Rising Irish boxing stars to watch
Irish boxing is in an interesting place at the minute and there are many up-and-coming stars that are taking the scene by storm. From every weight and level of the boxing world, a number of Irish stars are really catching people’s eyes and look set to go really far in their careers. Today, we’re going to look at some of these rising stars for you to keep an eye on and watch as their future career advances.
Let’s get started.
- John Joe Nevin
Two-time Olympian and silver medallist, John Nevin has seen a great deal of success already in his career with no doubt a great deal more to come. His record stands at 14 to nothing without a single defeat, and four wins by knockout. He’s been professional for many years now but remains a rising Irish star as he continues to gain success around the world and rise in the global boxing ranks.
- Michael Conlan
Reaching number one in the AIBA bantamweight world rankings as an amateur, his accolades also include an Olympic bronze medal from London in 2012 as well as gold at the 2015 World Championships. He’s already come a very long way in his career, then, but no doubt he has a great deal further to go. Of the 20 professional fights in his career he has lost only two, and won 9 by knockout. This track record has meant that many choose to bet on him and he challenged for the IBF featherweight title in 2023 and the WBA in 2022 with some of the top Irish betting sites favouring him with their odds. Having been professional since only 2016, no doubt he has a long way to go and much more to prove in his career.
- Kellie Harrington
Though still not a professional today, Kellie Harrington can nonetheless boast a great deal of accolades that many professionals only dream of; silver medallist at the light welterweight division of the 2016 Women’s World Boxing Championships, as well as gold at the same tournament in 2018, and gold in the lightweight division at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. She beat her opponent, Rebecca Nicoli, 5-0 to reach the quarter finals where she then beat Imane Khelif by the same margin.
Her career started at the age of 15 in a local club which, at first, would not take girls—but she was eventually admitted and professed rapidly.
It’s not clear where she intends to take her career next, but no douht she could compete with the best of them were she to take her career professional.
- Jamie Kavanagh
Kavanagh showed huge promise from the earliest point in his career. During his amateur bouts, he was defeated only 12 times out of a total of 180 fights. During that time he won no less than seven Irish national titles and eight regional titles. In 2009 he turned professional, and moved to Los Angeles to train with Freddie Roach where he would frequently spar with the biggest names in the sport like Manny Pacquiao.
In his professional career he has fought 23 fights and won 20 of them, losing one and drawing another. Out of his 20 victories, no fewer than half were by knockout. Though he has been inactive for a few years, he remains signed by Golden Boy Promotions and has a stellar career ahead.
- Gary Cully
Holding the professional Irish lightweight title since 2020, Gary Cully has risen considerably over the few short years of his career since turning professional in 2017. During his amateur career, he won the gold medal at the 2013 European Youth Championships and competed as well in 2013. In his professional debut he stopped Hungarian Gyula Tallosi within a minute.
Of his 17 bouts he has lost only one, his most recent one in a minor setback. But 16 wins and 10 by knockout remains a staggering record that he will no doubt continue to build on going forward.
- Callum Walsh
Finally we have the youngest star on this list, rising star Callum Walsh. With an incredibly promising record of seven victories and no defeats, and six of those victories by knock out, Callum is definitely a rising start to keep your eye on. He’s shown incredible promise and commitment to his craft and only seems to show more and more promise with each fight.
The younger stars, early on in their career like this, are always the most interesting to watch as they grow and their abilities get better and better with more experience, so Callum is definitely one to watch.
There’s no shortage of rising stars in the scene, then, and plenty for you to keep an eye on and see where their careers take them. There may be a long and difficult road ahead of many of these young stars, but without doubt at the end of it lies serious success and worldwide fame.
