Bradley’s excited to be making long overdue ‘home’ debut

By Chris Caldwell
TIERNAN Bradley is looking forward to tomorrow night more than any other since he turned pro as it will be his first in the paid ranks on home soil.

The Omagh man will take on Hungarian Janos Penzes in the Redemption fight night in Belfast’s Europa Hotel and while he trains in Dublin, this will be his first appearance in an Irish ring since 2018 when he fought in Lola’s in the Silverbirch Hotel as an amateur.

Even though he has fought five times in the paid ranks – winning all, with four knockouts – each of his bouts has been in Europe, in Poland, Belgium and Spain.

So, Saturday will be a special occasion for the talented youngster, who is looking forward to having a vociferous backing from his family and friends -apart from younger brother and fellow professional pugilist Callum, who will be cheering on their beloved Liverpool from a box at Wembley during the FA Cup final instead – with Tiernan’s blessings!

And the 25-year-old is champing at the bit to get back into the ring, having not fought since last August when he eased past Grzegorz Radtke in Brussels.

Since the, fights have fallen by the wayside and he suffered a neck injury in sparring that allowed him to have a much needed rest over before the new year.

“I’m looking forward to it,” he beamed. “It came on very short notice but I’ve be training away since my injury.

“I took a step back over Christmas and when I got back into it I said to myself ‘we need to give this year 100 per cent’ but there were no dates.

“It’s been very quiet, there have been no dates but I did need that break because even before my fight in August I got Covid and I just took the fight because it was organised and I was in full camp mode.

“But it threw me sideways because my lungs weren’t right from Covid with the intention of going straight back into camp for more, bigger fights, but they didn’t happen.”

With no fights on the horizon throughout the autumn, Tiernan, who is soon to be managed by Scott Welch, the former British and Commonwealth heavyweight champion, threw himself into training, which led to the neck injury that forced him into a much needed rest.

But now, recovered and recharged, he’s looking forward to putting on a show for his fans at home this coming weekend, although he knows Penzes will be a tough nut to crack…initially.

“He’s got two wins and two losses but he’s not bad, he’s a 21-year-old so he’s young and game,” he explained.

“But it’s going to be one of those fights when I’m levels above him. I’ll go in, give him a round, give him some confidence to open up and then I’ll spark him out!

“It’s my first home fight in four years, so it’s good to have my ‘home’ professional debut in the Europa.”