Relief, Redemption and a Rush of New Opportunities – Irish Title Win is Massive for Kevin Cronin
Kevin Cronin says his Irish title will act as a master key with the power to open all manner of doors.
The Kingdom Warrior was crowned light heavyweight king of Ireland courtesy of victory over Cathal Crowley on JB Promotions ‘A New Dawn’ card in Dublin earlier this month.
It was a moment made all the sweeter for the Michael Conlan-managed fighter by his previous all-Irish disappointments.
However, speaking in the aftermath, the Kerry native wanted to divert his gaze to opportunities ahead rather than the frustrations now in his rearview mirror.
The Jonathan Lewins trained fighter, who plans to return to super middleweight, believes he is already an attractive option to promoters, and the green strap will catch their eye further.
Cronin claims he hasn’t kicked down a door; rather, he’s opened a number of them and has to decide which one to walk through.
“Doors have opened. When you say the world is your oyster, it really is now. Look at the ranking system. Top 15 in Europe. I can go a European route. I can go an international route,” he told the Independent.
“Any promoter that was ever interested in having me on a card and all that. Realistically, they would have wanted me having something. Bring something to the table. I’m the Irish champion now. I have a lot to bring to the table.
“Look, the doors left, right and centre are open now. I’ve just got to sit down with the team and pick which one, but for now, it’s about enjoying it over the next couple of weeks. That’s really it.
“Letting the body relax. I’ve had a year 99.9% of fighters will not have in their whole career. I fought at Madison Square Garden in March. I fought in the 3 Arena in September. I win the Irish title in the home of Irish boxing on Friday night. Who can say they’ve done that?”
The fight was the 29-year-old’s fifth all-Irish fight. He fought both Emmet Brennan and Jamie Morrissey twice and felt extremely hard done by to lose all four bouts.
With that in mind getting over the domestic line was all the nicer.
“I think a bit sweeter than what it would have felt if I got it first time around. Obviously, there was a lot of emotions and everything, but I think it was relief obviously.
“It was unbelievable because now it’s Irish title, ranked in top 15 in Europe, things like that. There was a huge relief and a weight off my shoulders too because there was a lot of pressure on that fight with me.”
If he felt pressure going into the ‘must win’, Cronin had no ptsd when it came to domestic result time.
“We were pretty confident in the corner, we didn’t feel any pressure or anything like that going to the middle of the ring when the decision was being called,” he says.
“Honestly, I felt comfortable in there. When I watched it back, the commentators I think were just maybe playing into it a bit, they were giving him a loss. I don’t usually come out of fights with very little marks and I did because everything was hitting my guard.
“He didn’t really get through it a lot. When I watched it back, I think maybe the commentators were a bit blinded or maybe it looked different to them. But yeah, there was no real pressure even when I took my foot off the gas.
“Maybe just after the middle of rounds the corner just kicked me back into gear again after two rounds. They said, look, you’ve got to pick it back up again. You can’t be taking any risks.
“We’re delighted. Look, I’m not trying to put my opponent down or anything because I won the fight. That’s all that matters. I’d say didn’t do one drill in there that we practiced for it. But it is what it is. It’s an all-Irish fight. There’s a lot of pride on the line when you’re in them fights.”
Photo credit Mark Meade
