“Live Kickboxing to hit Lisburn”

KICKBOXING’S brother in arms – and feet – Mark and David Bird will create a piece of family history on April 2.
The pair will share the same ring at the Lisburn Leisure Centre in a special charity show aimed at raising cancer awareness.
Fortunately, Mark and David won’t be clashing with one another for boy David is just 11 years-old!
His elder brother, just 15, will be making his competitive debut on the Next Generation bill while David, who cannot compete until he’s 15, will enjoy a somewhat less demanding demonstration bout.
“I can’t wait to fight for real,” said Mark.
“I’ve gone through demo bouts in Scotland and Belfast and that has made me more keen to compete. I’ve had me lessons and now it’s time to put them into practice.”
Fight legend Billy Murray is putting his full force behind the Lisburn show after his close friend Michael Brolly recently lost his battle against the disease.
Brolly, a brother of Hollywood stars Shane and Clarke, died on January 30 after a three-year illness.
Now Murray is using his skill to help Lisburn woman Isabell McCrossan, the mother of one his members Jennifer Rainey, by putting on a fund-raising show in the city.
The unique event will be made up of Murray’s Next Generation fighters – members of his Prokick Gym, who will mark their competitive debuts in the ring.
“It means a lot to me to be involved in helping out the Rainey family,” said Murray.
“I have just lost a close friend to cancer and I also want to do this in his honour also.
“The Next Generation bills are always a success because new fighters are stepping into the ring for the first time and there are new people in the audience as a result. Friends and family snap up tickets before regular fans can get their hands on them,” said the colourful Murray.
“All my fighters will compete for free and the Ulster Cancer Foundation will benefit 100 per cent from the sale of tickets.”
Jennifer Rainey and husband Clive will go to extreme lengths to raise cancer awareness in the province – hiking across Iceland in aid of the Ulster Cancer Foundation.
The pair will embark on the six-day Icelandic Challenge in July, walking for six to nine hours a day and will camp out in bitter cold conditions.
For more details on Next Generation: Fighting Cancer, contact Prokick Gym on 028 90 651 074.

Tickets priced £10 Adults £5 kids in advance are now on sale. If you leave it too late and you purchase your ticket at the door on the day they will cost £15 Adults £10 kids - in other words buy your tickets early, it's for a great cause.

Here's just a few of the fights that we have matched to date:

International Super Middleweight
Thaiboxing Bout 5x2mins 76k
Farid M'Laika (Switzerland) vs Dave O'Brien (ROI)


International Welterweight match 3x2
Stuart Jess (Dromore-NI) Vs Sammi Fathallah (Switzerland)

Super middleweight 2x2
Wayne Jess (Dromorea) Vs Paul Smith (Motherwell)

Super Welterweight 2x2
Brian Hannaway(Newry) Vs. Barry Smith (Motherwell)

Super Welterweight 2x2
Gary Fullerton (Belfast ) Vs.James Anderson (Motherwell)

Female bouts

Welterweight 2x2
Alana Carson (Belfast) Vs Gillian Delaney (Dublin)

Flyweight 2x2
Eileen McKendry-Gray (Bangor) Vs Marie Barcoe (Killkenny)

Bantamweight 2x2
Female Bantamweight match 2x2
Tracey Duggan(Lisburn) Vs Nicky Whitty (Killkenny)

There’s a real case of ‘Oh brother where ‘martial’ art thou?’ in Belfast’s famous Prokick Gym, where the Jess clan are planning to make a big splash this
Sunday at Lisburn Leisure centre in a family affair.

Demo bouts

Battle of the sexes
Janice Lindsay (N'Ards) Vs. David Robinson (N'ards)
Martin Connolly (Carrick) Vs Peter Rusk (Carrick)
Jennifer Rainey (Lisburn) Vs Christine Drain (Belfast)
Mark Bird (Lisburn) Vs. Ross Jess - Scott Jess both from Dromore

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