By Daniel Halpin

With Rendall Munroe’s World Title fight in Japan fast approaching we caught up with promoter Frank Maloney to discuss his boxer’s chances against the highly rated Toshiaki Nishioka for the WBC strap.

“Rendall has a good chance over there, he believes in himself 100% which is why he has got this far in the first place”.

It seems like only yesterday that Munroe was calling for a crack at Bernard Dunne’s European title which opened up a war of words ensued from both camps but he has since propelled himself right into world title contention. Dunne subsequently went on to lose that title in the first round against a ripped Kiko Martinez.

With the EBU belt jumping like a hot potato Martinez lost his first defense against the Leicestershire man and Rendall Munroe has not looked back. He has since made six defences with the last coming against the highly rated Simone Maludrottu (30-3) which had also been dubbed a WBC Title eliminator.

Frank Maloney does not see home advantage playing a major part in the outcome of the bout. “No, I don’t think that will affect him at all. Japanese fans are very polite and sporting, so I can’t see that being a factor- Rendall wouldn’t be intimidated anyway”.

Rendall, now 29 is beginning to see his hard work pay dividends and with October 24th fast approaching, he is hoping to pull the performance of his career so far out of the bag and take the title home with him. Whatever the outcome Nishioka will have his hands full with Munroe. This will be Nishioka’s fifth defense but for Munroe, this is his dream and he plans on leaving Japan having given it his all and hopefully with the belt in the bag.

Maloney continued “If it was determination and guts, Rendall would win hands down. It’s going to be a very tough fight but look he deserves this shot more then anyone. I see this one 60-40 but who knows how it will go”

With Irish Super Bantamweight prospect Willie Casey shooting into the forefront on the European scene Frank Maloney refuses to rule out a fight between the pair providing they continue winning. “We see that one down the road yes, Willie has come a long way in a short time and I would think it might come a bit early for him. He didn’t have the best amateur record but he’s a tough kid and yes we would look at that possibility. I don’t see him causing Rendall any problems really”

With names like Rendall Munroe now entering the fray Dolphil Promotions are trying to keep Willie grounded. “Willie is an exceptional talent, and I would agree with Frank, his style certainly does suit the pro game a lot more then the amateurs. 

We’re just trying to keep him focused but yes it’s nice to hear names like Rendall Munroe associated with Willie (ranked no. 8 by EBU) but for now he’s focused on the Kiko Martinez fight and taking The European Title home to Limerick. Down the road, of course but it may be a little early. All this hype surrounding him (Willie) is great but we’ll be keeping him grounded. We wish Rendall all the best in his fight in October, if he takes that title home it’ll only add more spice to the Super-Bantam catch in the UK and Ireland” said Phil Sutcliffe

Willie refuses to be drawn on the matter, “I am 100% focused on my fight with Kiko, once I beat him, I’ll be focused on my next fight. Any fights down the road are far from my thoughts right now. Rendall is a top class fighter but if he was put in front of me, of course I would be confident of beating him”.