INTRODUCING – Cian Doyle – ‘I have a style suited to the pro game’

The home of one of the most famous ‘made for the pro’s’ amateurs, has produced another.

Crumlin BC, the club where one of Ireland’s biggest punching amateurs, Phil Sutcliffe Jr learnt his trade, is also the home the recently turned over Cian Doyle – and like ‘Young Phil’ he has long since been hearing of how he had a pro-style and would excel without the vest.

The 20-year-old, who has teamed up with Boxing Ireland Promotions, believes everything about the pro game suits him and everything about his approach will suit the longer format.

“Loads of people over the years said that I have a style suited to the pro game,” Doyle told Irish-boxing.com.

“I’m a come forward fighter, I’ve good hand speed and power and a very good engine. The longer rounds will suit me, in the amateurs, I used to be only getting going in the second and third round, so I’ll be very well suited to the longer rounds,” he adds before revealing why he decided to turn over at this time.

“I just felt the timing was right to turn over and give the pro game a go, obviously because of covid, theres nothing really happening in the amateurs at the moment and I always wanted to turn pro so I thought this was the perfect time to turn over,” he adds before explaining he is keen to get started.

“I can’t wait honestly, I’m buzzing to make my debut and hopefully get out a few times before the end of the year , it’s a new journey. The pro game is completely different to the amateurs so I just can’t wait for a new challenge I’m very excited to get going.”

Doyle has teamed up with Boxing Ireland, the promoters behind the Celtic Clash series, who have just confirmed a merger with Kevin Maree.

That link-up and the access it provides to the UK excited the young prospect but it was watching them operate first hand and witnessing how they worked with his Crumlin stablemates that convinced him they were the right team for him.

“There were a few reasons I went with boxing Ireland,” he says getting ready to explain.

“Three of the lads out of Crumlin who I train with every day Martin [Quinn], Jake [Hanney] and Burkey [Robert Burke] are with them and they had nothing but good things to say about them. Obviously, they’ve teamed up with promoters in the UK recently so I knew that there was going to be lots of opportunities to get on shows in the UK, to be more active, and get out a few more times a year.

“I was also over in Spain last month for the Celtic Clash card to watch Jake , Martin and Burkey and I was talking to Stephen [Sharp], Leonard [Gunning] and Dennis [Morrison] and seen they look after their fighters really well. They have loads of shows planned so hopefully, I can keep busy and stay active.”

Welcome to the team Cian Doyle https://t.co/TCssAhuRde pic.twitter.com/UqUiB1vAhy

— BOXING IRELAND (@LoveIrishBoxing) July 6, 2021

The 20-year-old comes the fifth pro fighter to be fighting out of Crumlin, he joins the four aforementioned Boxing Ireland fighters and Frank Warren promoted Willo Hayden on the list of pros fighting out of a gym that used to be home to Willie ‘Big Bang’ Casey, Anthony Fitzgerald et all in a previous era.

“It helps a lot,” he says. “There’s a great little crew of us now, there’s five of us now that are pros in Crumlin. Me, Jake, Willo, Martin and Robbie. It’s a great little crew and we’re training every day with each other and we’re all pushing each other every day in the club, so it’s brilliant. The lads have been great with me and we all get on very well, and they always give me good advice on the pro game.”

Doyle is hoping to get busy this year, busy enough to become Irish title eligible before 2022 is done.

“The short term goal is to get my debut out of the way and get four or five wins under me belt then hopefully by the end of 2022 next year go for an Irish title fight,” he continues before looking a bit further ahead.

“Then long term if all goes well I’d like to get a few more wins and hopefully fight for something like a European title in a few years, I’m only 20 so I know I’ve loads of time to grow into the pro game. It’s completely different to the amateurs so I’m just gonna take each fight as they come. All I can do is fight the people that are put in front of me and take care of them, and if I keep doing that then I know big fights will come down the line.”

One of a number of young talents to ditch the vest over the pandemic period, Doyle has mixed feelings when he reflects back on his amateur career.

“I had a good amateur career and I fought at a very good level all throughout it. I won four National titles at youth level, so I’m happy in that way but there’s always gonna be a little regret that I never boxed in the Elites

“I would’ve liked to box in the Elites and give them a go but with Covid going on it doesn’t look like there’s gonna’ be one for a while. When I got the offer to go pro I said why not. I didn’t wanna’ turn it down I always wanted to go pro and give it a go and knew I wasn’t gonna’ be waiting around long for fights. The bad thing about being an amateur is once you go over 18 is there are only one or two tournaments a year, so there’s not much going on.”