Jay Byrne ready to prove the doubters wrong against Abad
Jay Byrne [3(1)-0] makes the step up to six rounds on Saturday night and the ambitious Dubliner wants to prove his doubters wrong again.
Byrne turner pro last Summer and took a risky first fight against Gabor Ambrus. The Loughlinstown man was advised against the bout by some naysayers, but scored an impressive second round stoppage.
Now the relatively inexperience welter makes an early enough step up to six rounds to face what will be the strongest opponent of his career thus far. Byrne will box Spaniard Sergio Abad [2(1)-7(1)] on the Red Corner Promotions ‘Unfinished Business’ card this Saturday (February 18th) at the National Stadium in Dublin.
The tough Mijas fighter impressed on the last Red Corner show, giving Crank Whitehouse all he could handle in the Fight of the Night.
‘The Negotiator’ isn’t worried about the perceived big test, and told Irish-Boxing.com that “yet again I seem to be the underdog, with everyone saying it’s a silly fight against a dangerous opponent.”
“I’ve said since day one, ‘I don’t want to be in easy fights and will fight whoever is put in front of me,’ and that’s exactly how I feel about this one.”
Byrne scored a gutsy win at the start of the month, overcoming a shoulder injury to one-handedly defeat Sandor Jozsa in Belfast. While it was a painful night, the 30 year old reassures that “the shoulder mended fairly quick and I have done six rounds with both Pajo Hyland and Phil Sutcliffe Jr since the fight three weeks ago and came through both spars with the shoulder being no issue at all.”
It will be a fight of firsts for Byrne who boxes at his optimum fighting weight of welterweight for the first time, and he described how “the weight hasn’t been an issue, I’ve been eating full meals and even had a Nandos on Sunday with the kids! I am sitting 1kg over with 3 days to go.”
“Believe it or not, I’m looking forward to the six rounds as I feel the longer rounds will suit me a lot better as I only get going after a round or two.”
The Dublin boxer is hoping to show off his skills on Saturday night, and outlined how “I’ve looked at him [Abad] and he has flaws. He also has some dangerous wild shots, but I’ll do my thing and let him worry about me.”
“I expect to box and make him work to catch me, I wont be drawn into a war. My last performance wasn’t the greatest but, to be fair, I had one arm and I still was able to show some glimpses that I ready to can box well.”
Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)
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Also featuring on the Luke Keeler v Lewis Taylor-topped card will be Eric Donovan, Chris Blaney, Lynn Harvey, Stevie Collins, Allan Phelan, Connor Coyle, Noely Murphy, Craig O’Brien, and debutant Thomas Finnegan.
Byrne is offering a €40 ticket deal which includes finger food beforehand, a t-shirt, transport to the Stadium from Bradys, Shankill, and entry to an afterparty. Contact Jay at 0833040419.
