WITH the fighters weighing in at the George Boutique Hotel this Thursday, it’s nearly time for the Yanjing Fight Night to kick off at The UL Arena where Andy Lee will take on the Senegalese French fighter Mamadou Thiam in the main event.
Andy Lee said: “This is a must win fight for me. I can’t afford any slip ups and I will have to be wary of Thiam’s power. He’s a dangerous guy and has an awful lot of experience and but these are the kind of fights I need to be winning if I’m going to go on to fight for European and World titles.
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Mamadou Thiam said: “I’m not here for a holiday, I’m here on business. It’s nothing personal between me and Andy Lee but I am very confident that I can win. I am punching harder than ever and I can knock guys out with either hand so I won’t need to rely on the judges.”
Limerick’s Jamie Power will be looking to make it a night to remember for Limerick fight fans by beating Mayo’s John Waldron in the first ever Irish title fight in the Treaty city as they clash for the national Light Heavyweight crown.
Cork based Cuban sensation Luis Garcia faces the first big test of his career when he faces former Andy Lee opponent Alexander Sipos. The German, a former European title challenger gave Andy Lee 10 very competitive rounds in March of last year eventually losing the The O2 on a points decision and he will fancy his chances of simply knowing too much for Garcia who has only had 5 professional fights and is still only 21.
European number 3 Andy Murray (Cavan) will look to stretch his perfect pro record to 19 straight wins and push his claims for a shot at namesake and newly crowned European Champ John Murray with a win over Englishman Amir Unsworth on Saturday night.
Unbeaten Cuban Heavyweight prospect Mike Perez is set create history by having two fights in one night at the University Arena. The Mike Tyson lookalike will open the show against Edgar Kalnars and should everything go smoothly in that fight he will be back in the ring for a second time in a matter of hours to take on Tomas Mrazek.
The remainder of the card will see Michael Sweeney look to get over the disappointment of his Irish title bout falling through when he takes on Belfast’s Tommy Tolan while in another all Irish clash Mullingar’s Paddy McDonagh takes on former Andy Lee opponent and Irish Champ Ciaran Healy in just his third pro fight.
The pro debut of Limerick based Galwegian Alan Donnellan rounds out the card as he takes on England’s Ryan Clark.
Doors open at the University Arena from 5pm with the first bout at 6pm. A full bar and Chinese food court will also be available at the venue.
RTÉ TWO’s live coverage of the Yanjing Fight Night starts from 9pm but RTE.ie will also stream all tomorrow nights fights live on the web starting with the first bout of the night at 6pm.
Tickets for the Yanjing Fight Night priced €30, €40, €50, €60, €75 and €100 are available from Ticketmaster (phone 0818 719 300 or visit ticketmaster.ie) or locally in Limerick from The University Sports Arena, the George Hotel and the South Court Hotel.
