Frank Maloney Putting His Faith into Darren Sutherland
By Terence Dooley
Frank Maloney knows a thing or two about talent, the diminutive London promoter, who guided Lennox Lewis to the top, is putting his faith into Olympic star Darren Sutherland, 27. The Dubliner is 3-0 (3 early) as professional, and the bronze medal winner takes on Gennadiy Rasalev (2-1) at the York Hall tomorrow night, the bout is scheduled for six-rounds. Sutherland does not like to hang about; he has yet to go beyond the fifth round.
Sutherland lost out to James DeGale at the Games, but has shown an early aptitude for the professional business. Darren will be looking for another impressive win tomorrow night. Promoter Maloney has one-eye on the future, telling Sportinglife.com that his man is destined for the top.
“The progress Darren has made with his trainer Brian Lawrence is astonishing, and he could be ready for a title later this year,” Maloney enthused. “When he turned professional in December I thought it would be 18 months before he'd be ready, but there is no stopping him.
“There are some good Irish-Americans who could challenge him for the all-Ireland title, but the opponent I would like is Jim Rock,” he continued. “It would be a great fight between two Dubliners who would be so fired up because of local bragging rights.”
Nottingham’s Jason Booth tops the York Hall bill; he defends his British super-bantamweight title against the spirited Rocky Dean. Sutherland, though, will be seeking to steal the show, before fighting in Sunderland just ten days later, a busy timetable is reaping its own rewards for Darren, and title tilts may come sooner than expected.
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