Forget a kiss – something ‘special’ is going to start with a flip at the 3 Arena this weekend.
Steven Cairns, the Cork prospect who celebrates victories with a trademark backflip, populates Queensberry’s big bill at the 3Arena on Saturday.
He comes to the capital promising a big performance, a first title, and a win that will launch him toward superstardom.
“I’m seeing a special night,” he tells Irish-boxing.com
“I’m seeing me winning my first title, doing my backflip, getting a knockout and becoming an Irish superstar.”
For Cairns, the opportunity to fight in the famous Dublin venue represents the fulfilment of a dream that stretches long back.
Well before he was fighting professionally, he was sitting in the crowd watching some of the memorable fight nights unfold inside the arena. The 2014 Matchroom card, which hosted the 2014 Fight of the Year between Jono Carroll and Declan Geraghty, as well as the emphatic settling of the Spike O’Sullivan and Anthony Fitzgerald grudge, stands out.
“I’ve been coming here for shows for however many years,” he explained.
“Pretty much since the start of my boxing career I’ve been coming up to 3Arena shows. I remember watching Declan Geraghty versus Jono Carroll in the 3Arena. I remember watching Spike O’Sullivan knocking someone out.
“I remember those nights and thinking, ‘Wow, this is amazing. These are the nights I want.’”
Even then, the Irish Takeover believed he would one day reach that stage himself.
“I always thought I’d get there and I knew I’d get there,” he said.
“It just takes years of hard work, dedication and belief when it looks like there’s no clear path. You keep believing that you’re going to get there and eventually you will.”
That belief was tested during quieter periods of his early professional career when fights were hard to come by.
“There were times I didn’t fight for eight or nine months,” he revealed.
“But I was still in the gym every single day because I was thinking I need to be ready in case my opportunity comes.
“When I signed with Queensberry Promotions I’ve been active the last two years and they say an active fighter is a happy fighter.”
Now the momentum is building heading into the Dublin event, the Dave Coldwell-trained Munster man is promising to match what promises to be a lively atmosphere with a performance to remember.
“A big performance and a big statement,” he said when asked for a prediction ahead of his ranking title fight with Essex’s Arnie Dawson.
“It’s always a step up in the career of Steven Cairns. I’ll go in there showing my boxing IQ, showing that I’m a great boxer – but also that I can punch.
“I wouldn’t blink, because it could end very early.”
While his immediate focus is on claiming his first professional title, the ambitious prospect is already thinking about the bigger fights that could follow.
“There’s a lot of fighters out there,” he said.
“You’ve got a lot of fighters with Matchroom. Once I win this title those are things that could happen – things like five-versus-five, Matchroom versus Queensberry.
“I’d like to be part of that as well.”