Darragh Foley may have “hit the jackpot” ahead of his last fight but he’s not done gambling.
The Sydney-based Irishman is taking on Jack Catterall in Manchester this Saturday, May 27 (Sunday, May 28 in Australia), yet another trip into his opponent’s backyard for the self-confessed “road warrior.”
Foley will again have to upset the oddsmakers if he’s to earn the victory, currently listed as a more than $8 underdog.
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Although, following the circumstances and result of his last outing, the 34-year-old has good reason to believe he’s on a hot streak.
“I was walking out of the casino after losing, down on my luck, got a phone call from my manager, Steve, saying, ‘Hey, you’re never gonna guess what’s landed in our lap,’” Foley told Sporting News.
“I said, ‘Listen, mate, please be good, I’m not having a good night.’
“And he goes, ‘It’s about to get a lot better - Robbie Davies Jnr in Liverpool, Liam Paro’s out after getting injured.’
“I said, ‘No problem, let’s do it.’
“That was three weeks out.”
Foley would go to Davies Jnr’s hometown and score a third-round TKO victory after his opponent’s ankle gave out as he avoided a right hook, having already dropped him with the same punch in the previous round.
While the ankle injury wasn’t in the script, Foley said the fight went according to the gameplan: “Knock him the eff out, because these judges ain’t going to give me the decision.
“We watched him and we knew he was susceptible to that right hook, any time he jabbed, he’d bring [his left hand] down.
“I started setting him up, feint the left hand, boom, come over the top with the right hook.”
Foley said there’s a lesson in it for other fighters.
“Jump, and a net will appear. Especially in boxing, if you don’t take chances, if you don’t take risks, you’re never going to get anywhere, you’re going to stay in the same place, fighting the same people,” he said.
“Boxing’s all about taking risks, like anything in life, you’ve got to take a risk, and I’m a risk-taker.
“Walking out the casino with a hole in my pocket, and then boom, I hit the jackpot, my number came up.”
That win earned Foley an extended deal with promoter Matchroom and what he’d hoped would be an appearance on Katie Taylor’s undercard in Dublin on May 20.
Unfortunately, a fight in the town he grew up in didn’t materalise.
“An offer came for me to fight a guy at 137-pounds, I fight at 140-pounds, it was too low,” he explained.
“I said- because obviously I wanted to fight back there so much, ‘The lowest I can safely get is 138-pounds.’
“They said, ‘Nah, we can’t do that.’
“And I said, ‘Well, I can’t fight.’ You’ve got to have boundaries in life or else people keep pushing and pushing.”
The southpaw didn’t have to wait long for another opportunity.
“I was over in Bali - Ubud, with my family on holiday and it was the last day,” Foley said.
“I see ‘Matchroom announces signing of Jack Catterall to fight May 27.’
“I started laughing and my missus was like, ‘Why are you laughing?’
“I said, ‘I’m going to fight him. Just watch.’”
As it turned out, Foley received a call from his manager shortly after telling him he had a fight lined up with the Englishman.
“I know these things,” he said.
“The world talks to me. And here we are.”
For the third fight in succession, Foley will be going into his opponent’s hometown, having defeated Blake Minto in Newcastle prior to the Davies Jnr meeting.
“That gets your blood pumping, knowing the majority of people are against you,” he said of the challenge.
“I think I’d rather that than being clapped on the back, ‘Go get it, champ.’
“I enjoy that, I’m the road warrior. Nowadays, everyone’s so used to trying to protect that ‘0’ and get every advantage they can, hometown or otherwise.”
Catterall remains one of the biggest names in the super-lightweight division, having most recently lost a contentious split decision to then-undisputed champion at 140-lbs, Josh Taylor.
Many thought Catterall was unlucky not to come away with the victory and the belts on that occasion.
The Foley bout will be the 27-year-old’s first fight since the Taylor loss in February 2022.
“I’m expecting a guy who’s probably looking to prove a point,” Foley said.
“I would be if I was in his position. But then Jack’s never really fought like a guy trying to prove a point, he always does just enough.
“Drops Josh Taylor, the undisputed champion, your one shot, you drop him and then you go across the ring and allow yourself to be clinched and ‘I’ll have a little rest here, as well.’
“If I drop anyone, I’m on that arse until the referee pulls me off. I’m not allowing you to clinch me and have a little rest.”
Foley is well aware he’s the B-side in this one, although that just means the odds are even juicier for those backing the man known as “Super”.
“I can’t tell you exactly what happens and I’m certainly not going to give my gameplan away, but what I will tell you is, I’m going to win this fight, believe that,” he said.
“This is warming him up for September where he’s going to fight a Regis Prograis or a Ryan Garcia or one of these.
“So when I beat Jack Catterall, what happens there? Do we Tipp-ex out his name and insert my name and I fight these guys?”
Catch the Foley-Catterall clash on the undercard to Mauricio Lara vs. Leigh Wood II, live in Australia and worldwide on DAZN.
