Rumble at the Beach

2700 45th Avenue,San Francisco CA 94116

18 March, 2023

Description

On Saturday, March 18, 2023, the Irish Center SF, in partnership with Fire in the Ring Boxing, presents "Rumble at the Beach" at the United Irish Cultural Center, the most intimate boxing arena in Northern California. Boxing requires tickets, but the pre-game beer garden are open to the public. No cover charge for Music! Schedule: 4:30 PM Doors Open to Public in Beer GardenDoors open to Boxing Arena about 5:15 PM6:00 PM first fightEstimated End of Boxing Event 9:30 PMFull Bar: Outdoors - Wawona Gates 4:30 PM - 8 PMIndoors - St. Patrick's Room 5pm-9.30pmBeer/wine/soda/water: Indoors - Upstairs - requires a Boxing ticketBoxing returns to the United Irish Cultural Center March 18 with an USA and Ireland amateur card featured as one of the last events of a busy week at 45th and Wawona. “Delighted to have a first class team of international boxers coming in from Ireland to participate and showcase their talents locally,” said UICC President Liam Reidy. “A special thank you to all those who sponsored the event and to Jimmy Ford, Ian Buckley, and Robert Fernandez, our partners at Fire in the Ring boxing for organizing the bouts. “ The USA and Ireland event has been dubbed the “Rumble at the Beach” and marks the third boxing card at the center since 2022. The earlier two sold out; Boxing is popular in the outer Sunset. The contingent of boxers coming from Ireland looks to be formidable.. Odhran Clancy from County Down is an Ulster Youth Champion and a Haringey Cup finalist. The 18 year old featherweight’s southpaw style could prove troublesome. Donagh Keary boxes out of the Rathfriland Boxing Club in Down as does Clancy. The 125 lb former All-Ireland champion’s strength is his work rate and attack inside. Gavin Ryan hails from Meath and is a 10 time Irish schoolboy and youth champ. He currently holds the Irish Senior title at 125 lbs as well as winning the German boxing cup and the Celtic boxing cup. Ryan McCarthy comes to the “Rumble at the Beach” from the Fr. Horgan’s Club in Togher, Cork. McCarthy is a skilled and experienced welterweight. His impressive resume includes winning the Celtic Cup elite division as well as an Irish college championship. and a Munster title Patrick Doherty comes from the Fr. Horgan’s club as well. He is the 2022 Celtic Cup Champion. Corkonians Donny Lucey, Davey O”Neil, David O’Driscoll, and George Goff are also included in the Irish selection. The future event of the evening will be a contest of Super Heavyweights. Kenny Okungbowa hails from Athlone and characterizes his boxing style as “aggressive”. The 31-year-old was drawn to boxing because, 'it's inclusive-everyone from all parts of society is welcome to join.’ Okungbowa is looking forward to his trip to California. “I’m really looking forward to the trip, especially boxing around St. Patrick’s day.” Okungbowa will face Willie John McCartan from Down. The 25-year-old engineer is from Tullylish/Laurencetown in County Down and boxes out of the Gilford Boxing Club. He started in boxing to enhance his GAA training. “I got into boxing mainly for fitness. It really started with me wanting to initially just get fitter for Gaelic football. I ended up taking a greater interest in boxing and gave the GAA a break. Four years later and I’m now Ulster Champion, and I narrowly missed out on my first All-Ireland. I love everything about the sport, the people you meet, the communities it brings together and the journey it has taken me on so far.” Missed opportunity during the pandemic has made McCartan appreciative of being able to box at the UICC. “Very excited about boxing in the states. I had the opportunity canceled before in 2020 due to COVID in Portland, Oregon, so I am really looking forward to participating in this event and seeing San Francisco for the first time also. “ The Okungbowa vs. McCartan match-up promises to be a crowd pleaser. “This fight is going to be a barn burner, and you can quote me on that,” says matchmaker Ian Buckley. It should be noted that the makeup of the matchups is subject to change due to injury or other matchups.