Trainer Donal Ward, left, has been been preparing Timmy Egan for his biggest challenge so far, Saturday night’s fight on Long Island.
Undaunted by the massive challenge at hand, Team Egan is champing at the bit ahead of Timmy Egan’s crack at Kevin Torres’s 165-pound Six Borough Championship [SBC] in Patchogue, Long Island, this Saturday. The contest headlines an amateur show at the Stereo Garden, located at 9 Railroad Ave.
In Torres, the Dundalk native faces a standout member of the Hill Street Boxing Club in Southampton, Long Island, who’s a two-time SBC champion.
“It’s a big step up for Timmy, probably his toughest fight and biggest fight to date,” Egan’s trainer Donal Ward conceded to the Echo. “Up to now [Egan’s] won the novice Ring Masters. He still only had 12 fights so this is a huge step up -- and [he’s a] big underdog.”
Ward noted Torres’ vast experience. “He's been around the scene for a while. I've seen him a few times. I'm not sure how [many] fights he's had, but yeah, he's quality and he's gonna be a big test.”
Still, Egan & Co. feel up to the challenge.
“Yeah, we’re looking forward to it,” said Ward, a Roscommon transplant and proprietor of Astoria-based Bua Boxing, the only Irish-owned boxing gym in New York. “Timmy’s gone past the novice stage now where he won the Ring Masters last year at 165. He's improving all the time, but obviously there's a lot to learn. He's still only had 12 fights. He's going to be fighting [experienced guys].
“From now on you don't know what experience they have so. You could have someone with 15 fights or you could have someone with 50 fights. So that's the challenge ahead, but we've prepared as best we can and obviously it's not easy when he's working full time and he's bartending late nights, but we're going to give ourselves the best chance and look forward to a big show and some great fights on that night. We’re lucky to be a part of it.
“It's a good test ahead of the Ring Masters, which again will be quality opposition. To improve we need to be fighting these guys, so we’re looking forward to it,” Ward summed up.
Doors for the Patchogue show at Stereo Garden open at 4:30 p.m. with the first fight scheduled to start at 6 p.m. Tickets are available at www.strongislandfights.com.
WALSH DATE
“King” Callum Walsh, the undefeated world junior middleweight prospect fighting out of Los Angeles, headlines Zuffa Boxing’s debut show at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas on Jan. 23. The Corkman [15-0, 11 KOs] faces the seasoned Carlos Ocampo [38-3, 26 KOs]. The show will stream live on Paramount+.
The event was announced by Dana White, the Zuffa executive and UFC CEO, who’s guided the 24-year-old Walsh’s career States-side.
Trained by Freddie Roach, Walsh is coming off a 10-round unanimous points decision over Fernando Vargas Jr. in the co-feature to Terence Crawford- Canelo Alvarez epic clash in Vegas last September.
Ocampo, who’s 30, is on a three-fight winning streak. He has losses to Australian Tim Tszyu, current junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora and former welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.
"When I talk about matchmaking, I'm going to have all these up-and-coming guys," White said on ESPN . "We have this kid named Ocampo, who is a seasoned veteran. His only losses are in title fights -- three title fight losses. He has more knockouts than Callum has fights. Callum, undefeated, 15-0, and it's the main event. Should be a badass boxing event."
He told the cable network that Zuffa Boxing would be a game changer for the sport, that it would offer quality matchmaking and debut a promotion with its own world titles and ranking system.
"I've been talking smack about boxing for a long time, and now it's time for me to put my money where my mouth is," White said. "I'm going to get rid of the sanctioning organizations. The best will fight the best. We're going to sign all the young, up-and-coming guys.
"If you break into the top 10 and you're still undefeated, your undefeated record means something. You know what I mean? Everybody's undefeated in boxing because nobody fights anybody, right? Everybody will fight everybody."
