Stephen Haughian to face BoxRec's Jeff Thomas in Irish title defence
Stephen Haughian returns to the scene of his 2009 Irish welterweight title triumph on June 25 when he defends that same crown in the Brownlow Leisure Centre, Craigavon against Manchester challenger and BoxRec forum poster, Jeff Thomas (pictured).
26-year-old Haughian has won two fights on the spin since a lopsided points loss to Kevin McIntyre last June, when attempting to claim the Celtic title. Stephen is eager to stay busy and build some momentum which will hopefully edge towards another title tilt.
“I’ve had two wins since the McIntyre loss and I’m eager to push on,” Haughian explained. “I turned professional at the same time as Paul McCloskey and Martin Rogan and Rogan has won the Commonwealth belt and Prizefighter tournament, while McCloskey fought Amir Khan recently for a world title. So at 26 this is my time to shine. I’ve got a lot more strength and experience behind me now.”
Haughian rode out the relentlessly aggressive start from Cork bruiser Billy Walsh when winning the Irish belt over two years ago. He wore Walsh down in the third round for an impressive stoppage, using the understated skills learned during a career of high-class sparring in John Breen’s gym. Brian Peters promoted the last show in Craigavon, but this time a new face will handle the domestic title affair.
“David Murphy is a friend of mine and a big boxing follower,” said Stephen. “He’s ringside at all the shows and knows the game. The venue is actually about five miles away from my home, and it’s nice to get back to the same place that I won the Irish title.”
Bizarrely enough, last year, Stephen was rumoured to be defending the title against gym-mate Willie Thompson, but rather unsurprisingly that failed to materialise. He was also listening to the verbal barbs dished out by another pretender to the throne, Chris O’Brien.
“We originally offered the fight to Chris O’Brien because he was talking about me avoiding him. His trainer turned it down because O’Brien’s hand was still broken from his last fight, but he said there was another guy in the gym who’d take it. That was Jeff Thomas and I’ve seen bits and pieces of him in action, including his fight with Oisin Fagan for the Irish title (a seventh round knockout loss for Thomas in June 2006). He seems tough enough, and before Oisin stopped him on that night only Steve Murray had done a real job on him.”
Haughian has been enjoying his usual levels of sparring and feels fresh and fully focused on another charge towards British or Commonwealth honours. The old cliché about staying active rings true yet again.
“I’ve been sparring a few heavier fellas, including super-middleweight Brendan Fitzpatrick and a Scottish light-middleweight called Paul Allison who’s 4-0. I’ve got a good variety of amateurs as well for speed. I’ll step it up with about six weeks to go.
“The last time I fought was in December 2010 so I need to build some momentum again and after this Irish title defence I want to crack on for another title shot."
Blackpool man Thomas qualifies for a shot at the title because his mother is Irish. The 29 year-old made his debut in 2001 and went 6-1 before dropping a decision he still disputes in 2003 when facing Lee McAllister in the Scot's Aberdeen backyard.
Thomas won more than he lost over the next three years when he decided to hang up the gloves in 2006 with a record of 9-6-1. Since then, Jeff worked hard on gaining qualifications allowing him to be a fitness instructor, a career he now pursues. He came back as a pro in March with a draw against Rick Boulter, which several ringside observers said was the very least Thomas deserved.
A popular lad with an engaging sense of humour, Thomas will have lots of online fans wishing him well on his big night.
