Jon Jo Irwin badly wants to get even with big rival Paul Ingle - with the European featherweight title on the line as a bonus. Now Irwin is again proud owner of the British crown with outright ownership of a Lonsdale Belt as reward for Saturday night's 117113 victory over Esham Pickering, he insists his claims are valid for a second fight against Ingle.
Although Ingle halted Irwin in eight rounds last October, Irwin and his manager, John Rushton, are still incensed that Ingle escaped with a £2,000 fine and kept his British title despite testing positive for banned substance Furosemide.
Ingle says he took it to combat a swollen ankle, and later relinquished the title shortly after the Board of Control ordered a rematch against Doncaster's Irwin, leaving Pickering to step in and contest the vacant championship.
Now Ingle is preparing for a European title attempt against evergreen Billy Hardy in Hull on June 9th.
"If he wins the European title, the Board of Control should work on our behalf to get us a fair crack in Europe if Ingle wins - or if Hardy wins, come to that," said Rushton.