‘I Just Started Bawling Crying’ – Risk Pays Off for Doubting Kellie McLoughlin
Kellie McLoughlin overcame doubt and Zara Breslin to win top domestic honours at the home of Irish boxing earlier this month.
The St Catherines BC boxer has been trying to win a National Elite title since 2021 and finally got over the line in the most recent installment of Irish boxing’s blue ribbon tournament.
It’s a moment she admits she worried would never come, so when it did her delight came out in tears of joy.
“I honestly didn’t think I’d ever hear it, National Elite Champion,” she tells Irish-boxing.com.
“It was it was amazing to to hear. I just said to myself don’t cry, don’t cry and I just started bawling my eyes out.”
McLoughlin has been striving for Elite success for quite some time but she believes self doubt and weight issues hampered her.
The over thinking and self doubt is something that may stay with her but she did find away to fix the weight drain problems.
“I’ve been 57kg for a few years now and I just I was just drained going into fight. I was making the weight thenI was tired getting in the ring.
“But I had all the fitness but it wasn’t shown because I was cutting so much. It was too hard for me to rehydrate and I was losing too much water weight then
“Now when I’m at 60 I’m drinking water before I’m going to the weigh-ins so it’s brilliant. I’m loving it! I’m a lot more comfortable. I don’t look as big as the normal 60 girls but It’s paying off,” she adds before revealing the move up the scales was a risk.
“I took a big risk but it paid off.”
