“First of Many” – BUI Celtic Title Win is the First of Many For Teo Alin
Teo Alin says his BUI Celtic title win proves his heart, his hunger, and that he’s only getting started in the pro game.
The Tyrone super featherweight came through a tough eight-round battle with Lee Gormley to claim his first career belt – a victory he admits meant even more because of the test it provided.
“It feels good — just feels good to get a win in a good fight,” he told Irish-boxing.com after the bout. “Credit to Lee. He’s tougher than I thought. I think I underestimated him a bit, but he’s very, very tough. I’m just buzzing with the win — and my first title as well.”
After an even opening few rounds, the third-ever BUI Celtic super featherweight champ says he found his rhythm midway through the fight and began to take control.
“The first four rounds were a bit of a to-and-fro,” he explained. “After that, I got into my groove, Lee started to slow down a bit, and I just boxed more — it paid off.
“Every time I hurt him, I seen it, but he was just in a bad position for me to catch anything else after. That’s experience — he was hurt, but he got himself into positions where I wasn’t fit to land the follow-ups.”
Beyond the belt, the Padraig McCrory mentored boxer believes he learned a lot about himself across the eight rounds— particularly his ability to dig deep and go the distance.
“I just learned I’ve got the heart to push forward,” he said. “And I can do eight rounds. That was one of the main things because in my last fight, the preparation wasn’t the best, and I felt really tired in there from round one. But tonight, I was fit to push through — probably could have done another ten rounds, to be honest.”
The win, and the manner of it, will give Alin a huge confidence boost as he looks to build momentum heading into next year. But he was quick to dedicate the victory to the people behind him — especially his coach.
“Shout out to my coach Chalky [Kelly] — he puts in a lot of work,” Alin said. “He works full-time and then boxing is his life. He has me one-to-one on Mondays, then trains the club Tuesdays, has me again Wednesday, club Thursday, me again Friday, then the club Friday night. So credit to Chalky — this belt was for him.”
“Fred’s been massive for me — he got me a job where I can do pro boxing and drives me around the country. And DC’s been there from the start, every night since I started boxing. This was for them too.”
With the BUI Celtic super featherweight title now wrapped around his waist, Alin says he’s only just getting started.
“It’s the first of many,” he smiled.
