‘I’m Done with Freeman’ – Glen Byrne Is All About 3Arena Fight
Glen Byrne says he has officially washed his hands of James Freeman.
The Dubliner claims the much-talked-about clash, is dead in the water – and is adamant he won’t be revisiting it.
Byrne and Freeman have been linked since the latter mentioned the former post an Ulster Hall fight in January. It’s a meeting that piqued fan interest and by all accounts was close to fruition on more than one occasion.
However, the JB Promotions man, who fights in the 3Arena on Friday, feels the Ryan Burnett-trained boxer isn’t interested, and as such won’t be chasing the clash anymore.
“I’m done with Freeman,” Byrne told Irish-Boxing.com.
“He just wasted a lot of time, and it’s not happening. Lopez is the fight that matters – a good, entertaining first meeting and a real shot at the Celtic title. Winning this pushes us forward.”
Talk of a Freeman showdown sparked earlier this year, and negotiations even got underway, but Byrne accuses the IGB man’s of shifting mindset, something he says killed the fight.
“He was the one who called for the fight while I was just plodding along, minding my own business. When it came up, I accepted it, we’ve even tried to make the fight a couple of times, but it didn’t happen.
“He finally agreed for Galway, happy days, but Galway fell through. I got the slot on Mark Dunlop’s show, but it wasn’t happening there either for some reason. Then, when we suggested the 3Arena and this weekend’s card, he came back saying he doesn’t want to fight in Dublin, that he wants neutral ground or something,” he adds before revealing he struggles to understand that stance.
“Don’t ask me why – it was a massive show, Michael Conlan bringing 90% of the crowd, a big percentage from Belfast. So I don’t get the whole ‘neutral venue’ thing. If he can offer me a fight in Belfast on a promotion up there, I’d jump at it. It doesn’t make a difference to me where it is or who’s running the show. But I think at this stage it’s something we probably won’t visit again. He just wasted too much time.”
Instead, Byrne has parked the rivalry and turned all attention to his September 5th fight, where he faces a late replacement after Charlie Lopez pulled out of their rematch set for the Michael Conlan 3Arena undercard.
The JB Promotions man, a younger brother of former BUI and BBBofC Celtic Champion Jay Byrne, will fight Jacob Quinn instead.
