The UFC is back in town, however, this time, Dana White and accompanying entourage have exchanged the caged octagon for canvas and ropes to host a night of professional boxing at the 3Arena on Friday.
Cork prospect Callum Walsh is headlining the card on the banks of the River Liffey as he takes on Przemyslaw Runowski in the main event.
For Walsh, this is a chance to show where he has come in a few short years since his last fight in Ireland, which was a defeat to Aidan Walsh in the Nationals back in 2019, which was also a qualifier for the Tokyo Games.
Namesake Aidan would go on to secure a bronze medal at the Olympics, while Cobh native Callum opted to head Stateside to begin his fledgling career in the paid ranks.
Eleven straight wins for Walsh since turning professional, however, what is more impressive is the company that he is keeping and the following that he has attracted less than three years into his fledgling pro career.
No doubt, a huge asset to be backed by renowned UFC promotion duo of Dana White and Tom Loeffler, who can fast-track Walsh along the rocky road towards world level bouts, however, to be boxing under the tutelage of renowned boxing trainer Freddie Roach shows how serious a prospect he is considered.
A gentle introduction to the paid ranks, Walsh boxed his first five fights at the Quiet Cannon Club in Montebello, California, before hitting the road to introduce himself to the Boston Irish for a St Patrick's Day event in 2023.
Walsh was fighting for his first professional belt in only his seventh encounter, as he landed the WBC USA Silver Super Welterweight title, knocking out old timer Carson Jones, who had previously been defeated in a world title decider by Kell Brook.
For his second defence of the belt, Walsh was brought back out to the east coast to headline at Madison Square Garden Theatre where he entertained the New York faithful with a unanimous decision victory over Ismael Villareal.
And Walsh was back in the Big Apple for this year’s St Patrick’s weekend event enjoying another victory, alongside compatriots Feargal McCrory and Joe Ward, where he upgraded his belt to the WBC Continental Americas Super Welter title.
It will be Walsh’s second defence of that title as he looks to impress at the 3 Arena tomorrow against Poland’s Runowski, who has never been stopped in 25 fights, 22 victorious, which would certainly elevate him into the world title challenger conversation.
"I think Callum’s story is a Netflix documentary waiting to happen," said Dublin heavyweight Thomas Carty, who is also fighting on the undercard of Friday night’s showcase.
"I’ve been to Cobh and it’s not the Hollywood hills, and he moved from Cobh to LA during lockdown with no guarantee of anything and now look, now he has brought big-time boxing back to Dublin
"And everything that’s happened between then and now, and everything in between, it’s phenomenal. Nothing given, everything earned, nothing but respect for Callum.
"He is a serious all-action fighter and people are really going to enjoy the main event."
Dublin heavyweight Carty, who is arguably a bigger household name than Walsh in Ireland at the moment, is ready to add to his unblemished 8-0 start to his professional career, while fellow northsider and Tokyo Olympian Emmet Brennan is also in action.
Carty came through under the watchful eye of renowned trainer Paschal Collins and has enjoyed a great start to his professional career with the aforementioned eight wins, while also sparring some of the biggest names in the game, including Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
The Phibsboro fighter has already built up a strong support throughout the capital, and he is in no doubt that the Carty Party will be bigger than ever as he returns for his third appearance at the Point Depot, having previously fought, and won, on the two Katie Taylor shows.
Carty believes that he is ready to headline home bills, while he feels that he is still a couple of fights away from throwing his name in the ring for some of the division’s big bouts.
"I had a couple of fights on the agenda that didn’t materialise, so it actually worked out pretty well in the end," said Carty, who has not fought since St Patrick's Day.
"From the bit of film that I have seen (of his opponent Jonathan Vergara), it looks like he comes to fight. If he comes to fight, it’s going be exciting, it won’t last long, if he comes to run, it will take me a bit longer to get him out of there, but either way the end result will be the same.
"I would love to become a headline act myself here in Dublin, and judging by the amount of tickets I have sold for this fight and the hype around me, I think it is something that can be easily done so it’s just a case of someone facilitating that.
"So I think that’s next for me, to become a regular, maybe at the 3 Arena, or some other big venue in Dublin.
"In terms of the trajectory that I’m on, I’m probably not too many fights off pushing top 20 top 10 in the world. Now Those couple of fights will be tough fights, I’m not skipping that part, but I’m not a million miles away.
"The only way I can describe it is it will be bigger and better than the last two. The biggest crowd to date is coming; we’ve all bases covered, the pre-party, the after-party, you name it, it’s going to become a staple here."
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Carty believes that following a difficult few years for the sport, in Dublin especially, he believes that big time boxing is back to stay on the capital city’s event calendar.
And like so many of the positives that have come from Irish boxing over the past 15 years, Carty attributes it to the positivity that comes with all things Katie Taylor.
"I think Katie Taylor has really opened the floodgates once again for boxing, and no better person to do it after a bit of a lull on mainstream professional boxing here in Ireland.
"So once again credit to Katie Taylor, and thank you."
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