TYRONE McKenna will take on Nicholas Esposito for the vacant IBO welterweight title at the RDS Arena in Dublin on September 16.
‘The Mighty Celt’ has had to bide his time since his last outing a year ago against Chris Jenkins but gets his chance to top the bill in the capital against the undefeated Italian who has been inactive since last July and will fight for the first time outside of his homeland next month.
Victory for McKenna would see him take a big step forward and possibly open the door for an all-Belfast showdown later in the year with Lewis Crocker keen to meet the winner, but that is for another day as the Lenadoon man has a job on his hands first.
“It would be a massive fight for the city,” said manager, Jamie Conlan. “Tyrone has a massive task on his hands with Esposito, an undefeated and very confident Italian. It sets it up nicely.
“Crocker is back with three wins and has that activity. That’s one we could potentially do, and we are looking at.”
Conlan was speaking following Friday’s Féile card at the Falls Park that proved a massive hit with plenty to take from it. The main event, plus the chief support bout between Sean McComb and Alejandro Moya were thrilling encounters, while there was a highlight-reel KO from Kieran Molloy, Crocker’s return and well-matched building fights elsewhere to keep the crowd entertained.
Conlan Boxing is still in its infancy, but with the RDS show to come next month after cards in Belfast and Galway this year, things are beginning to take off.
“We are in talks about doing a co-promotion in Boston in November,” Conlan revealed. “It’s still early stages and it’s still predominantly a one-man band as Mick is still fighting and that’s the way you want it as he is still the priority for big things.
“When the time comes, we will really be able to get out teeth into it, but I’m excited about the future and what we have, excited about the stable we are building.
“We’re carefully selecting fighters to work with and have now signed some UK fighters like Alex Dilmaghani and Georgia (O’Connor). There are a loot of things to work on, but it’s baby steps right now.”
