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Photo by: Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro


Following the recent announcement that Willie Limond is to headline his upcoming æFists of FuryÆ event, at KingÆs Hall in Belfast on Saturday 2nd April 2011, former WBU Lightweight World Champion, turned promoter, Graham Earl today took the time to give a rundown on the fighters and fights that will be showcased at his Irish debut event.

ôIÆve got Mark Morris, heÆs a lightweight thatÆll be making his debut. Big things planned for him. You can see heÆs a bit of a heavy hitter and IÆm sure heÆll make the change from the amateurs to the pros easily. HeÆs already shown progress already, IÆm happy with what IÆve seen and look forward to an explosive fight, maybe an early night.

Next up weÆve got Mark Ginley, again a Lightweight making his debut on April 2nd. He and Mark Morris both trained together as amateurs at the same club. Mark GinleyÆs a nice little mover, nice little boxer, again a good talent, all these guys have a lot of talent. Me going over there and making it happen for them is good for them.

Usually the talent over there will just be left and then they go in to work, drinking I suppose, and this way they can showcase their talent and especially on the big scene. You know KingÆs Hall is like our York Hall here, so theyÆll get to fight in front of a big crowd there. ItÆll be good to see young Mark get his first win in the paid ranks.

WeÆre bringing Terry Holmes with us, as people see at York Hall in January TerryÆs explosive, heÆs exciting. Everyone gets their moneys worth watching Terry box.

WeÆre working on him to improve him as a fighter. Hopefully on April 2nd weÆll see an improvement. Me and Terry work closely together and IÆve seen some changes and IÆm expecting some different things from Terry on the night. HeÆll be an even more explosive fighter.

WeÆve got our Middleweight Joe Hillerby. JoeÆs had two fights over here already, two wins. Last time was against Ryan Clark. Everyone knows who Ryan Clark is, heÆs a dangerous opponent. For Joe to beat him on only his second fight says a lot. He did a very good job with him and I was very pleased with it so IÆm putting Joe on this one and start building him for the future. Each fight he has we see an improvement and itÆs just a matter of time before weÆll have him fighting for titles.

Next weÆve got Padraig McCrory, Padraig is making his debut, heÆs a Light Middle. HeÆs a hard worker, he trains hard, he listens, takes on board well and all these lads train together, bar Joe, so all these lads are in the same gym together and thereÆs a good buzz and they bring each other on. IÆm looking forward to seeing Padraig make a good transition to the paid ranks, get a good win and improve fight by fight. IÆve seen him sparring and what IÆve seen in sparring I think heÆs a classy kid so really looking forward to his first fight.

WeÆve got Ian Boyd, heÆs from the same gym as Joe, Ian Boyd last time out, he come over here to fight. He actually lost it, I actually feel he nicked it but he needed some work so heÆs been working on that and you can see the improvement. IÆm looking forward to him getting back out and turning things around and getting his first win. ItÆll be good to see Ian Boyd turn it round, I think heÆs got a good future.

next one weÆve got Sean Montgomery, heÆs going to be doing Light Welterweight. Again when I first saw Sean I felt he was quite limited, past him a few tips and next time I went back and see him he must have taken onboard and I see a big improvement. HeÆs now a good attacking fighter, constant pressure. again a good work horse so IÆm really looking forward to seeing him go out there showcasing his skills and building for the future.

Also on the bill is Tommy Tolan against Phil Townley. These two are local lads, I wouldnÆt say so much as local rivalry but a fightÆs been building between them two for quite a while, so itÆs going to be an explosive fight. TheyÆre both pushing their tickets and both need support as I think they are out there to prove themselves and show the people whoÆs the best fighter at that weight division locally. ItÆll be a cracking fight and IÆm really looking forward to that one.

Next weÆve got Michael McLaughlin, he had his first pro fight against a Bulgarian and it ended up a draw. But as we know when you get fighters from abroad quite often theyÆve had a lot of experience. I think Michael did very well to get a draw that night, he may have possibly got a win. IÆm looking forward to watching Michael as heÆs improved a lot and will be going all out for his first win for sure.

Damian Taggert will be against Paddy McGarrity, another local lad, again this fight this fight has been building for a bit and is looking to be an explosive fight and IÆm really looking forward to that.

For the final weÆve got Willie Limond, IÆm not sure who heÆll be fighting just yet. Having Willie topping the bill in Belfast is something else. Wilie can top the bill anywhere, heÆs got great support. HeÆs a good technical fighter. HeÆs coming of a loss to Eric Morales. They were fighting at seven and half thousand feet so I think he had that against him. Up until then he was doing really well. He must have been doing good as heÆs back in Mexico sparring Morales for two weeks.

IÆm really looking forward to Willie being on the show. ItÆs going to be an entertaining night and everyoneÆs going to get value for their money.ö

Tickets for the Graham Earl Promoted æFISTS OF FURYÆ event at the Nugent Hall, KingÆs Hall, Belfast on Saturday 2nd April 2011 are now on sale and priced ú35 (Unreserved), ú40 (Outer Ringside) or ú50 (Ringside).

For tickets book on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or contact local fighters. For further information call TKO Box Office on 07960 850645