IBO Champ speaks ahead of ‘Dudey’ title fight

Chris Van Heerden, the IBO welterweight champion, is to fly to Ireland next month to promote his bout with ‘Dudey’, scheduled for September in the Odyssey Arena, Belfast.

The IBO champ, speaking to the Sentinel from his native South Africa, said that the thing he is looking forward to the most will be the “passion” of the Irish fans in Belfast.

He said: “I’m so excited to be able to fight in your country. A lot of people have told me I will not believe how passionate the people in Ireland are, so I am looking forward to it.”

Asked for his thoughts on upcoming opponent McCloskey, Van Heerden paid tribute to his fighting spirit. He said: “Paul is a fighter. He fights, but I am a fighter too. He is a south paw and I am a south paw. A lot of people tell me how good he is. I have watched a lot of his fights and he is definitely a good fighter and he is going to be a good challenge for me. To go to Europe, to the UK and Ireland is going to be a great challenge and an experience for me.

“Paul is going to be a challenge. I have watched the tapes. He has fought Kahn and he is a tough fighter. I respect him, I have a lot of respect for him as a fighter, but I am the champion and he is going to respect me after the fight.”

McCloskey is going into the bout on the back of a relatively quiet spell, his last bout a one-sided victory over tough Latino opponent Manuel Perez in September last year. The performance against Perez showed a marked improvement, although the Dungiven man himself admitted afterwards he wasn’t happy with his display. Since then, Dudey has not fought as he and his team worked towards securing a title shot. The South African, meanwhile, is heading into the fight with McCloskey on the back of a similarly comprehensive victory over English favourite Matthew Hatton.

He is thrilled at the prospect of fighting in front of such a large and raucous crowd in Belfast.

The IBO welterweight champion of the world said: “I spoke to one of the guys close to Eddie Hearn and he told me that there will not be a seat left. We will be fighting in the Odyssey. This will be the biggest crowd I’ve fought in front of. It looks like I will be coming to Ireland for the press conference next month. That in itself is exciting.I’ve been to Denmark and Serbia but I am excited about coming to Ireland. I am really looking forward to it.”

He added: “People can follow me on Twitter @TheHeat001 to keep up to date with me and McCloskey before September.”