Celtic Title hope for ‘King Kane’

The last time the two Roe Valley men entered the ring it was a night of mixed emotions as Paul ‘Dudey’ McCloskey was stopped by the superior-looking De Marcus Corley, while Eamon ‘King’ O’Kane romped to victory in the Betfair Prizefighter tournament.

Now, O’Kane is hoping to claim another professional accolade as he sets his sights on the Celtic Title, while McCloskey is hoping to rebuild his reputation as someone capable of challenging the best in the business.

No opponents have yet been secured for either middle-weight O’Kane or light-welterweight McCloskey, but the pair’s manager Francie McNicholl is hoping opponents will be announced for both “in the next few days.”

Doubts had arisen over whether ‘Dudey’ was going to take part in the night planned for September 22, on a card topped by up-and-coming Belfast boxer Carl Frampton. Francie McNicholl has moved to dispel those doubts, saying: “We fully expect both Paul and Eamon to be fighting (on September 22). In Paul’s corner we are trying to keep him in the world rankings. Eddie (Hearn, boxing promoter) wanted him to think about stepping down to domestic level – British, Irish and European level – but we are looking to secure an opponent that will keep him in world contention. That was the only real issue we had with Eddie and we are hoping to announce an opponent in the next few days.

“We originally had a fight agreed for Eamon against Lee Churcher, who has had to pull out through no fault of our own. That was to be for the vacant Celtic Title. He can’t take the fight now and we are trying to arrange another fight for Eamon – still for the Celtic Title so it will have to be someone from Scotland or Wales. We are absolutely still expecting to have both men fighting on September 22 so we have got to get the right opponents.”

Asked if the lack of an opponent meant preparation work may be disrupted, Mr McNicholl again moved to allay any fears: “At the minute we are obviously just going through the training and we are not talking about sparring partners just yet so it is not an issue at the minute – but in the next week or so we are going to be looking at that and it is important we know who the right person to bring in will be.”

The card at the Odyssey on September 22 is filled with fights of real quality, as aside from Carl Frampton’s challenge for the European title, Martin Lindsay will face Lee Selby for the British and Commonwealth titles while Jamie Conlan looks set to fight for an Inter-Continental belt on the same bill.