BY MATTHEW WILSON
THE excitement is building in the county ahead of Fight Night at the Valley 2 which takes place this Saturday evening.
The upcoming event will be the third installment in the series of fight cards promoted by local boxing legend Jason Quigley alongside Sheer Sports Promotions.
The first of these events took place at the Aura Leisure Centre in Letterkenny last October before a second took place at the Finn Valley Centre in February.
We’re back at the Finn Valley Centre this time around following the huge success last time and there’s a superb fight card lined up for the evening.
The show will be headlined by Strabane native Danny Duffy, who will take on Mexican boxer Lakshmy Zaragoza Contreras at the Stranorlar venue.
The Tyrone man was gearing up towards his first headline fight at the first Fight Night at the Valley but an injury in the lead-up forced him to withdraw.
But Duffy is back fit and flying and Jason Quigley expressed that he’s excited for him ahead of the fight.
“I’m really excited for Danny Duffy, it’s his first headline fight and his first six-round fight. He only lives 20 minutes down the road from the Finn Valley Centre.
“It’s going to be a special night for Danny. He was meant to be headlining the last show but due to certain circumstances he had to pull out of that fight injury wise.
“He’s now coming back into it, chomping at the bit and ready to go. I think he’s a massive talent for the future of Irish boxing, I believe he can go very far in the sport and he’s a chance to show that on Saturday night.”
Enniskillen lightweight Rhys Owens will feature in the co-main event and he will face Mexico’s Erik Lopez in the ring.
Owens, who won Irish and Ulster Elite titles in 2024, featured in the first show at the Aura Leisure Centre where he secured a win over Stefan Nicolae.
The Ernesider will be bringing big support to Stranorlar with him and Quigley expects big things in the future for the young lightweight boxer.
“Rhys Owens is coming off the back of a very decorative amateur career and he’s transitioning beautifully into professional boxing.
“He’s moving a lot faster than I ever expected and he’s showing things that you’d see from fighters when they’ve fully matured.
“Rhys is looking to go 4-0 now against another tough Mexican, Erik Lopez. He needs to be on his game as well but Rhys is a special talent.
“He’s going to bring a great crowd up from Enniskillen with him, they travel well for him and it’ll be part of a massive atmosphere.”
Another man who’ll be taking to the ring this weekend is Ardara native David Weir, making his home debut in the sport.
“The Diamond” only commenced his journey in boxing last year and he’s enjoyed a good start to it, winning two bouts in Dubai at the end of 2025.
Quigley is overlooking the Ardara man’s progress in the sport and he praised Weir’s commitment and dedication to the cause so far.
“You’ve David ‘The Diamond’ Weir, he’s had two fights now over in Dubai and he’s looking to make his home debut in Ballybofey which is going to be great for him.
“I’m excited for him. It hasn’t even been a year since David started boxing and he’s not 10 or 11-years-old, he’s in his late twenties now. He started up late, he knows there’s a lot of hard work ahead and development for him.
“He’s here in camp with me and he’s going from level to level every week. He never misses a session and he’s dedicated. He wants this so he’s going to keep at this, continue doing that he’s doing and brick-by-brick he’ll get to where he wants to.”
Among the other names that will be featuring this Saturday night are Dungloe’s Danny Boyle, Limerick man Kian Hedderman and Derry native Simon Clarke.
The first two events held by Quigley and the Sheer Sports Promotions were a resounding success and this Saturday appears to be following in its footsteps, with seated tickets sold-out.
It’s sure to be a brilliant night as the boxers showcase their talent, with the Ballybofey native looking forward to what will be an exciting event.
“Without a doubt. We’ve Danny Boyle from Dungloe on the card and we’ve Simon Clarke from Derry making his professional debut. The interest has been massive and the seated tickets are sold-out now.
“We’ve a handful of standing tickets available for anyone that missed the boat and there may be a few returns on the website from people that can’t make it last minute.
“As of now, it’s a sold out show. The atmosphere in the last one was amazing and that showed in the capacity and the willingness for people to come back to fight again and buy the tickets again.
“I’m really excited for another brilliant night in the Finn Valley Centre now.”