Pierce O’Leary is anticipating what he described as his “breakthrough point” on Saturday evening against Maxi Hughes.
The Irishman fights at the 3Arena in his home city of Dublin on the occasion of St Patrick’s Day weekend, and does so aware that victory against his late-notice replacement has the potential to launch his career.
O’Leary, 26, is considered not only one of Irish boxing’s finest prospects but capable of reaching world level and posing a threat to the most proven junior welterweights in the world.
The talented Hughes replaced Mark Chamberlain when an infection ruled Chamberlain out, and O’Leary fully expects him to provide his toughest test.
“He’s very, very good,” he told BoxingScene. “He’s excellent. He’s fantastic. But he hasn’t been in a fight with me.
“On paper [he’s the best I’ll have fought]. He’s a top operator. He’s fought all over the world. He’s been in there with some great names. He’s got experience. But he has to use those things to his advantage.
“He’s gonna try and use his feet as long as he can ‘cause he’s an old man.
“It doesn’t matter whether I wanna look good or not. Whether I get the win is the main thing.
“I’ve worked really hard, so if it turns out on the night into a fight, it’s gonna be fantastic for me.”
O’Leary was then asked about the occasion that will unfold before, in the main event, James “Jazza” Dickens and O’Leary’s fellow Irishman Anthony Cacace contest Dickens’ WBA junior-lightweight title, and he responded: “It’s unbelievable. It’s unbelievable. Fighting in Dublin alone, let alone being on Paddy’s weekend, is tremendous – and obviously fighting on Paddy’s weekend, the whole inner city’s gonna be buzzing. The inner city is buzzing, because I’m fighting. That’s buzzing in itself.
“But I’m only focused on the fight. I’ve got me opportunity to fight at home, and that’s my biggest thing, so I couldn’t care about the occasion and what’s a part of that situation. I could fight anywhere, it doesn’t really matter to me – it’s all the same.
“The 14th of March, it’s gonna kick-off then. This is gonna be me breakthrough point, without a doubt.
“We haven’t spoken about [what victory could lead to] just yet. I’ve got one goal – I’ll get this goal sorted, nail this goal down, smash this, and then we’ll go back to the drawing board and see where we’re at. But I know for a fact that we’re gonna be back here in Dublin again. That’s for sure.
“I’m looking forward to getting this out of the way and then sitting back down with George [Warren] and Frank [Warren], picking our next spot – where we’re gonna be going – so let’s see. The main key for me is I want to be fighting regularly, so hopefully I’ll be out again in July or August, and back out before Christmas. Three times a year.
“They haven’t seen anybody [fighting regularly in Ireland] since the Bernard Dunne days, or the [Steve] Collins days, or anybody like that. They’re the blueprints I’m following, and looking to take a lot longer than they did, for sure. They’ve done it, and I’m gonna do it ten times bigger.”
O’Leary trains in Liverpool under Joe McNally, who previously guided Josh Taylor into a world junior-welterweight title fight, and for all that O’Leary can expect a less physical contest than he might have foreseen against Chamberlain, his trainer explained that the process of adjusting to the demands of Hughes has been relatively kind.
“He’s a tough opponent,” McNally said. “Where the blessing has been is thankfully he’s [another] southpaw. The adjustment is obviously going from someone who’s 6ft to 5ft6ins. There’s a few less gaps to work with; less of a target. But an older fighter with slower legs, and he doesn’t punch as hard as Chamberlain. Chamberlain’s a very hard puncher, but shot selection-wise nothing’s really changed, other than instead of slipping and trying to close the distance, all of a sudden you’re in a position where you can control the distance ‘cause you’ve got the longer reach.
“He likes to control the pace; he likes to slow things down; he’s a chess player. But he’s a gatekeeper. He’s a fantastic fighter. He’s got all the experience, and if you’re ready to play, or you’ve got the potential to play with the big boys, you’ve got to do a number on Maxi Hughes, it’s that simple. I think Pierce is that guy that can compete with them, and that’s what he’s gotta prove.”
