Finn Valley boxer Michael Gallagher has turned professional and will debut in Dublin on September 9th.
The hammer-handed Kinletter man – pictured above with trainer Conor Quigley, girlfriend Cathy de Ward and father Shane Gallagher – has signed with Boxing Ireland Promotions and the National Stadium will host his first pro bout, on the Celtic Clash 3 bill.
“I’m very excited to sign and looking forward to making my debut on September 9th,” Gallagher said.
The powerful Finn Valley puncher is a ten-time Irish champion and is well versed in the National Stadium.
The last of his ten Irish titles was won in January 2014, as he defeated Cavan man Gary Maughan in the Irish Open Youth Championships.
Gallagher was a bronze medalist at the 2010 European Schoolboy Championships and in 2014 won a Youth Olympic bronze medal in Nanjing, China, defeating Kim Jin-Nyong to get onto the podium.
He rose from the disappointment of a semi-final defeat by Cuba’s World champion Yordan Hernandez to take a 29-28, 29-28, 30-27 win over the tough Korean Jin-Nyong, a bronze medalist in the World Championships.
Also in 2014, Gallagher reached the quarter-finals of the World Youth Championships in Sofia, where he was beaten by eventual gold medalist Hernandez.
Gallagher had been expected to enter the Irish Elite Championships, but has been out of action since 2014.
However, he’s ready to go to war now as a pro. Gallagher is trained by Conor Quigley.
Gallagher said: “I sat down with Conor and made the decision. The pro style will suit me. The pro way is the way to go.
“I was promised things in the amateurs that I didn’t get so we sat down and turned pro.
“We did a training camp in Dublin, I was over sparring Nathan Cleverly and was over in America for some sparring.
“I’ll take every fight at a time and hope to perform in every fight. I just want to get the best out of it.”
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