Featherweight Allan Phelan (1-2) will fight James Small (0-3) this Saturday at Resorts Casino in Queens in a contest scheduled for four rounds. The 21-year-old hopes that this fight will help to kick off his professional career which has had its fair share of setbacks.
In his professional debut in 2010, Phelan dislocated his shoulder at the end of the first round. He popped it back in himself, only for it to dislocate a second time later in the fight. He badly injured his rotator cuff and was out of action for 18 months.
In his second professional fight last September, he dropped a close majority decision loss to Micah Branch at the Resorts Casino. The fight was very competitive, but the same shoulder caused him some issues late in the fight which prevented him from going all out in the final stanza. Branch was able to eek out a decision by winning the second half of the fight.
Phelan, who is trained by Don Saxby and Grant Seligson at Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, notched up his first win as a professional with a first round TKO victory over Juan Guzman in the Dominican Republic in February.
“First Irishman to fight in the Dominican Republic, or so I am told,” Phelan told the Irish Voice on Monday.
“The shoulder is now healed and we are 100 percent ready to go. Hopefully I can leave the injury behind and start moving forward.”
Also healed is a cut on the left eye that he sustained during his fight with Guzman that required five stitches. Phelan hopes that he can showcase what he is capable of this weekend against the winless Small, who hails from Cincinnati.
“I want to show that I can fight and that I have moved fully from an amateur to a professional,” said the boxer.
Phelan spent his amateur days boxing out of the Royston Boxing Club in Newbridge, Co. Kildare, and won a junior national title when he was 14. He is now hoping that the work he has done with Saxby and Seligson in training camp can help him hone his skills as a professional.
“I worked on head movement, footwork and throwing harder punches,” added Phelan, who aims to get a few more fights under his belt and is eventually looking to fight for a New York State title.
For the Irishman, who is promoted by Jim Foley of Old World Boxing, this weekend marks the next step in the learning process as a fighter in the paid ranks.
Also in action on the card is light heavyweight Joe Smith (11-1), who will fight Hamid Abdul Mateen in a contest scheduled for eight rounds.
The card is being promoted by New Legend Boxing, Old World Boxing and W.O.N. Promotions. Tickets are available by calling 718-487-4474 or by visiting www.NewLegendBoxing.com.
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