Eight years after their last scrap, Bobby McGuire’s FDNY boxing team and the NYPD’s finest square off at Terminal 5 in Manhattan this Friday. The 3,000-capacity venue at 610 West 56th Street in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, is sold-out but the event will be live streamed for $20 [advance purchase] and $30 [day of event purchase].
The live stream link is: https://store.varsitymedia.net/Live-Stream-of-Battle-of-the-Badges-no-refunds_p_150.html.
For the FDNY fighters, the contest is not just the resumption of an old rivalry, but also a tune-up of sorts ahead of their annual fisticuffs with Ireland’s Garda side this summer.
“We have the Garda coming here for our annual "Thrilla in Camilla" charity boxing event on Friday, June 30th. It's held outdoors and under the stars at St. Camillus in beautiful Rockaway Beach,” said McGuire, the FDNY team manager. “Proceeds go to The Tunnel to Towers Foundation.”
McGuire will then lead the FDNY side to Dublin in August on a reciprocal tour. They’ll tackle the Garda fighters at the National Stadium on Aug. 25.
The show will be on the eve of the University of Notre Dame vs. Naval Academy college gridiron game at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Aug. 26. That match will be broadcast States-side on NBC and simul-streamed on Peacock.
“The FDNY Emerald Society has close to 200 people already committed to making the trip and going to both the fights and the football game,” said McGuire.
The Notre Dame-Navy package, featuring five nights of luxury accommodation in Dublin [Aug. 24-29] is available for 1,260 Euros. For details, email: dennis@docsgolftours.com. Tickets to the FDNY-Garda boxing at the National Stadium will be available for 23 Euros.
CONLAN COLLABORATION
Tampa, Florida-based Reyes Fire Fist Boxing and Conlan Boxing are set to co-promote three shows in Ireland.
The first fight card features a super middleweight bout between NABA Gold champion Yamaguchi “The Problem” Falcao and Padraig “The Hammer” McCrory.
Falcao’s Reyes stablemate, Connor “The Kid” Coyle [18-0, 8 KOs], the NABA middleweight champion, will fight in Ireland for the first time in six years when he battles an opponent to be named in a ten-rounder. The Derry native, who is the WBA’s fourth ranked middleweight, will first defend his title April 29 in St. Petersburg, FL.
Additional information including venue and fight dates for both Falcao and Coyle bouts will be announced shortly.
Falcao boasts an impressive 24-1-1 [10 KO] record. In his most recent bout, the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist from Brazil scored a seventh round stoppage over Ernest Amuzu. Ranked #6 by the WBA and seventh by the WBC.
Fighting out of Belfast, McCrory is an unbeaten 16-0 [9 KOs]. He had a big 2022, stopping Marco Antonio Periban [26-5-1] in five rounds, Leon Bunn [18-0] in six and decisioning Dmytro Fedas [8-0-2]. “The Hammer” is currently ranked #4 in the world by the WBA and sixth by the WBC.
Falcao-McCrory is scheduled for ten rounds.
“This is a great partnership. Both of our stables can grow in Ireland and the U.S., said Jamie Conlan of Conlan Boxing, “There are excellent benefits to working together with Reyes Fire Fist Boxing.”
