by KM Stansen | Thu. June 10, 2010
The contemporary Irish boxing scene is one that has already produced a few internationally noteworthy fighters, as well as noteworthy battles. Positioned right next to the long-time European Boxing powerhouse that is the United Kingdom, Ireland is on the verge of giving the U.K. all it can possibly handle talent wise. Not only are the Irish boys a bit harder nosed by comparison, there is a reasonable amount of foreign talent, such as former Cuban amateur stars.

In the Irish scene moving through the ranks is much tougher than in the German or British scenes. Irish fighters come up the same way American fighters do, doing battle in competitive regional level thrillers.

There are a few Irish fighters that U.S. and worldwide fight fans should be on the look out for in the near future:

CARL FRAMPTON
Frampton is one of my favorites from Ireland. He is currently being guided by the legendary Barry McGuigan, and McGuigan is so convinced that Frampton is a star in the making that he's yelling it to the entire world. Irish fans are hoping to see Frampton follow in McGuigan's footsteps and turn into a ironclad warrior of a world champion, that crosses over abroad. His next fight will be in King's Hall, Belfast, Ire., against a seasoned Londoner named Ian Bailey. If you can fetch yourself a stream, try not to miss it.

WILLIE CASEY
A bit of an older prospect at 28, but he's an A class warrior. Willie Casey traveled to England to win the Prize Fighter series at super bantamweight, albeit almost getting robbed of a decision. Casey is a highly entertaining, come forward fighter who has already shown a willingness to take his hard punch to foreign lands for fights. Casey doesn't have the potential that Frampton has, but he may still break the top 10 and put on a set of barn burner type of fights. Casey steps through the ropes June 26 in Cork, Ire. His opponent has yet to be announced.

DEAN BYRNE
Dean Byrne is a fighter with an interesting story. He's trained with some of the sports top stars at gyms worldwide and as a sparring partner to the stars of the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles. Currently training under Freddie Roach, Byrne is sure to gain a sizeable fanbase with the Irish-American population much like John Duddy has. Unlike Duddy though, Byrne has shown glimpses of multi-dimensionality in his style lately, Bryne remains active in 2010, however his next opponent and date have yet to be confirmed.

ALEXI ACOSTA
Alexi Acosta is the big Cuban prospect based out of Ireland. Like many of the Cubans who were developed into machines under Cuba's Spartan-like amateur boxing program, Acosta has shown early flashes of brilliance. His record currently stands at 10 fights with 10 KOs. He's aggressive, he's multi-dimensional and he's only 22 years old. Unlike some of the older prospects that have come from Cuba, Acosta still has time to develop before his skills begin to be eroded by age. If I had to pick one from this list to put my money on to become an international sensation, it would be Acosta. His next fight is on June 26 in Cork, on the same card that Casey will be appearing on. With a line up like that, finding a live stream is a must.

If anybody on the American side of the pond happens to be looking for hard-fisted Euro talent to watch and become a fan of, Ireland is where to look.