‘Made for the pros’ Caoimhin Agyarko Hynes plans to stay amateur for now
Caoimhin Agyarko Hynes went from crushing disappointment to devastating destruction in the space of two weeks last month.
The young Belfast middleweight lost his Elite Senior semi final to Stephen Broadhurst, falling to a split decision defeat to the eventual runner-up
However, he was back in the ring and in an Irish vest just two weeks later, lining out for Ireland in Woking in an international match with an English Southern Counties selection. The Boys and Girls in Green won 6:4 on the night, but it was Agyarko Hynes’s win which caught the eye.
The explosive Holy Trinity fighter scored a stunning knockout of Eugene Kingsley inside a round in what was a real highlight reel finish.
Oh it’s good to be back 😅sending people to sleep early since 96′.. good 1st round KO last night for ireland. @HTBC_Belfast @EddieHearn pic.twitter.com/DJtJSIBOzB
— Caoimhin Hynes (@caoimhinhynes29) February 25, 2017
It was a great way to get the Broadhurst defeat out of his system, and Agyarko Hynes told Irish-Boxing.com that “it was good to get back into the ring after a disappointing semi final in the Seniors, especially to be boxing for Ireland again so soon.”
“It was good to get back into the ring and a great way to win.”
The boxer of Ghanaian descent has long been mentioned as being perfect for the pros, and he did state that he was unsure where his future lay in the aftermath of the Broadhurst loss. However, while he intends to ditch the vest eventually, Agyarko Hynes is targeting a major international tournament before he makes the move.
He outlined how “I’ve been wanting to go pro for the last year. My style suits the pro game, but I am going to hang around for a while yet. I’ll probably turn pro next year. I want to go to the Commonwealth Games first [in Australia next year], it’s my dream to box in a major competition.”
Agyarko Hynes has plenty of connections and friends in the pro game, and spent some time in Ricky Hatton’s Gym in Manchester last Summer. He explained that “The Uptons are very good friends of mine, so I went up to them and was training with Hatton. I wasn’t looking to turn pro or anything, I was just doing some training while I was over there.”
In terms of size, the youngster’s battle to make welterweight in the amateurs has been well documented, he plans to campaign at middleweight from now on, but notes that his size will suit a pro switch.
The West Belfast puncher admitted that “I think 69kg is out the window now, I was killing myself to make 69kg. I’m a lot stronger at 75kg and I feel a lot more comfortable at it.”
“I would do light middleweight in the pro game which is around 70kg. I just turned 20 in November so I’m still growing. I could be a middleweight in the pro game eventually.”
