{"id":64397,"date":"2016-11-02T09:01:52","date_gmt":"2016-11-02T14:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=64397"},"modified":"2016-11-02T09:02:31","modified_gmt":"2016-11-02T14:02:31","slug":"exclusive-interview-with-craig-kelley-jamie-conlan-fight-information","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=64397","title":{"rendered":"Exclusive Interview with Craig Kelley & Jamie Conlan Fight Information"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"craig-kelly\"<\/a>Exclusive Interview by Donald \u201cBraveheart\u201d Stewart<\/strong><\/p>\n

Just last week I interviewed Craig Kelly, 9-9-, 2 KO\u2019s, who talked of wanting to fight for a Celtic belt. Now, in the alphabet soup that is world boxing, I can forgive you for not knowing that a Celtic Belt is a title fought between people who are native to Wales, Ireland or Scotland \u2013 we are all Celts.<\/p>\n

Kelly is a boxer with a great heart and a former Scottish welterweight champion who is now mixing the sweet science with a daytime job in construction which sees him building the new Forth Road Bridge just on the outskirts of Edinburgh. It means he is up at 4am and fitting in training around the day job of putting food on his family\u2019s table. <\/p>\n

Kelly though is on a mission and a man with a 3 fight plan. When I talked to him he was all about the profile and the entertainment value his fights bring. Having lost to one Stefan Sanderson 2-0, 1 KO, Kelly wants to put that right first. \u201cThat is personal. He came in heavy and didn\u2019t make the weight. Being me, I thought, I\u2019ll still take the fight but we were different sizes. I won\u2019t make that mistake again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hoping to have that one out of the way in December, he then is targeting another rematch \u2013 with Ally Black 5-3, 2 KO\u2019s. This was a fight Kelly won but he knows how much people enjoyed it and he fancies doing it all again to keep his ticket buyers happy. \u201cAlly\u2019s a good lad. We did offer him a fight in September but he wanted a 4 rounder.\u201d The last one was a 10 round war that didn\u2019t get past the 6th. \u201cI said, what\u2019s the point in that? I would love to have a title on that one too.\u201d<\/p>\n

In February of next year there is also talk of a Jason Easton 8-0, 5 KO\u2019s, fight \u2013 another decent Scottish prospect. It could mean 3 fights in the space of around 5 months for Kelly but he has hinted there might even be a big pay day before any of them. Just who and where, is in hushed tones but for Kelly this could be a wee bonus. \u201cEven at short notice a big pay day \u2013 you have to think to yourself \u2013 what if I don\u2019t take it and a few years down the line are left wondering. One thing is for sure, I won\u2019t be standing letting them just hit me!\u201d<\/p>\n

For Kelly, that one off and big payday may be his reward for many months and years in the gym. This weekend, in Belfast, Frank Warren brings Queensberry Promotions to the Titanic Centre for an evening of boxing featuring boxers he would claim were the pride of Ireland and the next big boxing things in Ireland. There are a couple of Celtic brothers on the bill who might just be exactly that!<\/p>\n

Jamie Conlan 17-0, 11 KO\u2019s, faces his 18th professional contest after a distinguished amateur career \u2013 118 fights, 11 losses. Undefeated and still only 30, this super flyweight has a great career, according to a large number of observers, in front of him. Currently Conlan is the Commonwealth and WBO intercontinental champion. A native of Belfast and with his brother, Michael also a member of the sweet science crew, Jamie will be looking to make a massive statement to catapult his claim up the rankings; he is currently ranked number 3 by the WBO.<\/p>\n

Also on the bill is Paddy Barnes looking to make his pro debut. A light flyweight, Barnes is rated very highly. A twice decorated Olympian \u2013 bronze at both Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012 making him the first Irish boxer to accomplish such a feat \u2013 Barnes won Gold at the Commonwealth games in Delhi in 2010 and then Glasgow again in 2014.<\/p>\n

Having competed for both Ireland at the Olympics and Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth games he managed a Pauli Malignaggi style feat when he joined Italia Thunder for World Series of Boxing. Conlan though is famous for his 2016 Rio antics where he was robbed of his win by judges before going on a foul mouth rant that became an internet sensation.<\/p>\n

Both Conlan and Barnes, unlike Kelly, come into their bouts as full time boxers. For them there is no tiring shift on a construction site but they have the disadvantage of carrying the weight of more than one nation on their shoulders. The ability to box for both Northern Ireland in the Commonwealth Games \u2013 where Ireland is not a participant \u2013 and the Olympic Games for the Republic of Ireland \u2013 where Northern Ireland is not a participant \u2013 has allowed them to mix two sides of a very divided island.<\/p>\n

This Saturday both shall seek to unite those nations in agreeing that they have the future of Irish boxing \u2013 no matter what hue \u2013 in safe hands. Meanwhile at the other side of the British Isles there\u2019s a guy waiting on a phone call to see if he has a fight to prepare for somewhere that shall make Christmas that bit more bearable for the weans. Funny old game this boxing malarkey\u2026<\/p>\n