Tyrone trio taste victory in Belfast

OMAGH’S CallumBradley improved his professional record to 7-0 during the Redemption fight night in Belfast’s Devenish Complex.

The 26-year-old overcame Nicaraguan Darwing Martinez who entered the ring much more determined than Bradley expected, but the Tyrone man feels that led to a much more exciting fight on the night.

“It was a great night. He was tough – he came to try to knock me out and I’ve actually got a black eye!,” he said. “He didn’t come to just move around like a lot of boys like that, he came to try and win.

“It made for a great fight, everyone said it was the fight of the night, the atmosphere was brilliant and he came swinging, trying to take my head off and knock me out!

“That obviously left openings for me to catch him as well. It was an unreal fight.”

Saturday’s clash with Martinez was Bradley’s first over six rounds in the professional ranks and while he would like another bout over the same distance, he’d also gladly take the next step up to eight if the ‘right opportunity’ comes along.

“You always feel you can be fitter, you always feel like that, but I felt good in there. It was a good six rounds under my belt and I’d probably like to have another six rounder, but if the right opportunity comes on a good platform and it’s an eight rounder then I’ll jump at it,” he explained.

While delighted with his own performance and the support he received from his own fans on the night, Bradley was also glad to see wins for Strabane duo, Danny Duffy and Cathal McLaughlin on the night, and he also enjoyed the backing from their supporters.

“It was brilliant for Tyrone and the west of Tyrone,” he beamed. “There were a lot of people from Strabane and Omagh there supporting us all, so it made for a great show and a great night.”

Callum is hoping to get back in the ring a further two times before the end of the year ahead of what he hopes will be a productive 2026.

“That’ll probably be me until September, I’d like to get back out in September and December before we start looking at potential titles next year. That’s the plan,” he said.

Meanwhile, Strabane duo, Danny Duffy and Cathal McLaughlin both earned their second professional wins during the night in Belfast’s Devenish Complex.

Duffy earned a largely comfortable points victory over England’s Steven Maguire, while McLaughlin, who hadn’t fought since beating Martin Shaw on his first appearance in the paid ranks in the SSE Arena last August, defeated George Rogers in front of a packed auditorium.

Duffy’s latest win, which came on the back of a similar victory over Jake Pollard during his professional debut in Wexford in December, was useful in terms of gaining more experience at that level.

“I’m over the moon with it,” he beamed.

“He was tough, he was tricky. He was a southpaw, awkward and very experienced, but I got the job done, which is what I needed to do in order to gain more experience myself.”

Fortunately for the 24-year-old, he wasn’t caught off-guard when coming up against a left handed opponent, having had plenty of sparring against similar opponents ahead of the encounter.

“We have a couple of southpaws within the club [Raphoe Boxing Club] so I’d been sparring with them,” he explained.

“It meant we didn’t have to change too much and I’d be fairly used to it anyway from my amateur days too.

“It’s about being ready for whatever comes and on the night he was a southpaw, so we just worked with it.”

Alongside Duffy and McLaughlin, Omagh’s Callum Bradley was also a winner on the night, beating Darwing Martinez over six rounds, and Duffy feels the fact three Tyrone men were in action on the same bill helped the atmosphere.

“There was some buzz, it was unbelievable,” he beamed. “With me and Cathal being from the same town and Callum being from just up the road, it was unbelievable. There was some turnout!”

Duffy is hoping to return to action by the end of August when he’ll be keen to extend his professional record to 3-0.