New York has long been considered one of the capitals of boxing, and Madison Square Garden has long been rightfully called the "Mecca of Boxing".

Of course! In the 1940s - 1950s, the old building of Madison Square Garden hosted fights between Henry Armstrong, Joe Louis, Rocky Marciano. The fight between Sugar Ray Robinson and Jake LaMotta also took place in the Madison Square Garden arena.

And what about the "Fight of the Century": Joe Frazier vs. Muhammad Ali in 1971. Then Frazier became the champion.

Three years later, again in Madison Square Garden, Muhammad took revenge on points.

Ukrainian boxers also made their mark in the ring of Madison Square Garden.

Vitali Klitschko Vitali had only one fight in Madison Square Garden - destroying Kirk Johnson in the second round.

Vladimir Klitschko boxed here four times: with Bryant Jennings, Sultan Ibragimov, Calvin Brock, David Bostis. And he won all of them.

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But there is another tradition in Madison Square Garden: every year on the eve or on St. Patrick's Day, Irish Boxing Days are held here.

The next celebration will take place on Sunday, March 16, 2025.

This was the event that was the subject of the press conference held in Manhattan's Legends Bar.

                                               The press conference begins...

The following took part in it:

- the fastest rising star in boxing, "King" Callum Walsh (12-0, 10 KOs) from Cork, Ireland;

- "Deadly" Dean Sutherland (19-1, 7 KOs) from Aberdeen, Scotland;

- Cletus "The Hebrew Hammer" Seldin (28-1, 23 KOs);

- Tom Loeffler, President, 360 Promotions.

Callum Walsh and Dean Sutherland will compete in the 10-round main event of the evening, with Walsh making the third defense of his WBC Continental Americas welterweight title.

The 10-round co-main event will feature super middleweights Emmett Brennan (5-0, 1 KO) of Dublin, Ireland and Kevin “The Kingdom Warrior” Cronin (8-2-1, 4 KO) of County Kerry, Ireland. It will be a rematch for both men of their heated clash, which Cronin won on September 20, 2024.

Former world title challenger “Fearless” Feargal McCrory (16-1, 8 KOs) will face Brandon Benitez (21-3, 9 KOs) of Queretaro, Mexico, also in a ten-round bout.

Popular Irish heavyweight Thomas “The Bomber” Carty (10-0, 9 KOs) of Dublin will make his U.S. debut against Dajuan Calloway (10-3, 8 KOs) of Warrenville Heights, Ohio, in an eight-round bout.

Longtime New York City fan favorite super lightweight Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin (28-1, 23 KOs) will face veteran Issouf Kinda (20-6, 9 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York, in an eight-round bout. Featherweight Donagh Keary is making his professional debut in a four-round featherweight bout against an opponent to be announced.

Cletus Seldin and Donagh Keary were also present at the press conference.

Event organizer Tom Loeffler has been in the boxing industry for over 30 years. In 2003, he founded K2 Promotions with Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. K2 Promotions holds the record for organizing the most heavyweight world title fights this century, as well as all of the Klitschko brothers' world title fights.

Before and after the press conference, journalists had the opportunity to talk to the boxers individually: face to face.

A surprise was the introduction of the main sponsor of both the press conference and the boxing evening itself.

Main sponsors are Sean O'Sollivan & Aoife Kenny, representatives of "Irlandes Tequila"

This year, it is a tequila company, very appropriate for the upcoming sports festival, called “Irlandes Tequila”.

And the product's slogan is appropriate: “The first tequila inspired by Ireland.” I'm sure the spectators who come to Madison Square Garden on March 16 for an evening of Irish boxing will be able to taste the new tequila.

Advance tickets for the largest Irish boxing tournament in New York history are now on sale at MSG.com.

Colleagues at work