Danny enjoys debut delight

RAPHOE Boxing Club’s standout bantamweight ring warrior ‘Dangerous’ Danny Duffy got his punching for pay career off to a flying start in the SETU Arena in Waterford.

Duffy turned in a vintage display of quick-fire fist action when he outpointed experienced Englishman Jake Pollard from Bradford with Emile Tiedt scoring all four rounds to Duffy 40 points to 36.

“It couldn’t have gone better,” the Strabane man beamed. “I just wanted to get the win as comfortably as I could and I felt that I did that.”

Duffy and his coaching team of GaryMcCullagh and Gerry Keavney, didn’t have a precise blueprint for the bout, preferring the Strabane pugilist to roll with whatever Pollard would throw at him and the 23-year-old Tyrone pugilist feels he coped well with what he encountered during the match-up.

“We didn’t really have a plan for the fight,” Duffy explained..

“We wanted to go in and see what he would do and we’d go from there.

“We knew I was better than him, so whichever way it went I knew I’d be Ok and I was just focused on getting the win and looking good while doing it.

“There was a bit of pressure, not to get a knockout, just to perform and that pressure wasn’t coming from anyone else, it was pressure I put on myself because I expect a lot from myself.

“It went the distance, but I felt I won comfortably. I wasn’t uncomfortable at any point and I loved every moment of it – I’d love to re-live it!”

Danny sported a tribute to his mother Christine McKane, who died in a car crash in April 2023 along with her brother Dan McKane and their aunt Julia McSorley, with the word Mum stitched into the back of his shorts.

“I put MUM on the back of my shorts because I wouldn’t be where I am without her,” he explained. “Without her support I would never have gone for it all and my dad was there supporting, the whole family, girlfriend, brother and sister.”

It will be a quiet Christmas for Danny and his club-mate Strabane middleweight kingpin Cathal McLaughlin as both boxers will be back in ring action at a major tournament in the Devenish Complex in Belfast on Saturday, February 8.

“It’s great to have another fight lined up because it gives me something to stay focused on,” Danny said.

“I always train anyway, I’m always in the club training, but it’s easier to train harder when you know what you’re training for.

“It means I’ll definitely not be able to enjoy Christmas that much because I’ll be straight back into camp now because I want to put in another good performance and I’m looking forward to the experience again because I enjoyed the first one.

“It was an amazing experience and to have everyone around me, my family, friends, was great and I have to thank them for their support and my coaches, Jason Quigley, Gary McCullagh and Gerry Keavney for getting me on the card, to give me the opportunity. I’d also like to thank all my sponsors for their support.”