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Farrell fights back tears after finally entering pro fold

Ruadhan Farrell [1-0] had to fight back the tears after fighting his way to a first pro victory in Belfast last Saturday night.

It’s not your average response to a debut win but an understandable one in the case of Farrell.

The Belfast fighter has been trying to have his hand raised in a pro ring for four years and seen five debut dates fall through since he first declared his intentions to punch for pay.

The John Breen trained fighter finally got that elusive first victory on Saturday defeating Jamie Quinn at the Europa Hotel – and admitted he got emotional after.

“It was very emotional there at the end. This meant a lot to me. I had five debuts cancelled so it was good to get that hand raised in front of my fans.”

Farrell, who has aspirations to compete domestically at super bantamweight, was meant to debut on numerous shows over the years but never got to make his ring walk.

He admits it got to the stage where he felt it was never going to happen and he almost retired before he even threw a paid punch in anger.

“I was meant to fight last weekend on the Kynoch show but I got pulled off of that, I was going to pack it in but I contacted Mark and within two days he had me on the show and I had my tickets. It was mixed emotions going through camp. I was thinking what happened if it goes wrong will I retire but things went to plan.”

Reflecting on the performance, Farrell suggested it was nerve hampered and believes he will look better when he gets out again this summer.

“I thought I could have done better but nerves got the better of me. I’ll go back to the gym, learn and move on. Hopefully, I’ll be back out in May or June.”

Photo credit Caelan Conway Belfast Boxers.

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

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