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“I would like to take him out early” – Coyle gunning for quick KO on Saturday

There will be no mad celebrations for Connor Coyle [2(1)-0] should he win on Saturday night.

The Derry light middleweight fights in his third professional contest at the National Stadium in Dublin, and will begin preparing for his fourth almost immediately afterwards.

The focused fighter has stepped up his training as he looks to make an impact on the pro scene, and will enter the fight on the Red Corner Promotions ‘Unfinished Business’ card in the best shape of his life.

Splitting his training between Florida under Jim McLoughlin and Derry in his amateur club St Joseph’s, Coyle has laid the foundations for a successful 2017. The 26 year old explained to Irish-Boxing.com how “I trained for six weeks in Florida. I was already prepared before I went over, so I just worked harder when I got there.”

“I had great sparring with some great champions, the likes of Darnell [Boone]. We had 6 rounds of sparring with 30 sec rest each spar, pushing each other every spar.”

“I’m back to Florida on March 1st to prepare for another fight on St Patrick’s Day in Tampa. I will continue my training as normal after Saturday. I’m fitter than ever, and feel stronger than ever, so I’ll let me performances do the talking.”

So far Coyle has has a one round blow-out of Euris Silverio and a four round domination of the negative Santos Medrano. On Saturday night the Commonwealth Games bronze medalist will be given the toughest test of his fledgling pro career, taking a small step up to face Michael Mora [11(4)-16(7)].

Coyle is expecting the Nicaraguan to come prepared, and come to win, and the Ulsterman described how “it’s a tougher opponent, but it will suit me more so than the last opponent. He has 8 weeks to train for this fight, and he is coming to beat me!”

“I’ve watched his fights, he’s very wild and rugged, so I just have to stay sharp and punch accurately, I’ve been working on some things to adjust myself, you will find out when you watch my performance on Saturday!”

“I would like to take him out early, but I won’t rush it, if I see an opportunity I’ll go for it.”

Also featuring on the Luke Keeler v Lewis Taylor-topped card will be Eric Donovan, Chris Blaney, Lynn Harvey, Stevie Collins, Allan Phelan, Craig O’Brien, Noely Murphy, Jay Byrne, and debutant Thomas Finnegan.

Tickets cost €40 (unreserved) and €60 (ringside) and can be bought from the boxers on the card.

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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