Meet Eilish Tierney, Gideon Jonas, Jack Williams & Austin McGregor

Everyone knows the name Fabio Wardley. The heavyweight star, a former Ipswich Town academy player, is now among the top ranked fighters in the world, having just knocked out British title rival Frazer Clarke in Saudi Arabia.

And, while he is leading the way for boxing in Suffolk, there are others inspired by him and following in his footsteps.

This weekend's event at Trinity Park is the first pro boxing show in Suffolk for six years (Image: Neilson Boxing) Four of those professionals - Eilish Tierney, Gideon Jonas, Jack Williams and Austin McGregor - fight at Trinity Park this Saturday night, in what will be the first pro boxing show in the county since Wardley himself headlined an event at the Ipswich Corn Exchange in May 2018.

I spoke to Matt Brennan, who manages Tierney, Williams and McGregor and works with Jonas, to get the lowdown on the quartet...

Eilish Tierney is Suffolk's first professional female boxer (Image: Ross Halls) Eilish Tierney

Weight: Super featherweight

Record: 2-0

Tierney, 26, made history as Suffolk's first-ever pro female boxer when she fought and won at the famed York Hall back in February.

Now looking to go 3-0 against foe Amy Greatorex, Brennan has high hopes for the Ipswich talent, who only got into boxing as a way of losing weight.

"She's an exciting fighter," Brennan enthused. "She's very aggressive and will come forward, but she can box as well.

"She's sparred with some of the best in the country - she recently sparred with Caroline Dubois (interim lightweight world champ) and Lauren Parker (European super flyweight champ) - some very, very good boxers.

"She's learning on the job, just like Fab."

Tierney, pictured with head coach Rob Hodgins, is looking to move to 3-0 this Saturday (Image: CHARLOTTE BOND) Brennan added: "If all goes well we want to get her out again in December, so we'd be looking at her being 4-0 by the end of the year.

"I think by the time she gets to her fifth or sixth fight she could be looking at an English title fight, or something along those lines.

"This is a good test for Eilish and we want her to have a good performance, make a bit of a statement and get a bump up in the rankings.

"She's on track and by the middle of next year we want to be looking at the English title and then go from there."

Gideon Jonas, right, is a serving soldier and fought for the Southern Area middleweight title last year (Image: PA Sport) Gideon Jonas

Weight: Middleweight

Record: 6-4

The most experienced fighter on this list, serving soldier Jonas fought for the Southern Area title last November and narrowly lost on points to Bilal Fawaz.

The 25-year-old is based at Rock Barracks in Woodbridge and has just returned from a tour of duty.

"This is about him getting back in the ring and getting the rust off," Brennan explained. "And then get out again by the end of the year or very early next year.

"He wants to make a statement and get four good rounds in, or a stoppage."

Brennan added: "He likes to get on your chest and put the pressure on. He's a very strong, athletic boxer.

"He's a lovely lad too, one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and potentially I think next year we can go for the Southern Area title again.

"He was on the card when Fab fought Nathan Gorman and put on a fantastic performance, so he's been on that big stage and that's where he wants to get back to."

Jack Williams is expected to make a splash on the boxing scene (Image: Jack Williams) Jack Williams

Weight: Featherweight

Record: Pro debut  

One of Brennan's two debut makers on the show, Williams had a short but decorated amateur career.

The 28-year-old, from Ipswich, then had a spell away from the fight game but has been generating some real buzz in the trade with his displays in sparring as he prepares to turn pro against foe Jake Pollard.

Brennan said: "Jack's a little powerhouse, ripped to shreds. In sparring he's been knocking people out left, right and centre.

"I'm expecting fireworks from Jack on his debut and a possible stoppage. He's a very,very good boxer and his progression should be very quick, especially if he does start adding up knockouts - we're going to have to fast track him because no-one's going to want to fight him!

"I imagine he will be fighting for English titles about the same time as Eilish - that's what we hope." 

Austin McGregor is a tall and rangy fighter (Image: Austin McGregor) Austin McGregor

Weight: Welterweight

Record: Pro debut

McGregor is 19-years-old and stands 6ft 3ins as a welterweight (10st 7lbs) - the sort of frame which boxing coaches love to work with.

"He's a handful, he's awkward," Brennan said of the Lowestoft teenager, who fights Nathan Darby on Saturday. "His basics are great, but he can also pack a punch as well.

"We're not going to rush him as much given his age, get this first fight done and see how he goes.

"But I was chatting with Ben Davison (Anthony Joshua's boxing coach, among many others) on the plane on the way back from Saudi Arabia and Austin's been down to his gym a few times sparring and Ben really likes him, he rates him and thinks he's going to do well.

"He's going to cause problems because of his height and the fact he's very long."

Fabio Wardley, right, has inspired a new generation of boxers in Ipswich and Suffolk as a whole (Image: Ross Halls) The Fab effect

Wardley has blazed a trail for boxing in Ipswich and Suffolk as a whole, with Tierney citing him as an inspiration when she turned pro earlier this year.

And Brennan, who's been part of Wardley's team since day one, said the history-making heavyweight has had a real impact on the sport in the region.

"He's an inspiration," he enthused. "There have been boxing clubs in Ipswich for years, but there hasn't been that inspirational person from your area to look up to, and I think that goes a long way.

"It's brought new people into the gym (Suffolk Punch) and, for example, take someone like Eilish - it was Fab who inspired her.

"She came into the gym to lose weight, ended up in the same gym as him and has gone on this journey from losing weight to charity boxing, to white collar, amateur and now professional.

"I'm hoping that she too will now inspire more female boxers to do the same thing.

"So Fab's had a big impact - he's inspirational, even for people who just want to lose weight."

Fabio Wardley headlined the last pro boxing show in Ipswich, at the Corn Exchange back in May 2018 (Image: Copyright Photos by Sara 2017) More shows on the way

While this is the first pro show in Ipswich for years, the young talent coming through in Wardley's wake suggests that we'll be getting top tier boxing events more regularly in future.

"Yeah, I think so," said Brennan, when asked. "The fact that there's 11 fighters on this card all from East Anglia - two from Colchester, four from Ipswich and five coming down from the Norwich area - there's no reason why you can't have shows more regularly.

"I think this show will sell out, so we can do another there, or look at somewhere like the Ipswich Corn Exchange.

"From a boxing fan's point of view, if you can get a £50 ticket to go and watch good fights in Ipswich, without having to worry about travel and all that, it's great."

- Fights start at 5pm on Saturday. Contact the fighters to buy tickets as it's unlikely there will be any on the door. If you want to sponsor any of the fighters and support their journey, contact Brennan on matt@grangefitness.com.