Hannan warms up for pro boxing debut

SHANNON boxer Marty Hannan is going to make his professional debut on June 18 in Galway.
The 29-year-old light middleweight is fighting English boxer Ryan Casey and he doesn’t believe he’s too old to be turning pro.
“The way I look at it, I took a break from boxing for a few years so I’m still very fresh. I’m always training, I look after my diet. A lot of people might think that at 29, I’m a bit too old but I don’t think like that at all. I’m still flying fit. At the club that I’m training in (Our Lady of Lourdes in Limerick), I’m sparring European champions like Willie Casey.
“I’m sparring lads who are great, great boxers, who have been around the world and I’m able to compete with them in the ring. My trainer is Shane Daly and he turned Andy Lee professional, he turned Willie Casey professional. He thought I’d do well at it so he asked me. I thought about it for a few weeks, made my decision and said I’d go ahead with it,” Hannan explained.
After showing promise as a teenager, he left the sport. “I was boxing when I was 15, I won the Clare championships, I got to a Munster final. After that, I took a break for some time but I went back about four years ago. I was in the Ennis boxing Club and I was approached by Shane Daly who saw me training. He asked if I’d go training with him and he’d get me fights and stuff. He got me a few fights, trained me very well and put me sparring with the likes of Willie Casey and another great boxer from Ennis, Martin Donovan. Martin is actually going to be my trainer as well now.”
Marty trains five days a week, running six miles in the morning and working in the gym during the evening.
He says that he could have taken an easy fight to begin his pro career but that wasn’t what he wanted and Ryan Clarke is a tough prospect.
“He’s a very durable fighter. I was asked if I wanted someone I’d have an advantage over but I said I’m 29 years old and I’m not here to hang around. I want to be tested. This fella has had nine or 10 fights. He’s very strong, I don’t think he’s been stopped. He’s a good test for me and that’s what I want. I want to see what I’m capable of and give it my best shot,” he said.
Although he has yet to dip his toe in the professional waters, he feels he has what’s needed.  “I’ve seen a lot of the pros that are around at the moment in my weight division and I’m confident I’m better than a lot of them,” he said.