THE HARDEST of the hard men are coming to Coventry this week.
Shows across the country are selling out and Stevan ‘Cyril’ Miller expects 1,500 fans will be there when he promotes at the Sports Connexion today (Friday).
Fighters in action include Shane Junior and Davie Joyce.
Footage of Joyce and his gypsy rivals fighting have had millions of views on the internet and the Irishman made national headlines recently when campaigning against gun and knife crime.
The 30-year-old from County Westmeath is unbeaten in bareknuckle combat and promises to give city fight fans an exhibition of hitting without getting hit.
“I don’t just swing at people,” he said.
“I know how to fight. I started training when I was eight years old, so I know what I’m doing.
“I’m very good at getting my distance, getting my opponents where I can hit them and they can’t hit me.
“Boxing, especially bareknuckle boxing, is all about hitting and not getting hit.
“You can do a lot of damage in a few seconds in a bareknuckle fight.
“I’m slippery, I’m fast, I don’t take many punches, but you still need a good chin because if you walk in the rain you’re going to get wet and if you fight, you’re going to get hit.
“It’s when you get hit that you found out what you’ve got in you.”
Joyce was only eight years old when he first went to the gym and went on to have around 100 amateur bouts.
He represented Ireland around the world, winning the European Schoolboy Championship in Rome in 2003 when his team mates included Carl ‘The Jackal’ Frampton.
Frampton went onto put his name in the record books as a two-weight world champion, while Joyce stuck to fighting ‘straighteners’ for family pride.
“There aren’t many opportunities to turn pro in Ireland,” said Joyce, who fights in memory of his late brother John who died last year.
“I could have gone to England to turn pro, but I was married when I was 20 and after that, turning pro never really crossed my mind.”
Tickets for the show at the Sports Connexion are available from 07375 412613.
