'Spike' O'Sullivan excited to be fighting in 'Irish' Micky Ward's hometown

IRISH middleweight Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan is relishing his first fight in Lowell, Massachusetts, the hometown of his hero Micky Ward.

The Cork native flies out to Boston with compatriot Stephen Ormond on October 3 to prepare for their respective fights on the undercard of Danny O'Connor vs Gabriel Bracero II on October 10.

The event will be broadcast live on terrestrial TV in America as part of boxing manager Al Haymon's Premier Boxing Champions series, which is screened on NBC.

O’Sullivan, 31, admits the television exposure is good for his career, but he's more excited at the prospect of fighting in Lowell for the first time, where former WBU light welterweight Ward was born.

“This is my seventh fight in America now,” he told The Irish Post. “I’ve fought in Madison Square Garden [New York] and five times in Boston, but this will be the first time I’ve fought in Lowell, which is the hometown of my hero Micky Ward, so this is extra special."

Despite his fight being a only matter of weeks away, O’Sullivan is currently without an opponent due to the withdrawal of Francisco Cordero, but he’s confident his trainer Paschal Collins will find a suitable replacement at short notice.

He said: “I was meant to be fighting a Colombian guy [Cordero] with a record of 32 wins, 22 by knockout, but he’s just after pulling out of the fight I’m only after hearing.

“Paschal will sort out a replacement, but I’m disappointed to be honest, that fight would have helped me move up the rankings. I’ve been sparring with Frank Buglioni for the last 12 weeks so I’ll be well prepared anyway.”

Meanwhile, Dublin lightweight Ormond – who is signed to Murphy’s Boxing along with O’Sullivan – is also looking forward to a trip to America having put in some hard graft in his hometown.

“Boston is a great fighting city, [it has] a big boxing following,” He told The Irish Post. “This will be my second time going over there.

Giv my @CWarriorsgym m8 @steormond a follow & message love seen him freaking out when he gets loads of notifications pic.twitter.com/2MSXm8B6t9

— Gary Spike OSullivan (@spike_osullivan) September 24, 2015

“I’ve been sparring with a few lads and tomorrow [Friday] I’m doing a few rounds with Ricky Burns, and then back home with the likes of Jono Carroll and a few bigger lads too.

“It’s going to be on Premier Boxing and that’s my first fight with them, which is great, it’s brilliant exposure, which is exactly what I want.”