Priory gear up for Irish test
Priory Park Boxing are revving up for a new challenge – in the ring and on the track.
The Dudley-based club will be hosting their first international event when they take on Olympic Boxing Club in an England verses Ireland showdown.
The action takes place at the Copthorne Hotel in Brierley Hill on Saturday, October 21 and Priory Park chairman Paul Gough is delighted to see the ambitious club breaking new ground.
“It’s the first international show we have ever done,” said Gough. “We have had clubs from Scotland and Wales come down but that was only for the odd bout here and there.
“A team of 12 are coming over from Olympic to box and we are going to travel to Ireland later in the year for a re-match.
“There will be quite a big card on the night. The youngest fighters will be 10, and they will take part in skills bouts, while the oldest is 24.
“There will be supporting bouts and 12 international fights. On the night I am hoping for 18 to 20 matches.”
The match up came about following a trip to Ireland earlier in the year where a number of Priory boxers took part in the Monkstown Box Cup.
“We enter a competition each year called the Monkstown Box Cup which features fighters from England, Scotland, Wales, France, Denmark and even the USA,” added Gough.
“One of our coaches, Warren Davies, got chatting to people from Olympic and they said how big a squad they have got and how they get out and about for fights.
“Warren asked if they fancied sending a team over here and it’s gone from there. We have made it happen.”
And as well as squaring up in the ring, England and Ireland will also do battle on the race track.
“I will pick the Irish lads up from the airport on the Friday, check them into the Copthorne and then on the night I have arranged for a spot of karting with Teamworks Karting in Halesowen,” added Gough.
“Teamworks have supported us for a long time and they are doing this for free, which is fantastic.
“The lads who will be boxing each other will be competing against each other on the karting track. It should make for a great couple of days.”
Gough is hoping to attract a crowd of around 300 for the fight night.
Standard tickets are priced at £15, while VIP ringside tables cost £350 for a table of 10 which includes a buffet and waiter service and the chance to present trophies in the ring at the end of the contests.
For further details contact Paul Gough on 07883 012981.
