Dom Hunt: Wakefield boxer targets Irish title after winning Central Area crown on Galahad v Martinez undercard

FEELING CHAMPION: Dom Hunt, right, with trainer Junior Witter, left. Picture: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing.

Wakefield welterweight Dom Hunt wants to become Irish champion after winning the Central Area title in Sheffield last weekend.

The 30-year-old claimed the title with a thrilling points victory over Doncaster’s James Flint on the undercard of Kid Galahad’s IBF featherweight title defence against Kiko Martinez.

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Both Hunt and Flint went into the contest with unbeaten records, as Hunt took the win on the scorecards after a captivating contest.

BATTLING WIN: Dom Hunt lands a shot on James Flint. Picture: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing.

He has now set his sights on the Irish title, with the Wakefield-born boxer qualifying to fight for the belt through his grandmother, who is from Kilkenny.

“I really want to go for the Irish title, that is something I am really passionate about winning,” said Hunt, who is trained by Bradford-born former WBC light-welterweight champion Junior Witter.

“My mum’s family are Irish, so I would really like to do that next year.

“I think there will be a few opportunities off the back of the last fight but I can’t rush and skip levels. Whatever Junior says, I will do because I trust him 100 per cent.

“My nan came over here with a young family and raised my mum over here. My nan is really proud about being an Irish woman, to achieve an Irish belt would be fantastic. We are all proud of our Irish roots.”

Hunt set the tone for a remarkable night in Sheffield on Saturday as headliners Terri Harper and Kid Galahad both lost their world titles at the Utilita Arena.

Harper relinquished her IBO and WBC super featherweight titles following a knockout defeat against Alycia Baumgardner while Martinez knocked out Galahad to become IBF king.

With Flint having home advantage in South Yorkshire, Hunt was keen to silence the crowd early on in the contest.

He said: “On paper, it had the makings of the fight of the night. We had very similar records and it wasn’t a case of either of us being a massive favourite.

“It was a proper 50/50 fight. I knew the occasion would bring the best out in him because he has a massive fanbase.

“I knew his fans would bring out the best in him so I knew I would need to start fast and silence the crowd because that takes something away from him - he feeds off that crowd energy.

“In the first round, I caught him with some shots and I could hear the crowd go quiet.

“Every fight I had so far, were fights I should have won but this was one that would show what I was really made of.

“I was glad it brought the best out of me as I have now shown I can rise to these occasions.”