Family Faith: Jim Donovan Backs Cousin Paddy to Bounce Back from World Title Heartbreak
Jim Donovan has backed his cousin, Paddy Donovan, to bounce back from his World title heartbreak.
Not only is the young pro family to The Real Deal, he’s also his biggest fan and number 1 supporter – and as such has the recent world title challenger on his mind going into his second pro bout this weekend.
The former underage amateur standout fights for the second time as a pro on the Rumble of the Hills card in Letterkenny this Saturday.
His debut played out on a night of mixed emotions for the Donovan family, as his debut win celebrations were cut short when his cousin suffered defeat in the first-ever all-Irish world title fight on the same Windsor Park-hosted night.
The defeat still hurts the 20-year-old and was on his mind in the lead-up to his Sheer Sports-promoted clash this weekend, although he takes solace in the fact that he believes his fellow OLOL graduate will be back on the world stage soon.
“Everything Paddy worked on since I was six and he was ten, I watched, from all of his Irish National Championships, winning European awards, up to him turning pro,” Jim said. “Paddy was the better man that night, unfortunately, he lost. His mind is clear and he’s in good form. What upset him the most was having that fight taken from him, especially after their first fight. He will have more big fights coming.”
The younger Donovan steps into the spotlight in Donegal this weekend – and is determined to build on the lessons from his debut and continue his development in the pro ranks.
“In my debut,” he explained, “I fought a different lad than I was supposed to, and he had a different style of fighting than my original opponent. That made a difference, so I had to adjust during the fight. I came out low instead of high and got caught with some shots. I need to be better at executing, but I’m happy with my performance. Andy [his head trainer, former world champion Andy Lee] told me to stand and fight in the fourth round. It was a good experience.”
Looking forward to Letterkenny, Donovan is confident he can put on an entertaining performance in front of a home crowd.
“I’ve watched some film of my opponent and have been training to make the necessary adjustments and meet the challenge,” he said. “It’s going to be a great night!”
