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John Joe Nevin (L). Emily Harney/INPHO
Breakthrough

John Joe Nevin finally seals fight that could ignite his pro career

The former Olympic silver medallist will fight for a WBA rankings belt next month.

IRELAND’S 2012 OLYMPIC silver medallist John Joe Nevin has finally sealed a meaningful fight some five and a half years into a professional career that has thus far been plagued by a concoction of injuries and out-of-ring problems.

Nevin, who has improved his record to 13-0 this year and is still just 30, will face Nicaraguan puncher Freddy Fonseca [27-4-1, 18KOs] for a WBA rankings belt next month — a fight in which victory would see him propelled to at least the fringe of world relevance in the super-featherweight division.

The fight will take place at London’s iconic York Hall and its full card will be broadcast on Channel 5.

The seasoned Fonseca has fought all over the world and will scarcely be daunted by the prospect of squaring off with Nevin in the nonagenarian theatre. But the Mullingar man — who told The42 mere months ago that he has on occasion almost shed tears in the knowledge that some of his former amateur rivals have gone on to make a splash on the world stage as pros — will argue that the Central American is an opponent of sufficient calibre to draw out of him something resembling his once-prodigious best.

“If I can just get a bit of momentum, if I can a bit of good luck — we’ve a good bit of luck going now without any injuries thanks be to God, touch wood — then things will start to work,” Nevin told this publication in March.

“It’s like… You saw me fight as an amateur. I kept getting better as tournaments went on. In the Olympics, I kept getting better as I went through the rounds. That’s the way of it: you find your range, you find your rhythm, and it starts to fall into place.”

Irish boxing fans will hope a third fight of 2019 could be the one to finally propel Nevin toward the heights his pugilistic ability once made him seem destined to scale.

Nevin: ‘I swear, I look at how well some of my old rivals are doing – rivals who I beat – and I nearly cry to myself’

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