‘I’ve Been Bored Talking About It’ – Pierce O’Leary Turns Talk into Action
Pierce O’Leary is ready to get down to the business of fighting in Dublin.
For years, Big Bang’ has been telling anyone that would listen of his desire to fight a stone’s throw from his Sheriff Street home at the 3 Arena.
Indeed, he’s been vocal about how it would be such a success that once he did manage to trade leather down by the Dublin docks, it would usher in a new era for capital boxing.
On Saturday, he gets the chance to back up those words when he fights Maxi Hughes, a fighter with plenty of Irish upset previous in a Queensberry promoted homecoming.
“I’ve been bored talking about it so much now,” O’Leary said ahead of his clash with Maxi Hughes this weekend.
“For years people have been asking me, ‘When’s the homecoming? When’s the Dublin fight?’ and it’s been frustrating because I had no full answer for them.”
It’s a huge moment for the 24-year-old Dublin Docklands graduate, but he remains determined not to allow the emotion of the occasion to distract him from the task at hand.
“There’s always pressure,” he admitted. “But I just take the emotion out of it. I don’t feel emotional about it now. It’s just another job.”
That doesn’t mean the significance of the moment is lost on him.
“You could be in a hold looking over at your corner waiting for instructions and see your next-door neighbour sitting beside your coach ringside,” he laughed.
“Things like that are a bit different.”
Still, he believes the atmosphere will ultimately bring the best out of him rather than overwhelm him.
“I know for a fact when I’m in that dressing room and I realise I’m on home soil in my back garden, where I always dreamed of being — I’ll put in a performance that will have people will be saying, ‘Who’s this kid?’
“I’ve never been happier. Everything suits me to a tee.”
