Patrick "The Punisher" Hyland touched down in Las Vegas at the weekend as he wraps up preparations for the biggest fight of his life. The Dubliner hits boxing's big time on December 8th when he takes on Javier Fortuna for the WBA Interim Featherweight title at the MGM Grand on a bill headlined by the fourth clash between Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez.
It's the realisation of a lifelong dream for Hyland who holds the longest current unbeaten run in Irish boxing with 27 straight wins to his name. The 29 year old plans on extending that to 28 in Las Vegas and returning home to Tallaght with an early Christmas present by wrapping the WBA belt around his waist.
"It's every kids dream to fight for a world title so to do it on such a big stage on a Manny Pacquiao card in Las Vegas live on US TV is an added bonus," said Hyland. "Fighting for the world title will fulfil a lifelong ambition and now the opportunity is finally almost here. This is what I've worked for since the very first day I put on a pair of boxing gloves so it's a dream come true.
"I've felt ready to step up to World level for a while now so December 8th will be a chance for me to show everybody what I'm about. This is the biggest test of my career to date but when you get to World title level you have to face the best and I've always wanted to test myself against the very best."
Fortuna has been impressing fight fans in compiling a 20 fight unbeaten record that has seen him KO 15 of his opponents to date and in the process gain a reputation as one of the sports rising stars. However Hyland feels that the Dominican Republic puncher has yet to be truly tested and is promising to deliver the ultimate examination of his world title credentials at the MGM Grand.
"There has been a lot of hype about Fortuna and deservedly so because he's had some decent wins," said Hyland. "He comes out of the blocks quickly and has a lot of first round knockouts so I'll have to weather the early storm. A storm always blows itself out though so lets see what he's like later in the fight because I plan to take him into deeper waters and drown him.
"Training has gone very well, I worked very hard at my training camp in upstate New York and I'm feeling nice and sharp and ready for fight night. He's a southpaw but that has never been an issue for me. In fact I've KO'd every southpaw I've met so far in the pro ranks so hopefully I can keep that streak going against Fortuna.
"Obviously everything is on the line for both of us in this fight. As the old cliche says, 'somebody's 0 has gotta go' but there is a major incentive for us to shine and the winner is going to go on to some massive unification fights and headline big cards like this in their own right."
Hyland's manager Brian Peters has described the fight as a "massive opportunity" for Hyland. "Patrick wants to prove himself at World level and he jumped at the fight when it was offered. It's a massive opportunity, for a very good purse on the biggest stage possible. It's a huge step up but Patrick feels ready for these kinds of fights now. He will have to be very careful in those first few rounds because Fortuna is so dangerous early on but after a few rounds I think it will become a completely different fight and Patrick can start to take over."
It's the realisation of a lifelong dream for Hyland who holds the longest current unbeaten run in Irish boxing with 27 straight wins to his name. The 29 year old plans on extending that to 28 in Las Vegas and returning home to Tallaght with an early Christmas present by wrapping the WBA belt around his waist.
"It's every kids dream to fight for a world title so to do it on such a big stage on a Manny Pacquiao card in Las Vegas live on US TV is an added bonus," said Hyland. "Fighting for the world title will fulfil a lifelong ambition and now the opportunity is finally almost here. This is what I've worked for since the very first day I put on a pair of boxing gloves so it's a dream come true.
"I've felt ready to step up to World level for a while now so December 8th will be a chance for me to show everybody what I'm about. This is the biggest test of my career to date but when you get to World title level you have to face the best and I've always wanted to test myself against the very best."
Fortuna has been impressing fight fans in compiling a 20 fight unbeaten record that has seen him KO 15 of his opponents to date and in the process gain a reputation as one of the sports rising stars. However Hyland feels that the Dominican Republic puncher has yet to be truly tested and is promising to deliver the ultimate examination of his world title credentials at the MGM Grand.
"There has been a lot of hype about Fortuna and deservedly so because he's had some decent wins," said Hyland. "He comes out of the blocks quickly and has a lot of first round knockouts so I'll have to weather the early storm. A storm always blows itself out though so lets see what he's like later in the fight because I plan to take him into deeper waters and drown him.
"Training has gone very well, I worked very hard at my training camp in upstate New York and I'm feeling nice and sharp and ready for fight night. He's a southpaw but that has never been an issue for me. In fact I've KO'd every southpaw I've met so far in the pro ranks so hopefully I can keep that streak going against Fortuna.
"Obviously everything is on the line for both of us in this fight. As the old cliche says, 'somebody's 0 has gotta go' but there is a major incentive for us to shine and the winner is going to go on to some massive unification fights and headline big cards like this in their own right."
Hyland's manager Brian Peters has described the fight as a "massive opportunity" for Hyland. "Patrick wants to prove himself at World level and he jumped at the fight when it was offered. It's a massive opportunity, for a very good purse on the biggest stage possible. It's a huge step up but Patrick feels ready for these kinds of fights now. He will have to be very careful in those first few rounds because Fortuna is so dangerous early on but after a few rounds I think it will become a completely different fight and Patrick can start to take over."
