Hands of Stone Reignited – ‘Forgoten’ Jason Myers Credits His Wife for Keeping His Boxing Dream Alive
They say behind every good man is a good woman – and Jason Myers couldn’t agree more.
The Galway fighter admits he came close to walking away from boxing even before he got started in the pro game, only for his wife to step in and give him the push to keep going.
‘Hands of Stone’ says months of waiting for opportunities,, fight cancellations and the emotional strain of inactivity had him questioning whether the sport was worth the sacrifice.
However, just when he thought he’d had enough, the support from home reignited his hunger.
“It’s been very frustrating to be honest,” Myers said when speaking to Irish-boxing.com.
“It took its toll on me. For a while before I would head to training, I’d be asking myself ‘what am I doing this for if I’m not getting anything out of it. I’d much rather stay at home with my wife and kids’. I’d thought about hanging the gloves up and calling it a day more than once – but my wife got behind me, as well as my family, and gave me the push to keep going.”
That push may have saved the exciting and entertaining talents career. He returns this weekend on the Rumble on the Hills card and is eager to make up for any lost time and put himself firmly back on the domestic boxing map.
“I’m very excited to be back out. It was the start of the year when I was out last, so I can’t wait,” he adds before suggesting he wants to remind people why many are so big on the former underage amateur standout.
“I feel like I’ve been forgotten about due to inactivity,” he admitted. “But I’m not the type of person anyone should forget about. If anything, I think they should always keep me on their mind. I know I’ll get to the top and that’s where nobody will forget about me. But first I have to get there, so hopefully within the next 12 months I’m fighting for a title and moving onto bigger things.”
Myers is motivated by more than just the frustration of only fightin twice in the last two years. The big puncher goes into his Letterkenny hosted bout with German Kevin Kirchner inspired by Kevin Cronin’s recent Irish light heavyweight title win.
“This fight camp went brilliant,” he said. “I was sparring with Kevin Cronin every week leading up to both our fights and it’s been class being in camp with him. I’ve never seen anyone train harder than Kevin does – he’s very disciplined – and I’m grateful to be in the same stable as him. Watching him win the Irish title was just class; that pumped me up altogether.”
If he does get to Irish title level and win a green strap, Myers may consider a homecoming.
He was gutted to see the proposed Kieran Molloy Pearse Stadium bill fall through but hopes to be back at the famous one day.
“I’ve been training all year waiting for a fight date to come and nothing came up until the Galway show was announced in Pearse Stadium. When I found out I was on it, I was like a child at Christmas.I really put in the work from there on to perform well in front of my home crowd. That would’ve been my homecoming. One day I would love to fight for a title there, top of the bill, definitely. But as of now I’m under new management and he’s looking to keep me as busy as we can be. Hopefully it stays busy after this one,” he continues before focusing on the job at hand.
“I’ve trained for a fight, I’ve sparred with the best for the last eight weeks, and I’m just ready to go. I can’t wait to get in and get the business done.”
