While Henry Coyle will be bidding to keep the WBF Light Middleweight
title belt in Mayo when he takes on Elio Cotena at The Royal Theatre,
Castlebar on Friday, August 12th local bragging rights will also be
fiercely contested on the undercard when Michael “The Storm” Sweeney
and John “The Warrior” Waldron clash in an all Mayo battle on the
undercard.
Local Warfare
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It’s a must win fight for both men with the duo coming into this
fight on the back of Irish title defeats. Ballyhaunis native Waldron
lost his Light Heavyweight title to Ciaran Healy last November while
Ballinrobe’s Sweeney missed out on the Cruiserweight title on a close
points defeat to Ian Tims. The two local rivals traded verbal blows at
last months press conference to announce the fight and both remain
equally confident of the outcome when the talking stops at the first
bell on Friday week.
Waldron who is now based in Castlerea in Co. Roscommon says he’s
relishing the role of underdog going into the fight and is determined
to prove the doubters wrong. “I know that some people have already
written me off and said that it’s a formality and he will knock me
out in a round or two but I love hearing that kid of stuff,” said
Waldron.
“Sweeney suggested at the press conference that I wouldn’t turn up
but you’d have to break both my legs for me not to step into that
ring on August 12th. People are saying he’s the bigger guy, he’s had
the better amateur career and is more experienced but all that just
fires me up even more and will make it all the sweeter when I win.
“This is a huge opportunity for me. It’s only a few months ago that
Sweeney was being lined up for a European Union title shot so once I
beat him maybe it will put him on the scrap heap and put me in the
frame for those kind of opportunities.I know it won’t be easy, I’m
prepared for 8 tough hard rounds and I’ll be willing to get in the
trenches and dig deep to get the win.”
Lets get it on
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The two men sparred extensively in the amateur ranks but neither man
is reading too much into the time they have already shared in the
ring. “We’ve sparred plenty of rounds and it’s always been good
sparring,” revealed Waldron. “I remember one day in particular where
we both dropped each other in a spar so if the fight is anything like
that it will be worth watching.
“The last time we were in the ring together was at an outdoor
exhibition in Claremorris around 6 years ago when we were both still
amateurs but we haven’t sparred since. I think once we went pro we
both knew that we’d clash somewhere down the line so that’s probably
the reason why we stopped sparring.”
Sweeney who is now based in Galway had his own reflections on those
sparring sessions. “When we were amateurs John was only just up the
road from me in Ballyhaunis so we sparred constantly and we’ve easily
done over a hundred rounds together down through the years. We’re vey
familiar with each other and we know what makes each other tick.
“I know John has sparred with Ian Tims for this fight but if he
thinks that will give him an edge over me then he’ll be disappointed.
I’m a completely different fighter to Tims so I’m not sure what
benefit sparring him would be to John, maybe he thinks that by
sparring the guy who beat me that he will get inside my head or
something but it won’t work. I know Tims was slagging me off and
calling me “the light breeze” but we’ll see, its all about what
happens on the night and I’m very confident about the fight.”
Sweeney has racked up some quality sparring partners of his own since
turning professional in 2007 having travelled the world to share the
ring with the likes of world heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko,
former middleweight champ Arthur Abraham and former light heavyweight
champ Chad Dawson with the most recent of those sessions being a stint
at “Bad” Chad’s training camp earlier this year.
“It’s great experience sharing the ring with top fighters like that.
I was in the U.S. sparring Chad Dawson before his last fight in May
and he’s lined up to fight Bernard Hopkins now for the WBC Light
Heavyweight title in October. I really enjoyed the stint over there
and once I got back home from that it was straight into training
again and I’ve been hard at it in the gym since then.”
Since his return from the U.S. Sweeney has been training with former
World title challenger Sean Mannion at the Rosmuc native’s gym in the
heart of the Connemara Gaeltacht and he’s been very happy with his
preparations.
“We’ve had 3 guys in from the UK for sparring and I’ve been very
happy with my form. I went away for a couple of weeks to Croatia as
well last month just after the press conference for some warm weather
training as well and the weight is spot on right now. I’m only 4
pounds over the weight with over a week to go and the way I’m
training right now I feel I could make super middleweight.
Waldron though remains unimpressed. “As far as I’m concerned he can
go where he wants to train but a boxing ring is a boxing ring no
matter what part of the world your in whether it’s Croatia, Castlerea
or Castlebar! He can spar with whoever he wants as far as well because
once that bell rings you can’t bring Wladimir Klitschko, Chad Dawson
or any of these other guys into the ring with you, it will be just
me, him and the referee.
“I’m peaking at just the right time now and as long as I fight the
way I know I can then I’m very confident about the result. I feel
like I’m hitting harder than ever and when you put the work in you
get the results out. If I’m honest I haven’t been doing that in some
of my fights to date, particularly the last one against Ciaran Healy
and when you cut corners in preparation you get found out in the
ring. It was a hard lesson to learn but I’ve learned it.”
Having previously travelled to Dublin for training Waldron says he’s
now happier basing himself closer to home. “Training couldn’t have
gone any better for this fight. I’m based at home in Castlerea now,
training out of the new boxing club there and it’s the perfect set
up. I’m trained now by Finton Gylnn, we have been friends for years
and grew up boxing together but once we go through the doors of the
gym the friendship is put aside and he pushes me very, very hard in
the gym. He’s been looking after my strength and conditioning as well
and I’ve really put the work in for this fight so there will be no
excuses from me afterwards.”
Despite all the verbal jabs between the two fighters Sweeney says
that ultimately the two will resume their friendship after the fight.
“John’s a nice lad and his family are a good boxing family like my own
so I’m sure after the fight we’ll all have a laugh about it but until
then I have to look at it as strictly business. I have big plans
after this fight and I want to move on with my career so John Waldron
is an obstacle that I need to get out of the way before I can move
on.”
The Sweeney V Waldron clash is part of an exciting undercard at the
Royal Theatre. The chief support bout features Dublin’s unbeaten
Patrick Hyland as he bids to stretch his perfect record to 24 and 0
against Italy’s former European title challenger Fabrizio Trotta.
A second title fight on the bill will also hold huge appeal for Mayo
fight fans with Westport’s unbeaten Finbarr “The Rock” Eade bidding
to lift the Irish Super Featherweight title against London based
southpaw Mickey Coveney. Another all Irish affair on the card will
see Roscommon’s Darren Cruise look to extend his unbeaten record
against Leeds based Belfast southpaw Lee Murtagh while the Hyland
family will be hoping for a double celebration when former European
title challenger, Paul Hyland joins his older brother Patrick on the
card when he takes on Welsh opposition in the shape of Dai Davies.
