Liam is ready for title fight
KILNAMANAGH native Liam Gaynor will be looking to add another string to his professional boxing bow when he takes on defending champion Colm Murphy in the BUI Celtic Featherweight title fight at Girdwood Community Hub in Belfast tonight, Saturday, November 19.
Currently based out of Bolton in Greater Manchester, this will be Gaynor’s 11th bout since turning pro a little over five years ago.
He made his debut in the professional ranks at the National Stadium back on May 27, 2017, earning a 40-36 points victory against Alec Bazza of the United Kingdom.
Just shy of six months later, he took on Poland’s Krzysztof Rogowski at the Citywest Hotel in Saggart and emerged on the right side of a 40-35 score to maintain his unbeaten start to full-time boxing.
Since then, Gaynor has been fighting exclusively out of the UK with six of his last eight fights being held at Bolton Whites Hotel.
There was also a bout each at the AJ Bell Stadium in Eccles and the Oldham Leisure Centre, both of them ending in triumphs for the Tallaght man.
He suffered his only defeat to date at the hands of Ed Harrison in Bolton on March 14, 2020 – mere days before boxing was shut down in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gaynor had a whole 18 months to prepare for his next fight, a September 2021 showdown against Simas Volosinas. He came through that contest with flying colours and has since added three more wins to his professional record.
The most recent of these was a 60-54 points victory at the expense of Viktor Vezhlivtsev, which set him up nicely for a long-awaited return to Irish soil this weekend.
While his fight with Murphy has been brought forward by a week – and was changed from its original venue of the Europa Hotel – Gaynor will be leaving no stone unturned in his bid for a 10th professional triumph.
Although his opponent Murphy has just five professional fights under his belt, he is undefeated thus far and claimed the Celtic Featherweight title with an impressive triumph over Ruadhan Farrell on August 6 of this year.
This bout took place at The SSE Arena in Belfast and all of Murphy’s duels to date in the pro game have been held in home city.
He is hoping this will give him an advantage over Gaynor, albeit this will be his first time to fight out of the Girdwood Community Hub.
His opening four contests as a full-time boxer were staged at the Europa Hotel and he would have understandably been disappointed to see it being moved from that particular venue.
The northerner has been busy since making his professional debut on September 9, 2021 and managed to score a knockout victory over Sam Melville in March of this year.
He will have his sights set on defending his title, but with the TG4 cameras on hand to capture his every movement, Gaynor will also be eager to leave his own imprint on a tasty encounter.
