Guess who’s back?

Over a year on from his last fight, Dublin light middleweight Bernard Roe [4(0)-0] finally returns to the ring.

Misfortune and injury have seen the Sheriff Street slugger sidelined since June of 2016, but he is back fighting on Saturday September 9th at the National Stadium in Dublin on the ‘Celtic Clash 3: Building Champions’ card.

After so long out, Roe wants to be moved quickly, and sees this fight date as a reintroduction and reminder to Irish boxing fans.

“That’s what it is,” he told Irish-Boxing.com. “Just let them know that I’m back on the scene.”

“I never left really. I had a back and then a hand injury, and then a couple of shows not coming off. Just bad luck really.”

“I’m happy to be back in now. I hope to stay busy now, go again at the end of September or start of October if possible. It’s making up for lost time, this is four rounds, I want my next to be six, and I want to jump up to eight as soon as possible, I’m doing it in the gym all the time, I know I can do it.”

Roe faces Valentin Stoychev [8(4)-22(11)-4] next month. The Bulgarian may be familiar having drawn with Michael McLaughlin Owen on the Donegal man’s debut, as well as being stopped by Alfredo Meli.

While the big break was frustrating, Roe stayed training, making the daily trip over to Corduff and Paschal Collins’s Celtic Warriors Gym. Describing his time out, Roe admitted that “it’s a killer to be honest, you’re in the gym for six weeks and then it happens the week of a fight. It’s hard to pick yourself back up and get motivated.”

“This camp has been great though, there’s been no problems, and I’m looking forward to it.”

The gym did provide solace though. Probably the best place in the country for a middleweight or light middleweight, Roe is joined at the Celtic Warriors by fellow inner city stylist Craig O’Brien, Cork star Spike O’Sullivan, and Irish champion Luke Keeler.

The 26 year old outlined how “there’s no better place to be, the spars and just the atmosphere, being around all the others. It helped, because I was in the gym, helping out with their camps and sparring, so I never felt like I was ‘out’ too much.

On September 9th, perhaps looking to take out any lingering frustrations, Roe is targeting an early night. He promises that “it’ll be entertaining and it’ll be explosive. I’m trying to get my first stoppage. Since I turned pro I’ve had a couple of them down, but it’s just never come off. That’s what I’m going for.”

Headlined by the Eric Donovan v Dai Davies BUI Celtic featherweight title fight, the ‘Celtic Clash 3: Building Champions’ card also features Regan Buckley v Carl McDonald, Anto Cacace, Stephen McAfee, Martin Quinn, Crank Whitehouse, Aiden Metcalfe, Dylan McDonagh, Colin O’Donovan, Chris Mullally, Michael Gallagher, Keane McMahon, John Joyce and Niall O’Connor.