Novice pro McDonagh aiming to make steady improvement in the ring

He’s only two fights into his professional career, but Dungannon’s Charles McDonagh has already shown that he is one to keep an eye on for the future.

The 21-year-old, who earned over twenty amateur titles before moving into the paid ranks, has a level head on young shoulders and under the guidance of Antrim-based coach Ryan Burnett he is seemingly set for success within the square ring.

The former Cookstown Boxing Club starlet made his pro debut in Glasgow last October when he claimed a points victory over experienced Nicaraguan Nestor Maradiaga, who knocked him down in round two, and he followed that up with a much more comfortable success over England’s Karl Sampson in Belfast’s storied Ulster Hall last month.

“ My first fight was in Glasgow in the St Andrew’s Sporting Club against a South American guy so it was a different style of fight because he was more towards me, so I had to box on the back foot while pushing forward a wee bit,” McDonagh observed.

“ And against Sampson, he was there to win, he was hard to track down, which was the only problem but he was a good opponent and it was a good fight.

“ You don’t want someone who will just stand in front of you like a boxing bag because you get nothing from it, but you don’t want someone running away from you all night either.

“ I’ve faced two different styles of fights in my two fights, which has been a good experience.”

Having learned plenty from both bouts, McDonagh, nicknamed ‘The Dream’ admits the experience of being on the Nations Fight Night card in the Ulster Hall, live on BBC TV was something special and it was certainly not something he expected to experience so early in his career.

“ This time last year I didn’t think I’d be boxing in the Ulster Hall, having my second pro fight live on the BBC at 21-years-old. Honestly, I couldn’t believe it,” he beamed.

“ I really enjoyed every moment of it. Having the cameras on you, you felt like a superstar. Having the cameras on you at the weigh-in, the press conference, honestly I loved every moment of it.

“ And there was a good wee crowd, so I’m absolutely buzzing with it.”

Overall, McDonagh has enjoyed taking the step from amateur to professional level in boxing, and while he acknowledges they are markedly different, he feels the paid game seems to suit his style more.

“ Without a doubt, moving from amateur boxing to professional is totally different,” he said. “In the amateurs, because the fights are so short, you have to be high paced from start to finish, whereas in the pro’s, it’s tough in the four rounders because obviously you can’t start off too slow but it’s a different pace.

“ Also, you have smaller gloves on so it’s harder to defend but you’re hitting harder too, so without a doubt it’s a completely different game.

“ And I feel that it suits me and all through my amateur career I was told I had a pro style and I always felt as an amateur that the first round, I was quite slow anyway and I picked it up after that. So, the pro ranks suits me far better.”

Having turned 21 just before his second fight in the Ulster Hall, the former St Patrick’s College, Dungannon, pupil is still a relative novice in the fight game, despite enjoying a successful amateur career.

And while he admits he always intended on turning professional, it has come earlier than he expected but that was purely by chance – one he couldn’t turn down.

“ My plans were always to turn pro as early as possible because when I watched boxing from I was younger on TV, I always said that was something I wanted to do,” he explained.

“ And in the amateurs, there were times when I wasn’t getting decisions I should have been getting and moving to the pro ranks was always something I was keen to do.

“ But the pro game came to me. I was over with the Ulster team doing a sparring camp and I met this coach, Craig Doherty, and me and him kept in touch and I went back over to Glasgow with my Dad, Charlie, over to him and he actually brought me to a manager.

“ I wasn’t actually looking for it at that stage, I was going to wait another year or two just to see what I could do more in the amateur’s, maybe get to a European Championships or the Commonwealth Games, something like that.

“ But I was chatting to Ian Wilson, who is my manager now, and the stuff he was saying to me – he wasn’t pressuring me into turning pro – he was telling me how he works, what he would do for me and I went back home, it was playing with my head, I was coming up to 20 years of age and I had to make a decision because I had the under-22s coming up.

“ So, do I wait and go to the under-22s to qualify for the European’s or go pro, so I made the decision to go pro and to be honest it’s the best decision I have made.

“ The year before, I was saying to my dad ‘I’m getting sick of the amateur’s, I want to turn pro’. At the time he was like, ‘no, you’re too young yet, you need more experience in the senior’s and the like’ and then this opportunity landed at my feet so it’s crazy how life works.”

Charles began his career in the arts of pugilism at an early year, but it wasn’t a natural fit from the off as he bounced about between sports and clubs before settling at Cookstown Boxing Club where he developed into one of the best young talents in Ulster.

“ I started at an official boxing club when I was seven but before then I was doing wee bits and pieces with my Dad, but I didn’t really love boxing at the start. I didn’t like the idea of getting hit in the face!,” he said with a laugh.

“ I started with Clonoe Boxing Club for a year and then I kind of just didn’t really want to go back so I took a break and did kickboxing for a year – I don’t now what came over me with that – but I did that for a year in Dungannon and then I started back boxing with Cookstown where my cousin was boxing at the time. Curtis was boxing and we went to see him in Dublin where he was boxing for Cookstown and I decided to go there.

“ So, I boxed with them for nine years and then I moved on to a Belfast club, Gleann, where I was for a year. I started doing one-to-one’s with Dee Walsh at the time and I was enjoying it so I made the step and went and gave it a go up there.

“ So, I boxed with them for a year and then the club closed down and the whole club moved to St John Bosco and I got to the senior final, the Ulster Elite semi-final and then I got the opportunity to go over to Scotland with the Ulster team and the rest, as they say, is history.”

Having amassed around 24 amateur titles during that stage of his career, including nine Ulster crowns, four Mid Ulster’s and three Tyrone titles, as well as several international Box Cup successes and having fought in three All-Ireland finals, McDonagh is keen to achieve similar levels of success in the paid ranks.

But he knows he needs to be patient and with Ryan Burnett in his corner he feels he has the right backing to achieve his goals.

“ The plan now is to get as many fights as possible, build up the rounds and my experience and then push on,” he added.

“ I’m looking to get another fight in the next few months and keep building up the wins, stepping up each time, showing something different each time I fight. Working with my coach Ryan, we’re always working on different stuff to improve me.

“ So, at the moment the main goal is improving and winning and then we’ll look at the next stage.

“ I work with my nutritionist too, who sorts the weight for me. He sorts a plan and I just have to follow it. He fuels me when I’m training, which can be hard because you can be tired, especially if you’re cutting weight, but you have to push through it.

“ And that’s where Ryan’s great, he can see if you’re having a good day or a bad day and he talks you through it, he gets you through the session.

“Training with him is class. It’s great to have someone who can manage you as well as coach you.”