Photograph: Matchroom Boxing
Eamonn O’Kane has a big opportunity to cement his place in the WBC rankings on Friday night when he tackles Mexico’s Alvaro Gaona for the WBC’s vacant International Silver title. ‘King Kane’ has been working hard with Bernardo Checa in training and is anxious to impress.
“The preparation has been going really well with Bernardo and the team, along with my conditioning coach,” said Eamonn. “I only took about a week and half off after the last fight, which was a big kick up the backside for me. My last fight was elevated from a 10-rounder to an IBF Intercontinental fight.”
O’Kane had to call upon all reserves of stamina, and then some, to get past Kerry Hope and win the IBF fringe belt and earn a top 10 ranking with that body. Southpaw Hope was a former European champion and a respected campaigner but Eamonn was winning handily before the gas tank began to empty late on. Looking forward to his latest Odyssey adventure, the Irish middleweight title holder is confident in his ability to deal with all styles.
“I’ve boxed all styles: amateurs, pros, orthodox, southpaws, aggressive, counter punchers so we’ve covered every step of the route. I started boxing as an amateur and won Irish titles but now that I’m a professional I’m looking at world titles – that’s where I want to be,” said O’Kane.