Hyland ready to fill New York John Duddy void
PATRICK Hyland wants to do a John Duddy and become the apple of the Irish in the Big Apple’s eye.
‘The Punisher’ make his much anticipated return to the ring as well as his NYC debut when he headlines tonight’s “Broadway Boxing” card at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in midtown Manhattan.
Hyland, who takes on Noel Echevarria, has not seen action since his hard-fought 12-round decision loss to Javier Fortuna back in December 2012 for the interim WBA featherweight championship.
The Tallaght man is eager to comeback with bang and  is very confident that the Irish boxing community will take a quick likening to him and his style just like the did with a certain John Francis Duddy.
Hyland is eager to impress on a different type of Broadway show than now actor Duddy has more recently been seen in.
Speaking about building a New York fan base the Jobstown man said,
“Well that’s the plan. There are a lot of Irish folks based in NYC and they’ve been looking for another crazy Irishman to light up the fights seen over here just like John Duddy did, so I’m hoping that my style of fighting can excite them and I can build my fan-base here.”
While Hyland wants to emulate the Derry middleweights fan power he is keen to eclipse the exciting fighter in terms of titles.
‘Pajo’, who is trained by father Paddy and brother Eddie, has his sights set on World honours, something that eluded Duddy, and believes his link up with Debilla Entertainment can only help him achieve his goals.
“I’m very excited to be a part of team DBE now. I know Lou is one of the top promoters out there and will get me the fights that I want and get me back fighting for titles soon enough. He’s a very honest guy and fun to be around, which is good for an Irish lad who loves a good laugh! I can’t wait to work with him and become another one of his world champions,” he added.
“I am very excited to be fighting here in NYC. I flew in on Thursday and I’ve just been walking around the city and, man, I really do love this city. Now getting to actually fight here, it truly is a dream come true. The big dream for me is to ultimately fight for a title at MSG, so I’m hoping Lou will tie that down in the future, but no pressure boss!”
“I felt I proved against Fortuna that I belonged at a world level and I left the ring that night knowing what I had to do to close the gap from being a world title challenger to a world champion. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to capitalize on my performance that night and prove that I had learned from that experience. Now with Lou, I know I will finally get that chance.”
