FACE OFF š¤ @TevinFarmer22 vs @jono_carroll
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 29, 2019
š March 15
š @LiacourasCenter, Philadelphia šŗšø
š„ IBF World Super-Featherweight Championship
This... š„ #FarmerCarroll pic.twitter.com/JJnv7wzha8
DUBLINāS JONO CARROLL and IBF World super-featherweight champion Tevin Farmer were in vocal form as they clashed at Tuesdayās press conference in Philadelphia ahead of their world-title showdown at the cityās Liacouras Center on St Patrickās weekend.
Katie Taylor also spoke briefly at the Matchroom USA presser as she looked ahead to her world-title unification clash with Rose Volante on the same 15 March bill, but the Brazilian was not in attendance.
Hometown hero Farmer [28-4-1], American boxingās fairytale story, promised to inflict upon Carroll [16-0-1] a brutal first defeat. He also vowed to take the Dubliner for a cheesesteak afterwards, implying that Carroll would lose a portion of his purse due to a proposed bet between the pair.
Finglas native Carroll, meanwhile, went back and forth with the sizeable contingent of Farmer supporters in attendance while vowing only to relieve the champion of his belt in six weeksā time.
The pair later squared off and had to be separated as their heads came together.
Before introducing Carroll to the baying crowd, promoter Eddie Hearn said of his recent Irish recruit:
āWe have a saying in England: I donāt know if weāre allowed to say it here or if itās rudeā¦ But heās full of spunk. What that means is he has a big, big set of cojones.
āHeās got a massive personality and he can really fight. I saw him a while ago win our Prizefighter tournament [2014], and we had him on our show in Dublin [Return of the Mack, 2014]. A fantastic talent.
Unfortunately, for some strange reason, he ended up going with another promoter [Frank Warren]. And I was watching him on TV and every time I was watching him I was sitting there with my voodoo doll, and I was thinking: āLose, ya bastard! Lose!ā But he wouldnāt; he kept on winning, and he kept on climbing up the IBF rankings.
āHeās now got a huge following in the UK, in Ireland, because heās a massive personality.
These two [Carroll and Farmer] have been going at it on social media non-stop, and now Jono Carroll sits one fight away from winning the IBF super-featherweight championship of the world. I know this man has massive, massive dreams, and itās going to take a lot to beat him on 15 March.
āThereās going to be huge Irish support in the arena, thereās going to be huge Philly support.ā
Carroll regaled that perhaps unfamiliar Philly support with his boxing backstory before adding: āHere I am today, fighting in America. This is where dreams are made. For me, this is amazing. And I want to thank everyone from Philly ā even though we had a bit of beef [on Twitter]. I love this town, this is the first time Iāve ever beenāā
At this point, champion Farmer interjected: āDonāt cop out now!ā
Carroll replied: āNah, I aināt copping out, motherfuckerā¦ Youāre going to get yours, donāt worry about it. Youāll get your turn to speak. Ssh, little man.
Listen, this is where Iām going to win my world title. So for me, this place is going to be historic for my family, you know? My grandkids are going to hear stories about Philly, so Iām proud to be here today. I donāt care what this little pea-brain in the back says. All Iām saying is Iām going to take his title.
š£ @jono_carroll: "Here I am today, fighting in America, this is where dreams are made. My grandkids are going to hear stories about Philly. This is where Iām going to win my world title. Mark my words, @TevinFarmer22 isnāt going to know what hit him.ā#FarmerCarroll @DAZN_USA pic.twitter.com/LlUuabjS5n
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 29, 2019
āI keep getting these fights and I keep winning these fights,ā Carroll added. āMost of my fights, Iāve been an underdog. And I just keep winning and winning and winning. Even though Eddie has been poking that little doll, Iāve still been doing it!
Iām going to take Tevin Farmerās belt ā mark my words. Mark my words that on 15 March, Tevin Farmerās not going to know what hit him. He hasnāt been tested before. And listen, if he can beat me, Iāll take my hat off and say, āHeās a great man.ā Because itās going to take a great man to beat me for a world title.
āSheeeeeeit,ā Carroll added with a laugh, channeling The Wire character Clay Davis. One member of the chuckling crowd, a Farmer supporter, then shouted at the Irishman: āEasy work!ā
āEasy work?ā replied the grinning Carroll. āYeah, right, son! Easy work ā yeah, right! Listen, Tevin knows heās in for a battle, youse all know heās in for a battle.
All Iāll say is text me on Twitter, apologise after I spank your boy, all right?
Enter champion Farmer, crowd audibly on his side, and he wasted no time in launching a three-pronged verbal assault on his challenger.
Turning back to Carroll, he began: āBro, thatās not a Philly beard, first of all. You gotta grow the sides.
āSecond, you only got this fight because I chose you. You were supposed to win that mandatory [eliminator for the title], you didnāt win ā you got a draw. You was talking shit, and I said, āEddie, bring him here.ā Thatās number two.
āNumber three: Iām tired of beating [Irishmen]ā¦ I just beat your cousin! James Tennyson, I stopped him. Iām tired of beating yāall. You have to come and bring your best. You gotta win!ā
Carroll jibed back off-mic but was scarcely going to deter the hometown man, who continued to tear into him.
āIām gonna beat your ass,ā Farmer said. āIām gonna beat you the fuck upā¦bad. I promise to God.
āRemember you tweeted me, telling me Iām cocky?ā
Carroll replied: āYou donāt think youāre cocky?ā
āNo, I donāt think Iām cocky,ā Farmer said. āBut Iāll be cocky today! Iāll post up a picture, you know the picture. 20 grand says you can beat me, right?
āAfter I beat your ass, Iām going to take you for a cheesesteak!ā
Even if Rose Volante had been in the building, itās unlikely that the Portuguese speaker and Katie Taylor would have engaged in similar fare.
The Irishwoman was invited to the mic by promoter Hearn, who said of 15 Marchās co-headliner:
āIf you have the opportunity to watch the film Katie, you must do it. Itās on iTunes, itās on every major platform to download right now. This is an incredible story of a true fighter.
āThis young lady was responsible for womenās boxing being in the Olympic Games; she had to go and showcase her skills to convince a committee that they should allow womenās boxing in the Olympic Games.
In Ireland, she is a queen, a God of boxing. And right now in the womenās game which is flourishing, she stands out as the pound-for-pound number one. On Saint Patrickās Day weekend in Philadelphia, she will get the opportunity to win another world title and unify the division once more, before being one step away from being the undisputed champion.
Taylor was typically curt, telling the audience and cameras: āI never really have a lot to say but itās great to be here in Philadelphia, such a great fighting city and I canāt wait for 15 March to have the chance to unify the division again and go one step closer to becoming the undisputed champion, which has always been my ultimate goal.
āThank you so much to DAZN and Eddie Hearn and Matchroom for making these fights happen.
This is exactly what boxing needs: the best fighting the best. I canāt wait to showcase my skills again.
Carroll and Taylorās respective world-title bouts will be broadcast on Sky Sports in Ireland and the UK as well as DAZN in the States. London Olympic silver medalist John Joe Nevin will also feature on the bill.
Join us to preview the Six Nations with Simon Zebo, Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey on Thursday @7pm in Liberty Hall Theatre Dublin.