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Dublin decision paying dividends for destructive Kevin Cronin


Kerry youngster Kevin Cronin is going all in ahead of his professional debut at the end of the month.

The Milltown light heavyweight will box without the amateur vest on for the first time on Saturday March 30th on the game-changing Assassin Promotions and Boxing Ireland Promotions ‘Clash of the Titans’ card at the National Stadium, live on TG4, and has been putting in the work.

The 22-year-old is making weekly cross-country trips to train with Jonathan Lewins in Dublin alongside Irish super bantamweight title challenger Dylan McDonagh and Stephen McAfee – who faces Eric Donovan for the Irish featherweight title in the headline fight on March 30th.

“Look, if you want to go all the way, that’s what you’ve got to do,” he explains to Irish-Boxing.com when talking about his training regime.

Cronin outlined how “I’m living in Kerry, training in Kerry, and then coming up to Dublin to train with Jonathan Lewins. I do a lot of roadwork in the morning and train at my old amateur club, Cashen Vale, with Patrick O’Brien, then I’ll be up with Jonathan towards the end of the week, two or three days, and we get a lot of sparring in to get that pro style.”

‘The Kingdom Warrior’ is adapting fast and can already see changes.

A Munster champion in the amateurs up at super heavyweight, he is working his way down through the weight classes, shedding over two stone and will be a ripped and ready light heavyweight for his four rounder at the end of the month.

Cronin noted how “I think my biggest fear coming down from super heavyweight was losing my power but, no, I’ve brought a lot of power down with me, I can see it in sparring, I can see it when I’m doing pads, I’m going through them. ”

While the acclimatization is going well, Cronin is not getting ahead of himself. Activity seems to the new pro’s first goal and he claims that he is no major rush, instead planning on banking as much experience as he can before challenging for titles rather than jumping in early.

The Cashen Vale graduate explained how “my plan is to build experience, get a few fights, see how it goes, we’ll see how long it takes to settle into the game, and once I get settled in we’ll start thinking about domestics. I’m not going to be shouting to anyone, offering fights here and there.”

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)

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Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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