the WBO title. If I got the call to say they want you for the World title I would snap their hand off, I am that confident in my ability at the moment that there isn’t a light middle in the World that I wouldn’t take on.”

Yao Yi Ma was meant to represent a threat to Hogan’s champion status, but the Irishman dominated before the fight was stopped after an accidental head clash and cut in the eighth round.

Reflecting on the fight, Hogan described how “he was meant to be a dangerous fighter, nobody would fight him. He previously won the title , so he wanted it back. I won every single round and, to be hones, he was ready to go in the next round. I hit him to the body and he went back on the ropes, that is where the head clash happened.”

The well-traveled Kilcullen man has really made a home for himself in Brisbane and is somewhat of a big name draw Down Under and he is rejoicing in the support.

“I love it, I live here so its always good to fight in front of my home crowd in terms of where I live. It’s not just the Irish in Australia that are part of the support base, we get English, Scottish, Aussies, Kiwis, just to name a few, and they create a great atmosphere that I feed off.”

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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