Ipswich fighter Ish O’Connor replaces injured Aaron Collins
Opportunity knocks for Ish O’Connor after he was catapulted into the main super welterweight tournament at Ultimate Boxxer 5 following an injury to Aaron Collins.
O’Connor will face Olympian Steven Donnelly in the final quarter-final of the night at the Indigo at the O2, live on BT Sport on September 20.
Collins sustained an intercostal injury during a routine sparring session, and O’Connor was thrilled to be given his big chance.
‘I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity – but I’m in the gym every day – and i’m always ready to fight – so when the call came in I was always going to take it. I’ve had a little look at Steven Donnelly – I know all about his pedigree, and he’s obviously very good, but I believe I can take him. I think he will find it difficult to hit me.’
O’Connor came to the fight game relatively late as a 24-year-old, and won 17 of his 19 fights on the unlicensed scene before turning professional. He enters UB5 with an undefeated 2-0 record.
Opponent Donnelly – with five wins from his first professional outings – has a stellar amateur career under his belt which included representing Ireland in Rio in 2016, and three Commonwealth Games appearances in 2010, 2014 and 2018.
Revised Quarter-Final Draw
QF1) Kingsley ‘Obi’ Egbunike (Black shorts) v Lenny Fuller (White shorts)
QF2) Joshua Ejakpovi (Pink shorts) v Kaan Hawes (Red shorts)
QF3) Lewis Syrett (Yellow shorts) v Sean Robinson (Blue shorts)
QF4) Steven Donnelly (Green shorts) v Ish O’Connor (Grey shorts)
INFORMATION:
Tickets for Ultimate Boxxer 5 are still available at www.ultimateboxxer.com/tickets. All of the action will be live on BT Sport and the BT Sport YouTube channel from 8pm on September 20.