By Paddy Appleton

Dublin’s Jamie Kavanagh believes that wrapping his hands up properly is essential to keeping him in contention in America and beyond.

Kavanagh knows that just one injury could curtail his career, especially an injury to the hands – a vital component to a boxer’s prospects – and he is adamant that preparing properly to avoid such injuries is always on his mind.

Following a disappointing December draw to the relatively unknown Rameses Gil, Kavanagh spoke of the hand trouble he had and how it affected him in the ensuing months.

The Nuisance knows the injury wasn’t a one-off but he hopes it won’t put paid to his hopes of becoming a world champion in the future.

Kavanagh said: “I had the injury with the hand in the amateurs so it’s always in the back of your mind really. I just have to look after it in training and I’m doing that.

“It also needs wrapping up well because you never know when it might come back. Long term I’m not sure what the outcome will be, but I can’t live my career in fear.

He only needs to look at England’s Tony Jeffries, who had a great Olympics in Beijing four years ago and was being hailed as the next big thing in British boxing until injury struck.

Jeffries has had frustratingly bad luck with hand injuries recently and such injuries have kept him out of the ring for timespans accumulating up to over a year.

Even Floyd Mayweather, arguably the greatest of the great in this era, has had his own trouble with hand injuries and they can take the greatest of fighters’ careers away from them in a flash.

Kavanagh, who grew up in Malaga, could develop a Hispanic following since his move to America and he is a precious commodity to the Golden Boy team as he speaks Spanish.

Golden Boy feel he could prove to be a massive hit with the Mexican population following his latest win in Cancun and the fan-base is there for him to build on.

Kavanagh impressed the crowds in Mexico racking up his 10th win as a professional when he knocked Jorge Ibarra (11-7-2) out in the second round of their fight at the Oasis Hotel Complex in Cancun on May 26.

It’s clear that there is a huge future in the game for the Dubliner in America and he will be praying that the hand issues do not come back to haunt him.

Such extremities don’t worry Kavanagh for the moment though and he is putting thoughts of injuries to the back of his mind as he prepares for his next fight.

“Obviously I don’t want it happening again but it’s boxing so you never know. I don’t think hands were made for punching and injuries do often occur but as I said, I can’t live in fear.

“If I wrap them up well and look after myself in training the hands shouldn’t be an issue for me,” said the lightweight prospect.

The bi-lingual Irishman is focusing on nothing more than the bout against an unnamed opponent on the Amir Khan-Danny Garcia undercard on July 14^th as his career continues to progress under Freddie Roach and Sedano Ruiz.