Jake Hanney’s return officially confirmed
Irish title hopeful Jake Hanney [5(4)-2(1)] will end a two year sabatical when he returns to the ring in Spain next month.
‘The Wizard’ is the eighth Irish fighter confirmed on the Celtic Clash 11 card and will trade leather against a yet-to-be-confirmed opponent at Guardamar Arena, Guardamar del Segura on June 26th.
The East Wall fighter joins the likes of Robert Burke, Martin Quinn, Cathy McAleer, Danny Keating, Julio Cesar, Kevin Cronin and Owen O’Neill on the first of the Celtic Clash series to go abroad.
The clash allows the Phil Sutcliffe-trained Hanney to free himself of some rust before potentially exploring tougher options when Boxing Ireland bring the series back to Belfast in September.
Making his long awaited comeback is @jake_hanney. Hanney has teamed up with trainer Phil Sutcliffe Snr at the Crumlin Boxing Gym and looking to win an Irish title in the next 12 months. pic.twitter.com/whKsSF0bVh
— BOXING IRELAND (@LoveIrishBoxing) May 21, 2021
The popular Dublin native has promised so much over the years but has a number of false dawns. During a stint in Australia, he was being billed as a potential take-over star but a two-year break from the ring stole him of momentum. The Inner City fighter then looked set for a run of fights at home but after a victory over Innocent Anyanwu had to go into the away corner against Tyrone McKenna at relatively short notice.
Hanney put up a fight but ultimatley lost against the Belfast southpaw and was again left in limbo. He signed with Boxing Ireland in early 2019 and secured a TV title fight with Victor Rabei soon after, again he was competitive but came out second best – and fell off the radar soon after.
Two years later and he is back back with Boxing Ireland and back in the ring. Indeed he is back more focused and motivated than ever according to Leonard Gunning. The Boxing Ireland promoter says there is a real air of positivety surrounding a fighter with something to prove and is backing him to enjoy domestic success at the very least over the next year.
We are over the moon to have Jake Hanney come back an resign with us after a couple of years out of the ring,” Gunning told Irish-boxing.com when confirming the signing.
“We all know the talent that Jake Hanney has and we just want to see him put that into place. He had a great fight with Victor Rabei last time out and pretty much everybody thought that he won that.
“It wasn’t a massive robbery and it won’t define his career but we saw in that fight the potential Jake Hanney has. 100 percent fit I can see him easily going on to win an Irish title and more.
“He has taken a break from boxing, he had to do what was right for his young family. He is in a great place now and he has come back to boxing with a real positive mindset. I can see Jake getting his head down and charging for titles within a year. He has a great team around him with Boxing Ireland and Phil Sutcliffe. He is applying himself in the gym and he is comping at the bit to have another crack at the whip.”