BoxRec

8 rounder with Michael Sweeney who is a decent opponent.
I expect Sweeney to win this comfortably, Corbett looked well past his best in Prizefighter 2 years ago now, not quite sure why he is making this comeback.

Discount Corby at your peril!

I loved Darren Corbett back in the day (no homo)

Jeff Thomas wrote:I loved Darren Corbett back in the day (no homo)

Livingstone Cole wrote:That day was quite a long time ago, though.

Yeah, his success in the Crisuerweight Division was well over a decade ago.

hal73 wrote:He 40 later this year I remember him being 3 years ahead of me in school. Good fighter and really nice guy to boot :)

Are you serious, mate? Do you know what type of reputation he has in North Belfast?

His prime was before my time but saw some footage of him KOing a few fellas and he came across as an absolute c ock of the highest degree.
What's his rep around Belfast?
He's a Catholic isn't he?

ApolloCreed wrote:His prime was before my time but saw some footage of him KOing a few fellas and he came across as an absolute c ock of the highest degree.
What's his rep around Belfast?
He's a Catholic isn't he?

Definitely a marmite figure. I've heard plenty about him, some not so savoury. However, I was a fan. The belly, the do, the post knockout war-dance = entertainment in my book.

Hes a world champion super middle trapped inside a fat cruisers body.

Im gonna stick the neck out and say that he wins by middle round Ko. Big shout.

ApolloCreed wrote:His prime was before my time but saw some footage of him KOing a few fellas and he came across as an absolute c ock of the highest degree.
What's his rep around Belfast?
He's a Catholic isn't he?

Yeah and his reputation isn't too good, let's just put it that way.

It's a farcical fight and if Corbett wins it proves nothing other than Sweeney's severe limitations. Let's be brutally honest, all Corbett has done in the past 8 (!) years is edge a one point margin over a journeyman in a six rounder and enter a couple of prizefighters (the playground of the fat, washed up, re-cycled to hell names of yesteryear).

At his best his conditioning was dreadful and his level of opposition (at it's best) ordinary and generally pants. Scott, Norton and Okoh are reasonable names but he fought the last of them 14 years ago!!!!!!!!!

How this is sanctioned for a title fight, however low the level, is bang out of order. If he comes in looking in anything like reasonable condition I'd be surprised

fizzjambo wrote:It's a farcical fight and if Corbett wins it proves nothing other than Sweeney's severe limitations. Let's be brutally honest, all Corbett has done in the past 8 (!) years is edge a one point margin over a journeyman in a six rounder and enter a couple of prizefighters (the playground of the fat, washed up, re-cycled to hell names of yesteryear).

At his best his conditioning was dreadful and his level of opposition (at it's best) ordinary and generally pants. Scott, Norton and Okoh are reasonable names but he fought the last of them 14 years ago!!!!!!!!!

How this is sanctioned for a title fight, however low the level, is bang out of order. If he comes in looking in anything like reasonable condition I'd be surprised

title fight? dont think so mate.

anyway, I heard that he has been taking the fight really serious and has already sold a ton of tickets!

slapbangwhallop wrote:title fight? dont think so mate.

I thought I read somewhere that this fight was for the vacant Irish Cruiserweight title. Think I read it in last weeks North Belfast News.

slapbangwhallop wrote:anyway, I heard that he has been taking the fight really serious and has already sold a ton of tickets!

Yeah I was speaking to him yesterday (though we don't get on that well) and he has lost weight from the last time I have seen him.

Crease wrote:

slapbangwhallop wrote:title fight? dont think so mate.

I thought I read somewhere that this fight was for the vacant Irish Cruiserweight title. Think I read it in last weeks North Belfast News.


Yeah I was speaking to him yesterday (though we don't get on that well) and he has lost weight from the last time I have seen him.

Timsy is the Cruiser champion. I havent heard that he has vacated or been stripped, and I am sure Timsy would have been kicking up a stink if he was and I would most likely have heard about it.

I think its an 8 rounder.

slapbangwhallop wrote:Timsy is the Cruiser champion. I havent heard that he has vacated or been stripped, and I am sure Timsy would have been kicking up a stink if he was and I would most likely have heard about it.

I think its an 8 rounder.

Fair enough mate. I might be mistaken...

Crease wrote:

slapbangwhallop wrote:Timsy is the Cruiser champion. I havent heard that he has vacated or been stripped, and I am sure Timsy would have been kicking up a stink if he was and I would most likely have heard about it.

I think its an 8 rounder.

Fair enough mate. I might be mistaken...

No worries mate. Should be a good scrap. I spoke to Eamonn Magee and he is convinced that Corbett is going to win. Great addition to the undercard whatever way it goes.

Dee Walsh v Tommy Tolan for the "King of the Falls" title is another good fight!

slapbangwhallop wrote:No worries mate. Should be a good scrap. I spoke to Eamonn Magee and he is convinced that Corbett is going to win. Great addition to the undercard whatever way it goes.

Yeah, they'll probably show it on Channel 5 if the Fury/Rogie fight finishes early.

slapbangwhallop wrote:Dee Walsh v Tommy Tolan for the "King of the Falls" title is another good fight!

Who do you fancy for that one?

Crease wrote:

slapbangwhallop wrote:Dee Walsh v Tommy Tolan for the "King of the Falls" title is another good fight!

Who do you fancy for that one?

I like Tommy a lot, always have good time for him. But Dee is a bit special, if he can keep his feet on the ground he could really do something in the game.

I'll go with youth over experience in that one.

slapbangwhallop wrote:

Crease wrote:

slapbangwhallop wrote:Timsy is the Cruiser champion. I havent heard that he has vacated or been stripped, and I am sure Timsy would have been kicking up a stink if he was and I would most likely have heard about it.

I think its an 8 rounder.

Fair enough mate. I might be mistaken...

No worries mate. Should be a good scrap. I spoke to Eamonn Magee and he is convinced that Corbett is going to win. Great addition to the undercard whatever way it goes.

Dee Walsh v Tommy Tolan for the "King of the Falls" title is another good fight!

There's 2 men there that are hard (but they know it). I saw Darren box years ago and I can imagine he'd be a handful in a pub. Magee always struck me as a bit mean and seemed to have a bit of nastiness in him.

Walsh is nailed on to beat Tolan in the battle of St James' vs. Ballymurphy. I think the main point of interest rests with whether Dee stops him or not.

Corbett-Sweeney is a strange one, eight-rounder and a real crossroads battle. Sweeney's say here.

http://news.boxrec.com/news/2012/sweene ... shop-dream

Corbett 'crossed the road' a long time ago and is so far past his best (which wasn't great, but was entertaining) you have to wonder what he's doing back in the ring (other than providing a cheap option for Hennessy who'll do good tickets. Whatever happens I hope he doesn't get hurt but realises it's time to call it a day (properly)

Whats up with Sweeney one minute he says he is a light heavy then the next he says hes a cruiserweight, he should never be at cruiser I thought the Timms fight proved that . At light heavy Sweeney could do something and I think this move back to crusier smacks of a lack of dedication.

palooka wrote:There's 2 men there that are hard (but they know it). I saw Darren box years ago and I can imagine he'd be a handful in a pub. Magee always struck me as a bit mean and seemed to have a bit of nastiness in him.

Your sentence about Magee could very well be put forward to describe Corbett.

He's a grandfather at 40, has six kids and a 29-year-old girlfriend.
This guy has "classy" written all over him!

Raging bull Darren puts his regrets behind him

By David Kelly
Wednesday, 21 March 2012


The tear in the corner of his eye says more than a thousand words. This is more than just another fight, more than just another comeback... this is everything for Darren Corbett.


When he turned professional in 1994 Corbett's power made an electrifying impact. It didn't matter that he was out of shape, he had a one-punch thunderbolt unmatched by any Irish professional fighter in the past 25 years and charisma to match with Elvis impersonations as a side show.

It seemed that with the right guidance a golden path would open up, but his star shone for a while and then gradually spiralled out of control. Now he is back two years away from the ring and with his 40th birthday approaching in July.

The old Raging Bull meets Mayo's Michael Sweeney over eight rounds at the Odyssey Arena on the supporting bill to Martin Rogan's heavyweight clash with Tyson Fury on April 14 insisting that he is filled with an unparalleled desire to succeed.

“I have two new beautiful kids, four other great kids, I'm also a grandfather and I love them all and I'm fighting for them. All I ever wanted was a wee sweetie shop, a deposit for a shop to get me going and that's what this fight is all about,” said Corbett, who will spar with Fury over the next two weeks.

“I never thought I would be fighting at 36 never mind 39... the simple fact is I'm not making anything out of this fight. This is covering my brain scan and medicals so I can fight again. I'd love a bit of sponsorship for my shorts to get me a few quid.

“I need the money, there's no work about and even though I'm not making one penny it gets me back and in one good year I know I can do a bit of damage, I have to.

“I have to thank Harry Crawford for paying for the medicals and big Mickey Hughes because without him I wouldn't be on the bill. Mickey Hughes has given me a lifeline, he's a straight guy and he gets you a fair deal.”

Corbett's professional career came about on the back of three stunning knockouts, two in the ring when he poleaxed American number one Ike Green and claimed the Ulster title in similar fashion against Ballyclare's Willie Clyde and the third when medics blocked his path onto the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games in 1994.

“I had been cut by a glass while doing the door, it had healed up and the top man in the Ulster Clinic gave me the all clear, but the doctor said no. I had already knocked out the favourite, Britain's Michael McKenzie, in a round. I was sick,” he added. The professional life beckoned and everybody wanted to talk to him.

“I haven't a bad word to say about Barry Hearn, but the guy I should have signed with was Joe Frazier.

“Joe Frazier had watched me knock out Ike Green, the National Golden Gloves champion and Junior Olympic champion and he loved me. He was offering me $30,000, an apartment, a car and a job with a guy Mike Doyle who would have given me a job in his bar.

“I was young and foolish, I was advised there would be better deals and turned him down. That was a big mistake.”

The stoppage of Clyde is still talked about in amateur boxing circles, not only for the concussive power he exhibited, but the celebration which saw him boot his gumshield into the Ulster Hall balcony.

“The night before I had drunk 20 pints and smoked 10 joints — I’m totally against drugs and don’t smoke or drink now,” said Corbett. “I went in the next night and knocked big Willie Clyde out. The referee gave me a count for no reason and that made me angry and then right away I got him with the left hook and booted my gumshield into the crowd.

“Big Willie’s gumshield was lying in one side of the ring and his tooth was lying on the other side. That was a special night.”

Eventually he signed with Hearn and having started out as a heavyweight, the 5ft 11 north Belfast 22-year-old chalked up two first round knockouts before dropping down to cruiserweight where he won the Irish title before the zenith of his career in 1997 when he challenged unbeaten puncher Chris Okoh for the Commonwealth belt before a sold out Waterfront Hall.

“I was supposed to get banged out that night, nobody wanted to fight him, but I knocked him out. The crowd was amazing that night. That’s the thing, I was always a ticket seller,” he said.

“I thought after that the world was my oyster. I expected to be fighting for a World title, but everybody was avoiding me. That was June and I didn’t get to fight again until December and I gave the worst performance of my career against Rob Norton — even though I won.”

A year later he lost a British and Commonwealth title fight to Bruce Scott before returning at light-heavyweight only to make what he regards as the biggest mistake of his career.

“I was set for a British and Commonwealth title fight with Neil Simpson and I was on fire, but I didn’t want to sign an extended contract with Barry Hearn and I was advised to ask for more money and even though I was getting a lot more I was still told to ask for more and the fight didn’t happen.

“People haven’t seen the best of me because the best of me was in preparation for that fight. I was battering the WBO champion Mark Prince as well as Mark Baker and I sat and watched Simpson beat Baker by a point.

“I stayed in bed and cried for a week. I’m a big strong man but that hurt, I was sickened. That was the biggest mistake I ever made and things were never the same.”

For the past decade he has had long spells of inactivity, boxed briefly in the States and had two poor displays in Prizefighter, while trying to keep his personal life together.

Now with partner Noeleen, Corbett says he is “fresh” for the fight ahead.

“I don't feel 40, I feel 18. For the first time in life I really feel in love and Noeleen is really looking after me. She keeps me right, she doesn't cover for me, she's helped me change my life around,” he said.

“She's 11 years younger than me and she's a lot smarter! I want the best for her and all my kids. That’s why I am fighting and I’m loving it — I’m buzzing and ready to give it my best.”

Darren Corbett vs Michael Sweeney : The Raging Bull returns – and this time its personal!

Corbett lifts the lid on the needle between him and Rogan and him and Sweeney and talks about his spar with Fury.

http://www.boxing-ireland.com/news/darr ... -personal/

slapbangwhallop wrote:Darren Corbett vs Michael Sweeney : The Raging Bull returns – and this time its personal!

Corbett lifts the lid on the needle between him and Rogan and him and Sweeney and talks about his spar with Fury.

http://www.boxing-ireland.com/news/darr ... -personal/

I stopped reading after he said he had lost 4stone in 10 days

Tommy Gunn13 wrote:

slapbangwhallop wrote:Darren Corbett vs Michael Sweeney : The Raging Bull returns – and this time its personal!

Corbett lifts the lid on the needle between him and Rogan and him and Sweeney and talks about his spar with Fury.

http://www.boxing-ireland.com/news/darr ... -personal/

I stopped reading after he said he had lost 4stone in 10 days

ha,ah