Jamie Conlan Boxing Bonanza
Queensbury Promotions
10th March 2017
Waterfront Hall
Belfast, Northern Ireland
TV
UK – Boxnation
US – Not Shown
Jaimie Conlan ‘The Mexican’ 18 (11 KO’s)-0-0 V Yader Cardoza 22 (6KO’s)-10-1
Vacant WBC International Silver Super Flyweight Title
Jaimie Conlan is flying high at the minute and on his way to bigger and better fights this year but it appears that this fight is tailor made for him and it also looks like on paper it is a bit of a mismatch, could his team be looking to make sure there aren’t any bumps in the road to stop any potential world title fights, who knows. I am sure there could have been better opponents out there with a better record to fight for this Vacant WBC International Silver Super Flyweight Title, but it is what it is and he can only beat who is placed in front of him.
The Mexican will be looking to make swift work of Cardoza and hopefully he puts up a more attacking performance than the last fighter to face Conlan. Once this fight has ended Jamie will be looking towards New York and March 17th as that is the date his brother Michael Conlan makes his pro debut.
Yarder Cardoza is a fighter from Nicaragua who normally fights at a regional level in his home country but he has ventured out to Mexico on two occasions but never as far as somewhere like Belfast. Cardoza will have to travel 5,065 miles one way to make this fight happen.
This will be the third time he has fought for a title, Cardoza fought and won the WBC Latino Light Flyweight title in 2012, he had one defence before fighting for the WBC World Light Flyweight against Adrian Hernandez in Mexico, and unfortunately he did lose the title fight on a unanimous decision. He is a come forward fighter with a very similar style to Jamie Conlan so this should make for an interesting fight.
If we can get another fight like the one against Baby Face Nelson, we will all be happy.
Tyrone McKenna ‘The Mighty Celt’ 12(4 KO’s)-0-1 V Jake Hanney ‘The Wizard’ 5 (4 KO’s)-0-0
BUI Celtic Light Welterweight Championship Title
This will be Tyrone’s first defence of his Celtic Light Welterweight title, and he had a very convincing performance against Sean Creagh to win the vacant belt. Tyrone is an up and coming southpaw fighter from Belfast who has his eyes set on much bigger fights and does not appear to lack the skill or confidence to back up his vison for the future.
I got speaking to Tyrone over the phone when he was out in America training, we spoke about his first defence of his Celtic title and this is what he had to say.
Q1. Jake Hanney has had four of his five fights in Australia so have you been able to see any footage of him or do you know anything about his fighting style?
A. No I don’t know anything of his style from the 5 pro fights he has had there’s zero footage but my coach Danny Vaughan coached Jake for a few months so he knows what he is like so that gives me some insight into how to deal with him He is no longer an MTK fighter as he had signed with us for a year but another contract wasn’t negotiated.
Q2. How do you feel about the fight given the fact it did appear quite rushed?
A. It hasn’t really been rushed, well I don’t believe for me anyway as I have always stuck to my training since boxing day and been focusing on fighting on this show no matter who the opponent is. I feel I’m in great fighting shape and I am confident in my skills
Q3. How do you feel your time in America has went and how has it helped with your preparation for this fight?
A. America has been brilliant I have been in Manny Robles The Rock gym sparring some of the top level fighter in America, guys who are all heavier than me so I am ready for whatever Jake brings to the table
Q4. Jake seems to have a lot of confidence in his own ability and he has been talking up his chances of winning this fight, do you think this could be a tougher fight for you then people might think?
A. Fighters can talk all they like but it’s whether they actually believe their own talk or not… I drip in confidence I sweat confidence I bleed confidence and I piss confidence, I’m confident in my skills and on the night and I’m confident I will still be the Celtic champion and holding the belt.
Tyrone was also the focal point for one of Fight View 360 exclusive articles called One To Watch please click the below link to see that video interview.
https://www.fightview360.com/onetowatch1tm/
Jake Hanney recently came back from Australia where he had four pro fights which he won in convincing enough fashion, three knock outs and one fighter retired, then he fought in Dublin and took a points victory back in June 2016.
A lot of people may not know who he is or what he is like, but I can tell you he is a 27 year fighter originally from Dublin and he appears to have a lot of confidence in his own ability and believes he is on this level and that this fight is not too soon for him, if anyone thinks he is making the same mistake as McKenna’s previous opponent Sean Creagh they will be in for a shock as he is coming to Belfast to upset the home crowd, we will see on the night if being inactive for roughly nine months will have an adverse effect on him.
Declan Geraghty ‘Pretty Boy’ 14 (4 KO’s)-1-0 V James Tennyson ‘The Assassin’ 17 (13 KO’s)-2-0
Irish Super Featherweight Title Fight (Vacant)
I have to give a special mention to this all Ireland contest with James Tennyson from Lisburn Northern Ireland and Declan Geraghty from Dublin, Rep of Ireland, I feel this has the potential to be a great fight and possibly fight of the night, these two fighters last appeared on the same Boxnation card in November 5th at the Titanic Exhibition centre.
James Tennyson was the third fight on the card so it meant his fight wasn’t televised, which was a real shame, He was fighting a four round contest which was a travesty to begin with as everyone in the crowd wanted to see more of it, and he was up against a fighter called Rafael Castillo from Nicaragua who was drafted in at the last minute and although he is a journeyman he gave everything in the fight and it was a war like toe to toe battle. Tennyson got cut in the last round but still showed his class by winning every round on the scorecards.
Declan Geraghty last fight was directly after Tennyson’s and he only needed 33 seconds to see off his opponent, but his only loss came against fellow Dubliner Jono Carroll with a controversial disqualification after he appeared to elbow his opponent which the ref took a point for, then a few seconds later he appeared to lead with his head so the contest was stopped, which was a shame as ‘Pretty Boy’ was ahead on the judges scorecards.
Geraghty and Tennyson are not scared to take this fight into the trenches and it has real potential to do just that and with the added incentive of it being a title fight I am sure both of them will give their all to win the belt.
There’s been a big build up in the local media and among the fans. A lot of people are expecting it’ll be fight of the night. It certainly has the potential,’ says mallet-fisted Tennyson, whose 13 stoppage wins on a 17-2 slate have earned him the nickname ‘Assassin’.
‘It’ll be brilliant to fight at the Waterfront in my home city. I’ve been there before as a spectator and the seats sort of rise up in height over the ring so no one has a bad view. Deco will bring a good crowd himself up from Dublin so I expect it’ll be about 50-50, a cracking atmosphere.’
Formerly a three time All-Ireland junior champion during a 100 plus bout amateur career, Tennyson stormed to Irish and Celtic 130lb titles within 30 months of his September 2012 debut. Thus far, as a result of his nucleur hitting, the ‘Assassin’s’ 19 pro fights have averaged less than three rounds apiece.
But last April, the Tony Dunlop trained, Mark Dunlop managed prospect copped a painful reality check from the seasoned and high skilled Cromer southpaw Ryan Walsh, after boiling beneath nine stone to challenge for British featherweight title.
‘I want to take nothing away from Ryan. He was a real smart and compact operator who didn’t waste anything,’ says Tennyson, still only 23, who was dropped three times by body shots and stopped in round five.
‘But from my end I needed to take off quite a bit of weight and it left me drained of energy. My body was simply too weak at 9st to take his body shots.
‘Initially I was pretty down but I have a good family and a lot of good friends who picked me up and re-assured me that, at just 23, I had plenty of time to still reach my goals. I just had to dig deep, put 100% into every session and go again.
‘I weighed 9st 7lbs for my return in November (a shut-out four round points win over Nicaragua’s Rafael Castillo) and I felt a lot more comfortable, full of energy and far stronger.’
This weekend, Tennyson sensibly drops down a level and up a division to resume his reign as national 9st 4lb champion which began aged 19, in just his sixth paid outing, when he clattered London-Irishman Mickey Coveney inside five minutes at Belfast’s St Kevin’s Hall.
Opposing him, Dublin southpaw ‘Pretty Boy’ Geraghty can boast a pro apprenticeship under Freddie Roach in the US and shall waltz to ringside with a resume showing just one loss (by DQ) in 15 paid starts.
Thus far, neither principal has ventured past round eight but, though Geraghty is senior by three years, he is still to debut at championship level, whereas the Ulsterman has prepared for two 10 rounders and one 12 round title match.
Tennyson says: ‘I’ve done plenty of long spars at the Kronk Belfast gym – and quality sparring with awkward southpaws who replicate Geraghty’s style – and I’m ready for 10 tough rounds. But I’m sure Geraghty will arrive in top shape too. I doubt it’ll be decisive either way.
‘There’s plenty of respect from our end. Dec’s good overall; slick, fast, quick on the move. But we’ve prepared for that. And we’ve seen some weaknesses that we hope to exploit on the night. We’ve a solid game plan that we’ve been working on through sparring and we expect it to work the trick on Friday.
‘And now that Liam Walsh has got his world title fight confirmed, we can expect the British and Commonwealth belts to become vacant. An impressive win could put me right in the mix to compete for those.’
Back in his natural habitat, the ‘Assassin’ claims he’s primed to deliver another execution.
‘Early on we expect Dec will get on his toes and try to hit and move but 10 rounds is a long time,’ warns James.
‘Eventually we’ll have to trade. Though I’ll be looking to box smart, I’m the heavier puncher and believe that’ll be the decisive factor. I’ll not leave that ring without the title.’
Other fighters appearing on the card are as follows:
Marco McCullough 16 (10 KO’s)-3-0 V Leonel Hernandez 10 (1 KO)-19-2
Featherweight Fight
Steven Ward 2-0-0 V TBA
Light Heavyweight Fight
Phillip Sutcliffe Jnr 12 (7 KO’s)-1-0 V Nelson Altamirano 10 (6 KO’s)-13-2
Lightweight Fight
Paddy Barnes 1-0-0 V Adrian Dimas Garzon ‘El Renegado’ 10 (1 KO)-21-0
Bantamweight Fight
Con Sheenan 4 (1 KO)-0-0 V Ferenc Zsalek 19 (5 KO’s)-55-6
Heavyweight Fight
Lewis Crocker 0-0-0 V Ferenc Jarko 1-0-0
Welterweight Fight
Kevin Satchell ‘Satch’ 16 (3 KO’s)-0-0 V TBA
Bantamweight Fight
Troy Williamson 2 (1 KO)-0-0 V Casey Blair ‘The Kid’ 4-22-0
Middleweight Fight
Sean Turner ‘Big Sexy’ 9 (6 KO’s)-0-0 V Kamil Sokolowski 2-9-2
Heavyweight Fight
Tickets priced £30, £40, £50, £60, £80, £100 & £150 VIP are available from waterfront.co.uk
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions, will televise this fight on Sky (SD Ch.437 and HD Ch.490), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon).
Go to www.boxnation.com to see how you can watch this fight and more live!