O’Kane eager to impress alongside former team mates Frampton and Conlan

[boxrec]

http://static.boxrec.com/wiki/5/52/Eamonokane.jpgEamonn O’Kane is impressed by the progress currently being made by former amateur teammate Carl Frampton and the middleweight reckons that he and super-flyweight Jamie Conlan can both benefit from the exposure on offer from Barry McGuigan’s Cyclone Promotions on October 19.

“Carl’s a great fighter who’s been selling shows brilliantly and the Odyssey is a great arena for boxing,” said O’Kane. “I was on the 2004 Four Nations team with Jamie Conlan in Glasgow and I’ve been on a few Irish teams with Carl over the years and then we were on the Matchroom undercards together. We’ve been friends for a long time and we would text each other. Cyclone are a good team and I’m very happy to be on the show. When Barry McGuigan got in touch with Francie [McNicholl, O’Kane’s manager] it all stemmed from there.

“They have a plan to build on each fight and we want all the lads on the bill fighting for belts. I’m not signed up to a contract with Cyclone, it’s more of a gentleman’s agreement. On Sky Sports I was known as a pressure fighter or more of a streetfighter but now Bernardo and the team are correcting the mistakes.”

One fight that Eamonn will be keeping a close eye on is Billy Joe Saunders vs. John Ryder, an all-British superfight between two unbeaten combatants, scheduled for September 21 at the Copperbox Arena. O’Kane was stopped by Ryder in eight rounds and is itching to get back in with the southpaw stylist and show just what he can do.

“I would like to correct the Ryder loss which I took at 13 days’ notice,” he said. “I hope Ryder does a job against Billy Joe Saunders because John’s a nice lad who trains hard in the gym and doesn’t talk any bullshit. Myself, I want to move on and fight for the big titles.

“I would’ve picked Ryder to beat Saunders before his win over ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan but I was impressed by Saunders’ tactics and discipline. Saying that, Spike is a tough puncher and he took it all. I wish Ryder all the best and hopefully he wins and then we can fight again.”

 

 

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