New Year Cheer For Stephen Ormond

By Jonny Stapleton

Stephen Ormond has been guaranteed a shot at the WBO lightweight Intercontinental title in the New Year.

The Grinch threatened to ruin the Clondalkin talents Christmas as his scheduled December 16 bout for the aforementioned title with known name Carl Johanneson became the latest Irish boxing card casualty.

However, its not all doom and gloom as Francis Warren has promised some New Year cheer by ensuring  the 28 year old former amateur stand out a rescheduled title tilt in January of February.

Unfortunately for Irish fight fans and the other Irish fighters scheduled for the show Karl Brabazon, Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan and Tommy Tolan the fight card will not be moved to Dublin as first suggested. Instead Ormond’s title challenge, which may or may not e against Leed’s Johanneson, will be put on another Box Nation bumper fight menu.

“Francis Warrren has guaranteed Stephen will fight for the WBO intercontinental title in the New Year,” manager and trainer Pascal Collins revealed.

“He tried to get it moved to a Steve Wood card initially on the same night, but the logistics surrounding Box Nation didn’t make that possible. He will be on another Queensberry or Frank Warren show in January or February so he is still training. We are not sure if it will be still Johanneson but he will still challenge for the title,” Collins added before playing down the drama surrounding the cancellation.

“The show went down for legitimate business reasons. This is the type of thing that happens in boxing. It will happen again, but it is not all doom and gloom. Look at my brother Steven (Collins) he had fights cancelled in Hong Kong and American and then got a fight with Chris Eubank. The  main thing is Stephen still has a title fight.”