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Opponents and Additions – Ulster Hall Pro Fight News


The Ulster Hall looks like it will be the home of boxing in 2019.

The famous Belfast venue played host to the Ulster Elite Senior Championship finals on Saturday night and two further pro shows are set to take place there in the coming months.

Recently there has been a lot of news about the two bills – the MHD Promotions ‘A Night To Remember’ card on Saturday February 9th and a currently untitlied MTK Global show on Friday March 29th.

Focusing on next month’s card, both sides of the bill are now complete with opponents being confirmed for Tommy McCarthy and Luke Wilton.

Lenadoon cruiser McCarthy [12(6)-0] will face Czech veteran Jiri Svacina [13(2)-33(8)] in an eight-round contest as he sharpens up for an assult on domestic honours in the very near future.

The 41-year-old Svacina has been around a long time and is a regular on British shows, usually providing a test and often nicking a round or two. Most recently, last month, ‘The Spider’ was stopped in four rounds by Jack Massey on the Warrington-Frampton undercard in Manchester.

East Belfast’s Wilton [18(7)-5(1)-1] will also face Czech opposition, taking on Patrik Bartos [14(12)-19(9)] over six rounds.

Irish fans may remember Bartos as having been stopped early by Jamie Conlan back in 2016 in Cardiff. The Prague puncher, his nation’s champion at super bantamweight, could provide rounds due to the size advantage he will hold over Wilton.

These two matches are joined by five more on the first Irish pro show of the year.

Belfast super fly Cathy McAleer takes on Pole Sonia Klos, Lagmore lightweight Paul Hyland Jr faces Czech light welter champ Miroslav Serban, there is an all-Belfast battle between Mathew Fitzsimons and Alec Bazza, Coalisland’s Feargal McCrory and Dubliner Karl Kelly do battle for the Irish lightweight title, and Poleglass former world title challenger James Tennyson headlines against unbeaten Portsmouth lightweight Garry Neale.

In terms of the March 29th card, the line-up is starting to take shape.

The rematch between Ballyfermot middleweight Luke Keeler and Coalisland’s Conrad Cummings was announced as headliner last week and since then numerous names have been confirmed for the show.

Ballymena light middle Steven Donnelly [4(0)-0], Turf Lodge light welter Sean McComb [5(3)-0], St James’s super middle Padraig McCrory [6(3)-0], and Tyrone super middle Taylor McGoldrick [2(0)-0] will all feature.

Donnelly is returning from a niggle which forced him out of a fight last month and will be looking to progress to meaningful fights as soon as possible.

McComb enjoyed one of the best debut years in 2018. Despite turning over as late as August, the Belfast fighter caught the eye en-route to 5-0. ‘The Public Nuisance’ most recently dominated dangerous Hungarian Zoltan Szabo.

McCrory, who won the Irish-boxing.com KO of the Year, will be looking to build momentum and move up through the rounds following a good year in which he defeated former amateur rival Sean McGlinchey

Finally there is McGoldrick who will be returning from injury and corrective surgery and will be looking to make up for lost time.

Opponents for all four will be announced in due course, with McComb said to be set for another notable fight.

Tyrone feather Callum Bradley is also expected to be soon added to the bill in a debut contest while two other top Ulster amateurs are expected to make the move to the pros soon and could also feature here.

Then, there is an apparent other major all-Irish contest targeted for the card.

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Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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