KILCULLEN LIGHT-MIDDLEWEIGHT AND WBO number-one-ranked contender Dennis Hogan and opponent Jamie Weetch of Wales have comfortably made weight for their clash in Brisbane tomorrow (midday Irish time, Epicentre TV).
Hogan came in at 69.25kg or 152.6lbs, while Weetch was the heavier or two but still safely under the limit at 69.5kg, or 153.2lbs.
Victory for Ireland’s ‘Hurricane’ [27-1-1, 7KOs] over his fellow Aussie adoptee [12-2, 5KOs] will guarantee a shot at the WBO World light-middleweight title next year, with March being mooted as a potential date for a clash with formidable champion Jaime Munguia of Mexico.
Championship weight for @dennis_h_hogan and @the_weetch 💪 #ozboxing #boxing pic.twitter.com/73MdeUhY7S
— Aus-Boxing.com (@ausboxing) December 14, 2018
Speaking after he came off the scales, Weetch reiterated his vow to knock out Hogan “whenever I feel I want to, whenever I fancy it.”
“I’m here to do business,” said the Welshman. “When I feel I can knock him out, I will.
“He’s boring. I’ll just catch him coming in, catch him coming out. And that’s it.
This is the biggest fight of my life. This is my world title fight. It’s probably not as big for him [Hogan], so he probably thinks he’s just going to walk through me and beat me, you know?
When asked about his opponents vow to end his night early, Hogan scoffed:
Mate, he’s delusional. Where has he ever had this power in his career? He’s not had that power. He’s stepping up into another level again which he’s not been at.
“Where’s he going to pull this power out of? As if I’m going to be standing in front of him, anyway, to take it. This is a different ball game for him, and he’s going to learn pretty quick.”
Hogan was then asked if he’s concerned by Weetch’s background in street fighting.
“Not at all,” replied the Lilywhite light-middle. “If he wants to do that, I can bring that out, too. It’s all good. I’ll thrive in a condition like that ’cause I’ve done it all my life.”
Hogan has been the WBO’s top contender for the title since August, but was overlooked by Munguia and team when the 22-year-old made his second defence against American Brandon Cook on the Canelo-GGG II undercard in Las Vegas in September. Tijuana native Munguia (31-0, 26KOs) laid waste to Cook inside three rounds.
The frustrated Kildare man and his team at DDP Promotions picked a fight with Newport-born Weetch — whose wife and manager are both Irish — in a bid to force a mandatory shot at the title; Hogan has already seen off three WBO top-15-ranked opponents en route to his number-one contender slot, and Weetch would make for a fourth.
Crucially, after pressure from Paul Keegan and DDP, the WBO have agreed to make the 33-year-old Hogan their mandatory challenger should he achieve victory tomorrow.
This would typically mean that Munguia would have to either defend his belt against Hogan next or vacate it.
Murray Kinsella, Gavan Casey and Eddie O’Sullivan preview another big weekend of Heineken Cup action and dissect the week’s main talking points.
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