Hard Yards Pay Off For Cork’s Ricky Kiely

Like his idol, Mike Tyson, Ricky Kiely is a small man in a land of giants, but what he lacks in height he makes up for in heart and aggression.

The Cork native claimed his fourth Irish crown at the National Stadium last week, but his first in a while after finding it hard to navigate skyscraper opposition.

The Midleton battler revealed he put in the hard yards, quite litterally, to ensure his return to the winners circle, running mini marathons daily in a bid to get down to 80kg, a weight he believed he had a fighting chance at.

Now having won an extremely competitive final to become domestic number 1, he has his sights set on representing Ireland at the proposed European Games later in the year.