Cork boxer Tommy Hyde has Irish Super Middleweight belt in his sights

CORK professional boxer Tommy Hyde has set his sights on the Irish Super Middleweight crown after winning his first title the BUI Celtic belt in San Francisco last St Patrick's weekend.

The northside native Hyde claimed the title and pleased his supporters on Stateside with a career-enhancing strap and extremely impressive stoppage win over Waterford man former champion Craig McCarthy on St Patrick’s Day Eve, outside of San Francisco at Fox Theater in Redwood City.

That victory means the Governor returned to Cork with a title in his luggage and has mandatory status for the Irish title in his back pocket.

Tommy and his father and manager Gary want to play the mandatory card straight away and has set his sights on an Irish title fight in the coming months.

“Winning the Celtic title makes me the mandatory for the Irish title and I’d love to go for that next,” Hyde said. 

I want to keep picking up titles while I’m developing as a professional and the Irish title is definitely one I want around my waist."

The BUI has recently confirmed that that Kerryman Kevin Cronin and follow Cork man Cathal Crowley are also eligible to challenge for the strap but Tommy will be first in line for that fight. While he is setting himself new challenges and targets, the 24-year-old was happy to enjoy the moment and his first title victory.

"It’s always a great feeling to win but winning with a title on the line and bringing it home makes that feeling even better. I’m happy with my performance as I didn’t waste any of my shots and felt dominant on the night.

"It was unreal to finally fight in San Francisco and I have made a lot of friends there here so I’ll definitely fight here again. I was on top from the opening bell, dropped McCarthy in the second, before hurting him at the end of rounds three and four, before he closed the show 30 seconds into round five when referee David Irvine widely halted the bout.

“This was probably my best performance so far, as I fought a tough opponent and won the fight convincingly. I trained very hard for this fight, and I think that showed under the lights.”

NUMBER ONE

Hyde’s father Gary also claimed Tommy should be fighting for the Irish title soon and feels he is ready to add to the recent title he won Stateside.

"I am very proud of Tommy’s performance in America as he fought intelligently, hurting his opponent continuously before closing the show at the beginning of the fifth round. He is officially the number one Super Middleweight in Ireland now, so the Boxing Union of Ireland will decide who he will fight for the vacant Irish title in the coming weeks."