“I Underachieved Massively” – Paddy Gallagher Opens Up on Regret, Redemption and Returning to Boxing
Paddy Gallagher doesn’t speak like a man chasing one final payday.
The popular fight veteran has the air of a man trying to settle an argument with himself.
Speaking ahead of his second fight back after a seven-year sabbatical, ‘The Pat Man’ has opened up further about his ring return.
It seems the comeback has roots in a sense of regret felt by the former BUI and BBBofC Celtic champion.
‘The Pat Man’ wasn’t happy with what he achieved the first time around.
“Underachieving what I could have done in boxing was eating at me,” Gallagher admitted when speaking to Irish-boxing.com.
“It’s something that I really wanted to do at some point.”
For a long time, however, a comeback seemed impossible.
The Commonwealth Games medal winner explained that boxing had become something he completely distanced himself from mentally and emotionally after stepping away from the sport.
“It was so far away that I would never absolutely go near it again,” he said.
But over the last year, things slowly began to change.
The veteran revealed that after stopping drinking in October 2024, he gradually started rediscovering motivation and discipline again.
“And then it just sort of trickled in a wee bit,” Gallagher explained. “I was like, ‘I’m seriously considering a comeback.’”
The first real spark came during a sparring session involving British contender Michael McKinson.
Gallagher jumped in for rounds and immediately felt something familiar return.
“We had a laugh then, done one round, and I felt good,” he recalled.
“The seed was planted then.”
From there, conversations with trusted boxing friends and former fighters convinced him to seriously pursue one final chapter in the sport.
Initially, though, the plan was never ambitious.
“I wanted to come back sort of stealth in a way,” he explained.
“Just do like a four, a six and an eight-rounder for a wee bit of closure.”
But once training intensified, his mentality quickly changed.
Like most fighters, competitiveness took over again.
“You’re in it to try and improve one way or another,” Gallagher said.
“I was like, ‘F*** it, I’ll go as far as I can here.’”
He already has a return to domestic action lined up as he faces fellow entertainer Graham McCormack in the Waterfront next month.
“This fight is a good fight,” he said when discussing McCormack before it was officially made.
“First of all, it’s domestic. Stylistically, it’s good. It’ll be good to watch.”
Gallagher also made clear this comeback is not financially motivated.
The experienced campaigner says he has no interest in taking reckless fights simply for short-term money.
“I don’t need to do it,” he stressed. “I want to do it.”
“It’s not for money or desperation or attention. It’s for myself.
“If someone offered me a dangerous fight for money, the money comes and goes,” he explained.
“You buy holidays, paint the house, get new sofas and then it’s gone.”
Instead, Gallagher wants something lasting from this final run.
“If I get one of them nice belts — a big WBA Intercontinental or something like that — that would be brilliant,” he said.
“I just wanted closure,” he said.
“And I’m glad I’m doing it.”
