Winning back European title crucial for Ormond’s global ambition
By Stephen Leonard
WINNING back the WBO European Lightweight title he held for a year and a half up until his loss to Terry Flanagan in February of 2015, is the first of three steps Stephen Ormond believes will propel him to world glory.
The 34-year-old Clondalkin lightweight will get the opportunity to regain the strap when he takes on holder Craig Evans in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Saturday, June 17.
While his ultimate goal remains winning a world title, Ormond is certainly not taking lightly the challenge that Welshman Evans will present him with this summer.
One defeat in 19 outings, suggests that Evans will force the best out of Ormond in this much-anticipated bout which is due to be televised by BT Sports.
“I’ve had it all mapped out for me” Ormond told Echo.ie. “I’ve been given a three-fight plan and the first fight is against this lad Evans.
“He’s a tough southpaw. I’ve been around the scene with him so I know him well.
“He’s more of a come-forward southpaw. I wouldn’t call him slick. These are the type of fights I love.
“I’ve got to get this lad out of the way and get that belt in order to get that Top 10 or five ranking.
“That should set me up for a world title eliminator, but right now, I’m not looking past this fight. This is a really big one for me.
“I’m putting everything into my preparation for it. I’m into the second week of my camp, my first official week and I’ve got a great team around me.”
Ormond was sparring with Flanagan as part of the Englishman’s preparation for his fight with Petr Petrov which he won earlier in the month.
The Clondalkin man, himself, has already chalked up one win so far this year, stopping Nicaraguan Norwin Galo in under one minute thanks to a devastating double body blow when they met in the Devenish Complex in Belfast in March.
It marked his third straight win since his shock defeat at the hands of Zoltan Szabo last October which he put right when he met the Hungarian in a rematch two months later.
