The bug last week accomplished something no prizefighter has managed to do against Ryan O’Rourke – knock him out. The wiry Dubliner is off Saturday’s “Jersey City fight night” card at the White Eagle Hall in downtown Jersey City, New Jersey. He was scheduled to meet southpaw Dashaun “Too Sweet” Johns in a scheduled eight round welterweight contest.
“O’Rourke has come down with the flu and has been pulled from training and the fight,” Tony Palmieri, VP, operations for promoters Star Boxing, told the Echo last weekend. “The fight will not be proceeding, but we are hoping to be able to make this fight work within the next two months.”
Nicknamed “The Silent Assassin,” O’Rourke was to put his unblemished 9-0 [2 KO] record on the line against Jones, a Bronx native and former amateur standout with a [4-2, 2 KO] ledger. O’Rourke, who’s 23, was planning on using the fight as a stepping stone to the next stage of his career.
HARLEY SUSPENSE
And uncertainty surrounds the other bout in Jersey City this Saturday featuring an Irish fighter. On Monday, Star Boxing was seeking a new foe for Galway-born super middleweight Harley “Heavy Hands” Burke after his original opponent, Portland, Oregon’s Joseph Aguilar [4-1-1, 2 KOs] was injured in camp.
“[Aguilar] tore his bicep in training this weekend and has also pulled out of the fight,” said Palmieri. “I am working on a replacement opponent for Harley.”
A KO specialist, Burke is 7-0 with six KOs.
For tickets and the latest information, visit www.whiteeaglehalljc.com or www.StarBoxing.com. White Eagle Hall is located at 337 Newark Ave., Jersey City, New Jersey, 07302.
HARDY WIN
Brooklyn’s Heather Hardy, a former world featherweight champion, eked out an eight-round majority points decision over onetime Brazilian champion Taynna Cardoso at Sony Hall in Times Square, mid-Manhattan last week.
One judge scored it draw [76-76] while the other two had it for Hardy [78-74 and 77-75].Hardy, who’s 41, improved to 24-2. She had dedicated the fight to the legendary Hector Roca, her trainer who died on Jan. 3 at age 82.
Cardoso’s record dropped to 5-2.
