Injured Jay Byrne forced to pull out of Sky fight with Olympian – but remains in Hearn’s plans

Yesterday morning Jay Byrne [5(1)-2(0)] finally stepped back into the gym.

We say finally, Byrne had taken a break from training for three weeks. For most pros this would be a relatively regular break, but for Byrne it was a near lifetime.

It wasn’t a planned pause by any means, but the rest could do Byrne good.

Indeed ‘The Negotiator’ was due to fight this Friday on Sky Sports once again, and had accepted a fight with Matchroom middleweight and Rio Olympian Anthony Fowler, however a fractured hand forced him to withdraw.

Byrne spoke to Irish-Boxing.com about the scuppered fight and described how “like always, I don’t refuse offers to box these guys, yet another Olympian to test myself against and one that was outstanding as an amateur.”

“Fowler is a come forward fighter and they call him ‘The Machine.’ He’s a different type of fighter than [Josh] Kelly and [Felix] Cash.”

“Personally I think Kelly is a lot better and, after watching that back, I wasn’t made look all that bad and that was at the start of some of bother, personal stuff I had going on, so I wasn’t 100%.”

While he was forced to pull out of this Friday’s fight with Fowler in Newcastle, Byrne remains in Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn’s plans.

The Loughlinstown boxer revealed how “I spoke to Eddie at the Burnett fight and I have asked for 2 fights in which he has said yes to, and he also mentioned a couple of other names he’d like to see me box, so I reckon I could have a nice busy period with Sky.”

Following five fights in under four months, Byrne wants to continue to stay active once his injury heals, and he has big plans.

The 30 year old, who only made his debut this weekend last year, outlined how “I’ve spoken to two promoters and there are two title fights on the table for after the Summer, at two different weights, which I have accepted, and I also am hopeful of some other big fights.”

“Ideally I’ll have three to four more fights this year and have a title around my waist.”

The main thing now though is recovering from the injury, which was suffered in training, and Byrne notes how “I’m feeling great.”

“It was my first day back in the gym [yesterday] and I’ve only put on 3.5kg since Dublin [Celtic Clash 2 on May 27th] and I’m feeling ready to go again.”

“Big thanks to everyone for the messages on Facebook and Instagram wishing me well after the injury and the continued support.”

Photo Credit: Laszlo Geczo Photography