Oldham ace can be a States superstar

Photo: PICTURE: DOUG MINIHANE

PUNCHING PROWESS: Oldham’s Mark Heffron on his way to a convincing points victory against Argentinian Mateo Damian Veron in Dublin.

Boxing:

MANAGER Gary Hyde believes Oldham middleweight prospect Mark Heffron could be on the brink of American boxing superstardom.

Former amateur champion Heffron (22) is already highly regarded in the UK with a perfect professional record of nine wins from nine fights.

But following a dominant 80 points to 72 victory over Argentinian hopeful Mateo Damian Veron a fortnight ago in Dublin, the local favourite jumped to number 18 in the WBC world rankings.

The next stop is California as Mark prepares for a fight with Louis Rose in Santa Monica on April 16. Cork-based Hyde – who first spotted Mark Heffron in Dublin in 2010 – said: “The American fight fans can’t get enough of Mark. When he was last over there a couple of years ago the Irish Americans in particular really took him to their hearts.

“Mark is very proud of his Irish ancestry and he has a huge fanbase over here, but now is the perfect time for him to try America again. He’s got everything American fans will love. He’ll be like David Beckham up on the billboards

“I’ve had some huge offers for him from the States, they’re very high on him. I’m already looking at bigger things for Mark. I believe he can make the top 10 in the world by the end of the year.”