Busy weeks ahead for Lafferty

DENNIS Lafferty faces a busy couple of months in the lead-up to Christmas.

On Saturday, November 2 he will take on Dylan Carton over three two minute rounds in the Tullyglass House Hotel in Ballymena during a Super Lightweight title eliminator on the Fighters Fight card and on December 13 he will take part in P&C Promotions King of the Ring 2 prizefighter event when, if he wins two bouts in Burnfoot’s Halfway House, he will win €1000.

While keen to win all three forthcoming encounters, Lafferty admits that the first of those will be primarily used as a competitive sparring session so he’s at his sharpest for the big event in the Halfway six weeks later.

“(The Ballymena bout) will be a wee run-out to sharpen up for the prizefighter event,” the father-of-three said. “There’s good lads in it, including ex-pro Michael McLaughlin, who is a handy boy. He had a good few pro fights and he’s in at my weight.

“He was no journey-man, so I’ll need to get the head down and put the work in because it will be a big night and we’ll be well matched.

“And the fact it’s €1000 in your hand on the night, which will be a nice wee lift coming into Christmas will give me a good wee push to train for that.

“But it’s not just the money, the boys in my weight class, it will be a hard night!”

The Ballindrait man, who trains in Strabane’s KickFit Gym, is a former GCO super-lightweight World, European, International and Five Nations title holder, but he was considering retiring after losing to Neil Rawlinson in Liverpool in April.

However, having returned to the ring for an exhibition clash with Derry’s Jordan McCauley during the recent Brawl in the Hall in Strabane he decided he wasn’t ready to walk away from the sport just yet.

“I was a wee bit rusty because that’s the first time I fought in nearly a year and it was the first time I boxed with 10 ounce gloves in about two years,” he explained.

“But I got a good taste for it back in the Hall and while I was rusty I came on well and I won the rounds against a good wee lad from Derry, who was very fit.”

It was during the Brawl in the Hall that Dennis’s six-year-old son, Riley, made his ring debut against Leroy McStallion and Lafferty admits the youngster thoroughly enjoyed the experience and that he is hoping to get him further exhibition bouts in the near future.

“He loved (the event in Strabane),” Dennis beamed. “There were no nerves at all. I thought when he saw the crowd the nerves might have hit him, but he loved it, loved every minute of it.”

Meanwhile, Dennis was keen to pay tribute to the late Peter O’Donnell, who played a big role in his early boxing career at Raphoe Boxing Club.

“Peter was a great man and a huge influence in my early boxing career. He helped so many boxers in many ways and I’ll always be grateful to him,” Lafferty said.