With the recent progression of Amateur stalwarts such as Michael Conlon and Katie Taylor into the professional ranks, as well as some novice fighter named Conor McGregor, boxing is very much a sport dominating Irish media in recent times. With UCD possessing a flourishing boxing club in its own right, we here at The College Tribune decided it was high time we focussed on giving some exposure to some of the best that our club has to offer. With the Leinster Intermediates on the horizon, Seamus Lyons, one of the brightest fighting talents to come out of the college in recent times took time out of his busy schedule to speak to us about what it takes to compete at the intermediate levels of Irish amateur boxing.
How did you get into boxing Seamus?
I always wanted to be a boxer for as long as I can remember. I started boxing when I was 11 years-old and had my first bout when I was 12.
What’s a typical week for you in terms of training? Do you have to adhere to a strict diet? Is there time allocated for Coppers?
I usually train 6 days a week, twice a day coming up to a competition with a run in the morning and a session in the club in the evening. I have been boxing out of Monkstown Boxing Club for the past two years and am currently preparing for the Leinster intermediates. To make weight for a competition it’s a lot easier if you’re eating clean. In terms of the drink, it’s a lot easier to be at your peak fitness if you stay off it, just because of recovery and the effect a hangover has on training.
Do you have a role model in boxing?
I look up to many of the elite Irish boxers, but probably Michael Conlon would be the main man.
What’s been your highlight in the sport so far?
Boxing in the final of the Senior Men’s Intervarsity’s championships last February was a great experience. I narrowly lost that fight having initially thought that I had won it.
So what are you plans for the future?
In the immediate future, my plan is to win the Leinster Intermediates. In terms of the distant future, it is to win a national intermediate title and a college title.
Thanks for taking the team to talk to us Seamus, any other talent in the UCD team that we should be looking out for?
Dean Krutov and Sean McGuirk are both very strong and fit boxers. In terms of the novice scene Fearghal O’Mahoney is a lovely boxer with the ability to go very far in the sport.
Seamus is a member of UCD Boxing Club, one of the university’s most successful sports clubs. For more information about the club and how to get involved, visit their Facebook page, or call into the sport’s centre on Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays between 6 and 8pm.
Chris Foley – Sports Editor
