Junior Middleweight James Moore Forced To Cancel Philly Fight

The extremely popular junior middleweight James Moore, 16-1 (10 KOS), a native of County Wicklow, Ireland, who fights out of New York, severely injured his right hand while sparring last week, which has resulted in him having to cancel his October 4 appearance on an Irish-themed fight card in Philadelphia.

Moore was scheduled to fight an eight rounder on a card headlined by Kassim "The Dream" Ouma, 25-5-1 (15 KOS), a native of Uganda who because of his relationship with promoter Tom Moran and several Irish fighters has described himself as being "Black Irish."

He, as well as popular Irish middleweight Simon "Slick Fighting Irish" O'Donnell, 6-1 (3 KOS), a native of County Galway who fights out of Philadelphia, will still appear on the show, which will be held at the Northeast Philadelphia National Guard Armory.

While sparring at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn, New York, Moore felt a sharp pain in his right hand.

He is still awaiting the outcome of medical exams, but it has been suggested that he has torn tendons, which would necessitate a layoff of at least three months.

"I'm terribly disappointed," said the 30-year-old Moore, who was hoping to fight at least four more times before year's end.

"There are as many Irish fans in Philadelphia as there are in New York, so I was really excited about fighting there. I hope to heal up as quickly as possible, and I will look forward to making my Philadelphia debut very soon."

"Of course it's a disappointment to not have James on the show," said promoter Tom Moran, who once managed former heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon. "When the word went out that he was fighting here, my phone was ringing off the hook.

There is still a lot of interest in the card, so the show will go on. It's going to be a great night of boxing for Philadelphia fans, as well the fans in neighboring Bucks County."

Tickets are still available for the event. For more information, call 267-251-6109.