Kildare to Perth; Naas' Binny Folan on winning fights down under at 44

It’s been 17 years since Brian ‘Binny’ Folan to his first long trip down under and the Naas man, who like many others took that long flight in search of work, has a bit of a storm in the Australian boxing scene in the time since.

After retiring from the ring in 2019, then 38, he made his return three divisions higher and six years later in a title fight on May 30 at the Metro City Northbridge in Perth for a Nitro Light Heavyweight Championship fight.

On his return, Binny said: “I was heading nowhere. I retired to go be in love, settle down, etc. That didn’t work out and I found myself going into nothing. I had no passion, I had no direction. I had nothing to drive me on. I won’t say it saved my life but it certainly kept it on track.

“It’s my passion (boxing) and when you’re passionate about something it makes such a difference. You don’t drag your heels. It is probably the only thing that has ever controlled me to be honest. That might sound wild, but relationships or work or anything, nothing ever really gripped me like it. It is a strange thing.”

Boxing fans amongst the readers will know that competitors rarely go down weight divisions as they age, but that the Naas man’s jump up three rungs at age 44 is certainly quite the call. The Kildare man said he did so to secure his fight with title opponent Rusty Oates.

He recalled, “I wanted him and I wanted to make a point that he could call the weight. It was a mental thing for me, to try and not negotiate and say that I would do any weight. If I had made an argument about it, the fight may not have happened.

“He called the shots with the weight, he is a big muscly fella and he said that this (Light Heavyweight) is the weight if you want the fight, and I said let’s do it.”

The pair were no strangers either, Folan and the Australian were very familiar with one another’s abilities headed into their second clash on May 30.

“He was my friend and still is in my mind. It happened because it would sell and it would be a good fight. Me and him had sparred for years and I knew it would be guaranteed entertainment. It wasn’t about wanting to beat him. I knew it would be exactly what both the crowd and I needed, a good fight,” Binny said.

“A good fight to me is worth far more than a shallow victory. I’d rather lose in a bloodbath.”

It was a fight of great interest in Perth with the well-documented scale of the Irish population down under and they were more than happy to show up to Metro City for the event known as Thunderdome 50.

“The atmosphere is guaranteed with Irish. They love it. The promoters here just know that. What the people do and the noise they make (is incredible). Irish people get behind each other, especially when it is fighting. It is really inspirational,” Binny said.

The build up was unconventional for the Naas man and he explained that sickness in the lead up to his rematch with Oates meant that his game plan changed heading into the scheduled five rounds.

He said, “I actually had the flu that night and I didn’t want to be making excuses so the tactic was to go for it. Straight from the off, use whatever energy I had and knock him out. Nothing touchy feely, I went straight for it and it worked.

“At the end of the second round he was nearly out for the count and the referee said the bell had saved him. When we came out for the third he lasted about five seconds and the ref stood in. It would have gotten damaging, which is pointless and I think that is something that would haunt any fighter forever.”

The fight went Binny’s way with a stoppage early in the third and the result has meant that the Irishman and his opponent have not returned to speaking terms just yet.

He explained, “No (we haven’t spoken since) and that is his choice. I can’t or won’t try to change it. I think he’ll come around but it hurt his ego more than anything else and I am not going to apologise for that.”

Binny returns to The Emerald Isle on occasions and is always sure to pop in to UNIT 3 in Naas to catch up with their progress and get a few rounds under his belt.

“The family home is in Naas and when I go back home I train a bit in the gyms there with Gary (Cully) and with Niall (Barrett). Them two lads, it is a beautiful story about the relationship they have. They are lifelong friends and as high as Gary got he always brought Niall with him. Within the fighting community there is an understanding that I am not sure can be explained. I don’t think it is like football or a team sport. You don’t build the same intensity of a relationship with somebody like a coach,” Binny said.

“Dennis Hogan was over in Australia when I was still in my amateur days and when he was coming up I idolised him. Not even because of his boxing skills but because he was one of us. I was like this little fan boy. When he came to Perth he paid a visit to me. He is a very humble man and boxing brings out the best in a lot of people.”

The decision to depart to Australia was one made by a lot of Irish people in and around 2008. Binny has hailed the boxing community for welcoming in when the initial group he travelled with departed or moved on.

“Very much so (it is a community). The community looks after you. When I decided to come back, I remember calling one of the guys who wasn’t my coach at the time at about 3am and he opened the gym door at that time and that is the type of thing that people do for each other within the boxing community.”

But will there be more fights for Binny Folan?
“I am not going to say yes or no because I do want one but we'll see whether it is feasible physically. There are a lot of factors involved. I probably wouldn’t have even got my license back but the doctor was Irish,” he laughed.

“There is an Irish person over here, same weight division, and I want it. I don’t necessarily want to beat him but I think it would contribute to both of our careers. If he’s not keen, I can't go against him because he’s been very good to me. I wouldn’t break the respect we have for each other. There is no bad blood, it's just he is so young and I am so old, I think I’d be good for him, to bring him on.”

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