SHANNON boxer David Ryan took away the irish-boxing.com Debut of the Year award in Dublin on Thursday night.
David was back to work at Morrissey’s butchers in the Town Centre the following morning, and said he was delighted to get the honour and had a fair idea his name would be the one called out.
“The guy running the show told me to make sure to be there, I kind of knew then!
“It was a fantastic night. I’d have preferred if it wasn’t a Thursday night or the week before a fight, but it was a good night. There were a lot of other boxers there, a lot of other people nominated as well, so it was good to come out on top.”
While David couldn’t indulge given his upcoming fight, there were lots of other people in the same boat at the awards ceremony.
“99% of the people there were boxers, so everyone was not drinking, not eating bad food, so it was a lot easier. It was good that way.”
His debut, the fight for which he won the award, was in Belfast in November, and he will be back in Belfast this Saturday night to take on Polish fighter Marek Laskowski.
When he spoke to the Champion this Friday he was very happy with how preparations had been going.
“Unreal, unbelievable. I’m way ahead of target with my weight and fitness. I’m much fitter than for the last fight. It’s been a gruelling camp, but that’s what’s needed.”
David is planning a busy 2023, and says that debut, an outstanding four round bout, has helped to open doors.
“It really has. It’s a lot easier to get fights now. It can be hard enough to get a promoter to put you on, but it seems easy now, there have been options, so it has been good that way.”
While his fight on Saturday will not be televised, he hopes to have coverage of it on his Facebook page.
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.