Key points:
- Pierce O’Leary (19-0, 11 KOs) defends his IBO super lightweight title against Mark Chamberlain (17-1-1, 12 KOs) on August 1 at Dublin’s 3Arena
- The fight was originally scheduled for March but postponed after Chamberlain was hospitalised with a chest infection
- Royston Barney-Smith meets Reece Bellotti on the same card for the Intercontinental IBO super featherweight title
- O’Leary won the vacant IBO title in March by stopping late replacement Maxi Hughes in the fifth round
Pierce O’Leary makes the first defence of his IBO super lightweight title on August 1, facing the opponent he was originally supposed to fight five months ago, in a rescheduled clash at Dublin’s 3Arena.
O’Leary (19-0, 11 KOs) and Mark Chamberlain (17-1-1, 12 KOs) were first set to meet in March, but Chamberlain withdrew two weeks out after a chest infection put him in hospital. Maxi Hughes stepped in on short notice instead, and O’Leary stopped him in the fifth round to claim the vacant IBO title in front of a sold-out home crowd. Now fully recovered, Chamberlain gets the fight he originally signed up for, this time with a world title attached.
“This is a fight we simply had to get done,” promoter Frank Warren said. “Everyone was so excited by the prospect of it back in March, so we just couldn’t let it pass by. It is one of those fights where you just know it will deliver. Two young talents, big punchers who don’t take a backward step. All the ingredients are there for a real barnstormer, with a world title on top this time.”
The card carries a second IBO storyline lower down the bill, with Royston Barney-Smith facing Reece Bellotti for the Intercontinental IBO super featherweight title. Two IBO belts up for grabs on the same night is a rare enough occurrence to note on its own, regardless of how either fight plays out.
The event, billed “No Turning Back,” airs live on DAZN from the 3Arena, with the main card starting at 7pm BST and O’Leary’s ring walk expected around 10pm.