LIMERICK BOXER WILLIE ‘Big Bang’ Casey will move up in weight to take on Andreas Evensen for the vacant WBA International Featherweight title on Saturday, April 21.
The Southill southpaw, a natural super bantamweight, has struggled to find opponents in that division and so his promoters feel they have no choice but take on this fight.
“This move is driven by a lack of willing opponents for Willie at super bantamweight,” said a spokesperson for Emerald Promotions.
“We have been busy trying to get a viable opponent for Big Bang over the past couple of weeks at that weight without success.”
Casey’s short career has already had many ups and downs. Following a Prizefighter victory in 2010, the Limerick native defeated Paul Hyland to land the vacant EBU Super Bantamweight title in November 2011.
However, he suffered his only career loss the following March when he was outclassed by Guillermo Rigondeaux when the pair clashed over the interim WBA Super Bantamweight title.
The step up in weight will see Casey take on Adreas Evensen. Originally from Bogota, Columbia, Evensen recently missed out on an opportunity to win the WBO Super Featherweight title when he was convincingly beaten by Scotland’s Ricky Burns.
Regardless of the outcome of the April 21 fight in Frederikshavn, Denmark, Emerald Promotions don’t believe Casey’s future lies in Ireland.
“It looks likely Willie will compete in the USA in the WBC Super Bantamweight World Cup in August.”
