Francis “Frank the Tank” Hogan, an unbeaten [14-0] middleweight prospect with Donegal roots, is the other Irish fighter on the Aug. 11 “Veterans Stadium Showcase” Pro-Am card in Quincy, Mass., also featuring Corkman Tommy “The Governor” Hyde and Galway product Thomas “The Kid” O’Toole in separate bouts.
The electrifying Hogan, who’s 22 and has 13 KOs on his formidable ledger, goes up against seasoned Argentine Miguel “El Pirado” Angel Suarez in an eight-rounder. Suarez is 15-12, with nine stoppages.
“We are thrilled to have Frank on our card,” said Chris Traietti, president of Granite Chin Promotions (GCP). “He is one of the biggest up and coming fighters in New England. He was a must to have on this show.”
From nearby Weymouth, Mass., Hogan is raring to go on what’s akin to home ground. “It feels nice to be fighting at home, only five minutes away,” said the highly popular youngster. “‘Tank Time’ is definitely going to be loud. A lot more local fans will have a chance to watch my fight. I’ve been perfecting a lot of things: sharp boxing and great defense. When I catch my opponent, he’s going down. The main thing is I’m very relaxed now in the ring. My power is always there no matter who I fight.”
This will be the first time Hogan will be fighting outdoors as a professional but he’s unperturbed. “I fought outdoors a couple of times as an amateur, but I was so young I don’t really remember. This will be new for me. I don’t expect any surprises. I’ll adapt to the heat.”
Hogan was a 2020 USA Boxing Olympic Team alternate, as well as a 2019 New England Golden Gloves Champion.
HYDE & O’TOOLE
On the undercard at Quincy’s Veterans Memorial Stadium, amateur rivals Hyde, a 5-0 [4 KO) light heavyweight, and O’Toole (7-0, 5 KOs), will both appear in six-rounders.
Hyde, a three-time Irish National Champion, will face an opponent to be determined, while O’Toole meets Massachusetts state champion Scott “Scottie Bombz” Lampert (5-8, 4 KOs) for the vacant United States Boxing Federation (USBF) cruiserweight title.
Tickets are available at http://www.EventBrite.com. In addition, sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Traietti at chris@granite-chin-promotions.com for details. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET with the amateur matches starting at 6:30 p.m., and the pro card commencing at 8 p.m.
OMINOUS BANG
Picking up the gauntlet cast at his feet by “Lethal” Larry Fryers, explosive punching WBC International super lightweight titlist Pierce O’Leary fired back with an ominous warning to the New York-based Clones native. It will be a career-ending fight for Fryers, the 12-0 Dubliner, dubbed the “Big Bang” for his knockout power [7 KOs] told Irish-boxing.com.
Fryers, who’s 13-6-1 [5 KOs] and at age 32 is nine years older than O’Leary, made his challenge through the web site a week ago.
“I want O’Leary as there is a lot of hype around him and I want to find out if its real,” Fryers told Irish-boxing.com. “So far, he is doing the business but against no one of note, so why not do it against me? I’d be by far the best he would have come up against, I’ve been in with quality guys and have pushed them all. If [promoter] Frank Warren wants to see if what he has is real, I’d love the opportunity to dance with him.”
O’Leary’s response, reported by Irish-boxing.com, is: “it’s a fight Fryers should avoid because if it was made it would be his last.”
Fryers has been buoyed by back-to-back wins in the last three months – over the Kazakh-born Dimash Niyazo in Atlantic City last month in a victory that earned him the fringe WBB super lightweight title – and over Joshua David Rivera in Manhattan in April.
O’Leary’s last bout was a first round TKO of the Spanish-based Romanian Alin Florin Ciorceri, in defense of his WBC International title in Belfast last May.
In addition, sponsorship opportunities are available by contacting Traietti at chris@granite-chin-promotions.com for details. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. ET with the amateur matches starting at 6:30 p.m., and the pro card commencing at 8 p.m.
