{"id":423142,"date":"2026-01-19T11:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/423142\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T11:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T11:38:09","slug":"irish-takeover-rolls-on-as-contender-status-looms-large-for-steven-cairns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/423142\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Irish Takeover’ Rolls on as Contender Status Looms Large for Steven Cairns"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unbeaten Cork boxer Steven Cairns<\/a>, believes the time has come to announce himself on the biggest stage yet, as he targets his first professional title and a move into contender status on the Dickens \u2013 Cacace card at the 3Arena.<\/p>\n

Speaking at last weeks press conference, the Rebel County man was clear that his upcoming fight is far more than just another step forward, instead he framed it as the beginning of a defining year in his career.<\/p>\n

\u201c2026 is Steven Cairns\u2019 year\u201d said the Leesider. \u201cIt\u2019s time for me to announce myself to the world of boxing, pick up my first title, and kick on to bigger and better things.\u201d<\/p>\n

That message was echoed in his assessment of the imminent task at hand, although the title he is set to fight for yet to be formally announced, the 13-0 fighter is adamant that the Dublin bout will mark a shift in how he should now be viewed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is another step up in my career, winning my first title\u2026 really changing from a prospect to a contender\u201d Cairns said. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a big performance as always, showing my boxing IQ, but also showing I can punch\u2026 don\u2019t blink, because it could end very early.\u201d<\/p>\n

Expecting a knockout win, which no doubt will be marked by his trademark post fight backflip, the proud Cork-man also expected to be roared on by a sizeable Cork contingent, as he mentioned \u201cbusloads\u201d are set to make the journey northwards to Dublin.<\/p>\n

While his shot into contention may come suddenly, \u201cThe Irish Takeover\u201d was keen to stress it has been years in the making, recalling spells of inactivty in the earlier days of his career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were times I didn\u2019t fight for eight or nine months and I was still in the gym every day\u201d he told Irish-Boxing.com. \u201cI was thinking I need to be ready in case an opportunity does come up. Since signing with Queensberry Promotions, I\u2019ve been active, and an active fighter is a happy fighter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Dublin stage, he admitted, is one he envisioned for a long time having attended many shows in the iconic 3Arena, with fellow Corkman Gary \u201cSpike\u201d O\u2019Sullivan\u2019s success there sprouting inspiration in the 23-year-old\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been coming here for shows for so many years\u201d said Cairns. \u201cI remember watching fights in the 3Arena and thinking, \u2018these nights are amazing, these are the nights I want\u2019. It\u2019s taken years of hard work, dedication and belief, especially when there was no clear path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, with that path finally infront of him, the Cairns is already looking beyond his first strap towards even bigger nights.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are a lot of fighters out there I could fight once I win this title\u201d he said. \u201cThe 5v5, Matchroom versus Queensberry, I\u2019d love to be apart of that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Unbeaten Cork boxer Steven Cairns, believes the time has come to announce himself on the biggest stage yet,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":423143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[571],"tags":[222533,64,63,802,222534,49311,222535,85,222536],"class_list":{"0":"post-423142","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-3arena","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-boxing","12":"tag-cacace-v-dickens","13":"tag-cork-boxing","14":"tag-dickens-v-cacace","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-steven-cairns"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=423142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/423142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/423143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=423142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=423142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=423142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}