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Irish Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
‘Complete shock' as boxing event in Galway cancelled three weeks before fight night
A boxing event that was scheduled to take place in Galway's Pearse Stadium on June 28th has been called off by promoters GBM Sports. The card was set to be headlined by Galway native Kieran Molloy's bid for a European title, but it was announced earlier this week that the event would be moved, with details of the fights left unclear. The event has now been moved to Hull, England, and Irish fighters Molloy and Joe Ward have been dropped off the schedule. In a statement released on his Instagram, Molloy said the decision came as a 'complete shock' to him. READ MORE Molloy also stated that he had ended his contract with GBM Sports after the cancellation of the homecoming fight, which he had described as 'dream come true'. 'Following this decision, I have now parted ways with GBM Sports and will be putting my full focus into rebuilding for the future.' A media event had been held for the fights last week, where fighters finally received their tickets from the promoters. Pearse Stadium holds well in excess of 20,000 people, whereas the new venue, the Connexin Live in Hull, only holds about 4,000. Molloy stated that he had already sold a large portion of the 2,500 tickets the promoters had allocated to him to sell for the Galway fight night. Westmeath's Joe Ward was slated to fight former British, Commonwealth and European super middleweight champion Lerrone Richards on the undercard. After an excellent amateur career that included three world championship medals, the cancellation of this card is the latest setback in the professional game for Ward. After turning over in 2019, Ward fell victim to a freak injury in his debut fight, which remains the only loss on his record. Belfast's Sean McComb remains on the card, but still has no opponent confirmed as he climbs into the ring for the first time in over a year. McComb's last outing was a controversial loss over 10 rounds to then unbeaten Arnold Barboza Jr, where most observers felt 'Sugar' had got the better of the American. The event is now headlined by British fighters Bradley Rea and Shakan Pitters in a European title fight.
The Irish Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Unbeaten Irish boxer ‘devastated' after short notice cancellation of European title fight at Galway GAA home
GALWAY boxer Kieran Molloy has been left "devastated" after his hometown card was cancelled at short notice. Molloy had been Advertisement On June 9, however, it was announced by his promotion GBM Sports that the event had been moved from Galway to Hull, England. GBM Sports cited "circumstances beyond our control" behind that decision. Molloy felt blindsided on Wednesday evening as he issued a statement informing followers that the plug had been pulled on his fight altogether. He wrote: 'I'm devastated to share that my upcoming European title fight at Pearse Stadium has been cancelled. Advertisement Read More On Irish Sport "The decision was made by the promoter, GBM Sports, and came as a complete shock to me and my team." The 26-year-old went on to announce his split from GBM Sports as a result. The 11-0 fighter emphasized that he'd only received his allocation of tickets to shift on June 3. But he added that in spite of this limited time span with which to work, he was able to sell 2,100 of his 2,500 he received prior to the switch to Hull being revealed. Advertisement Most read in Boxing Exclusive Exclusive Molloy also vowed that ticket refunds will be 'organized and processed as soon as possible." Towards the end of his lengthy statement he shared the extent of his disappointment at how these past few roller coaster days have left him disheartened but not permanently discouraged. Shocking footage shows Claudio Squeo brutal broken jaw after Jai Opetaia loss He finished: 'This was more than just a fight for me - it was a dream come true to headline a major event in my home country, in front of the people who've backed me from the very start. 'This is a tough one to take, but we'll bounce back. Advertisement "Better nights are ahead and I promise we'll bring something special to Galway one day in the future when the time is right.' The GBM Sports card will go ahead on its original date in Hull. The bout for the vacant European light heavyweight title that was due to be contested between Molloy and Benjamin will now instead feature Shaken Pitters and Bradley Rea. On Wednesday GBM Sports issued an updated poster for the event featured those two in place of the original pairing of Molloy and Benjamin. Advertisement It will still be available to stream via DAZN. 1 Kieran Molloy has compiled an unblemished 11-0 record as a professional Credit: Sportsfile
Irish Daily Mirror
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Galway boxer 'devastated' as historic GAA Stadium bout cancelled on short notice
Galway boxer Kieran Molloy has said he is 'devastated' after his Pearse Stadium bout has been cancelled just over two weeks before it was due to take place. Molloy boasts an 11-0 professional record and was set for a headline bout against Kaisee Benjamin at Galway GAA's home stadium but the bout has been called off just 17 days before it was due to take place. The Oughterard man told the Irish Mirror just last week: "I've been dreaming of moments like this since I was a kid." But now his dreams have been shattered. Molloy shared a statement on social media, saying: "I'm devastated to share that my upcoming European Title Fight at Pearse Stadium has been cancelled. The decision was made by the promoter, GBM Sports, and came as a complete shock to me and my team. "This was more than just a fight for me — it was a dream come true to headline a major event in my home county, in front of the people who've backed me from the very start." Molloy added that he sold 2,100 of the 2,500 tickets he had received and that demand was 'growing significantly each day'. "I'm really sorry for the upset, cost and frustration this cancellation has caused." Molloy said that refunds will be issued in due course and that he has parted ways with GBM Sports following the announcement. "This is a tough one to take, but we'll bounce back. Better nights are ahead — and I promise we'll bring something special to Galway one day in the future when the time is right. "Míle, míle buíochas. Gaillimh Abú." The undercard was set to include the likes of Belfast's Sean McComb, Westmeath's Joe Ward, and Hughie Fury, the cousin of heavyweight king Tyson. GBM have now put on a different fight night in Hull on the same night.
