PIERCE O’LEARY is out to prove he is the true Man of Steel in the light-welterweight division.
On the world stage, Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney lead the pack while in Britain, he is building rivalries with Dalton Smith and Adam Azim.
All believe they are No 1 in the division but spectacled savage O’Leary — who fights Liam Dillion for the European title tonight at Portman Road — is in no doubt that he will rule them all soon.
Pundit Carl Frampton, a former European and two-weight world champion at super-bantamweight, said: “He’s got those glasses on and he looks like Clark Kent.
“Dillon is going to try and be aggressive and march Pierce O’Leary down but I think that suits Pierce.”
Dubliner O’Leary is based in Liverpool, where he trains under the highly regarded Joe McNally.
He is hoping for a homecoming — and reckons it will happen in the next eight months — but intends to ruthlessly take care of business in Ipswich first.
The man with nine knockouts for 16 wins is put to hit double figures in terms of stoppages as he hones in on Londoner Dillon (15-2-1), who has yet to be halted.
O’Leary said: “I’m co-main event and everyone will be tuning in. It’s my time to shine.
“I’m not disrespecting Liam but the way I’ve prepared in the gym, it’s going to be a fantastic night. You’ll see Superman. When my hands are getting wrapped you’ll see a different strategy.
“You’ll have Joe going in my ear, telling me what to do and I’m going out there to execute it.
“Once I perform, we’ll be bringing it back to Dublin and going for another big title, please God.”
The bill is topped by heavyweight Fabio Wardley’s dust-up with Justis Huni.
But there is further Irish interest on the card in the shape of a cruiserweight match-up between Belfast’s Steven Ward and Cork-Cuban Mike Perez.
Ward is coming off a win over pal Tommy McCarthy, sending him into retirement, while Perez has found a home at Dublin’s Celtic Warrior Gym and is aiming to set the scene on fire again aged 39.
Meanwhile, Galway’s Thomas O’Toole will headline a bill at Boston’s famous Fenway Park tonight — the first time the ballpark has hosted boxing since 1956.
Local legend, ‘Boston Bomber’ Tony DeMarco, beat Vince Martinez over ten rounds 69 years ago.
Now O’Toole, who relocated to Massachusetts after turning pro, is next in line.
The Kid, 13-0, meets Vaughn Alexander (19-12-2), a 39-year-old known as The Animal, at the home of the Boston Red Sox.
