Story by Alex McIntyre / Photo by Kevin Finn | Thu. Dec. 16, 2010

European Super Bantamweight Champion, Willie "Big Bang" Casey has landed a dream fight with WBA Interim-World Champion Guillermo Rigondeaux. The fight has been tentatively scheduled for March 2011 at the Citywest Event Centre, Dublin, Ireland.

After weeks of rumours and speculation Dolphil Promotions have announced a deal was reached, giving Casey a shot at the World Title after only 11 pro fights.

The Limerick based Casey was understandably thrilled with the recent developments, “I’m delighted and very grateful that after such a short career I have got all these opportunities. As I have shown so far the bigger these occasions get the better I will get. Ireland has been waiting a while for their next world champion and I am ready to keep that belt here in Ireland,” said a confident Casey.

It's been a incredible year for Casey. A month after beating Canadian prospect Tyson Cave in Toronto, Casey was added to the Prizefighter Tournament as a late replacement for former WBC Champion Wayne McCullough. Disposing of Mark Moran, Josh Wale and Paul McElhinney, Casey took home the trophy and the £32000 winner's prize to propel himself into the reckoning for the EBU European Championship. In front of his adoring hometown fans, Casey put on an outstanding performance against Paul Hyland to win the vacant title with a 4th round technical knock out to set up his biggest test to date.

Casey has been fast tracked into this title shot and will enter the ring as the undoubted underdog. As his fans will testify, the little man from Limerick is not one to back down from a challenge and Don O’Leary of Dolphil Promotions is also undaunted by this next phase in Casey's career.

“We are confident Willie will beat the Cuban, otherwise we wouldn’t put him in with him," said O'Leary. "We have said it time and time again that Willie is good enough to fight any of them at his weight. This is a great story in tough times- lets get the whole country behind Willie Casey.”

With his aggressive come forward style and Rigondeaux's technical defensive mastery, an intriguing match up could be in the cards, Can Casey pull off the unthinkable and bring home the title once held by Dublin's Bernard Dunne? We will have our answer in March and it may be story of 2011.