Mayo boxer hoping to make up for lost time

In a time when Irish boxers are trying to make their mark on the sport, one man from Mayo has grabbed the headlines at the start of his professional career.

Eóghan Lavin from Swinford has an 8-0 record since turning professional, having signed a multi-year promotional contract with Frank Warren and Queensberry Promotions.

At a time when an injury looked to put a pause on his professional boxing dreams, a meeting with Frank Warren gave him the confidence that he is backed by one of the best promoters in the sport.

“I was off injured; I hadn’t boxed in over a year. I was 17 or 18 months out of the ring with a hand injury.

“I had been at different surgeons, and they said you can’t really box again. While I was off injured, it ended up being a blessing.

“I had got offers from other promoters to turn pro, but being off injured, I thought I can’t box anyway, I may as well keep negotiating until I get the best deal I wanted.

“If I didn’t get a deal, I was just going to carry on boxing as an amateur and carry on working.

“Once I sat down with Frank, I laid out what was important to me, and speaking about Mayo and where I was from, and get the understanding to him of how I can be grown to an asset for them, as opposed to just being reliant on them.

“Frank’s understanding and his backing, that just gave me the confidence that when I did got pro, I was with the right people.

Lavin’s next fight is in Donegal next Saturday, October 24th, where he will fight in Letterkenny.

After capturing the Celtic Middleweight title in his last fight in the 3Arena in March, it was a frustrating few months of fights cancelled.

With all going well, Lavin will be on another big stage in December, as he hopes to be on the Anthony Cacace v Nick Ball card in the SSE Arena in Belfast.

“There has been so many frustrating moments where fights have been postponed and called off, and then you are going months inbetween with no fights.

“As a boxer, we only get paid after we fight. When these fights keep getting pushed back months at a time, that means your next pay day is getting pushed back a month at a time.

“It starts looking worrying, and you start stressing; you are hoping sponsors might come on board and look after you.

“I am very grateful for how my career has played out. I am living out a childhood dream as a professional boxer on the biggest platform in the world.

“You are just hoping the frustrating times will follow through to the big opportunities and the big nights that you dream of.” As Katie Taylor grabbed the country’s attention during her success from Olympic gold to world titles, Lavin hopes the next generation can do the same. If so, Lavin’s dream of a fight in Castlebar becomes all the more likely.

“Since I have gone pro, I have been talking about a show in Castlebar. The likes of [your audience] become so much more easier.

“The likes of your audience is the kind of people you need involved. They are the people who will pay for the shows, buy the tickets, fill the arenas out.

“The big shows will come, and they will sell out, but to have them in Ireland, it almost has to be seen as the GAA or any other sport in Ireland, where it is admired, rather than frowned upon.”