Captain Thomas Carty wants to prove he is “the next great Irish heavyweight”

Thomas Carty went from delight to heartbreak over the past few months, and the Glasnevin super heavyweight is hoping to come out on top again this month.

The Dublin big man romped home to the National U22 title in January, however he fell at the final hurdle in the Elite Senior final less than a month later. That night against Martin Keenan, a big finish could not make up for a slow start and he was consigned to a second successive runner-up finish in Ireland’s main championships.

Carty however was not able to dwell on the defeat, and continued his training in the High Performance Unit in Abbottstown in preparation for the European U22 Championships which begin tomorrow in Brăila, Romania.

The tournament is a big stage for the 21 year old who is out to make a statement. Carty outlined that “these championships will allow me to prove that I am the next great Irish heavyweight and redeem myself after a poor performance in the Senior finals. I feel as though my only downfall is that I lack self-belief sometimes and that I don’t fully understand how good I am.”

“Everyone tells me that I have all the talent in the world, from my own club coach, Jimmy Halpin, to the Irish head coach Zaur Anita; they have great belief and ambitions for me. It’s time for me to repay their beliefs and become European champion.

“I am a new and improved Thomas Carty heading into these Europeans having spent the last few weeks training at the Institute of Sport in Abbottstown under the watchful eye of the High-Performance coaches and staff.”

“I know myself I’m completely capable, my career is only starting off. I have a big future and I will be a household name when it comes to boxing. This will be a stepping stone for me on the road to the Tokyo Olympics.”

Not only will Carty box in a major championships for Ireland for the first time, he will captain the nine-man team. He described how “I am over the moon to be captain of the Irish team at the upcoming European U/22 championships. It was always my dream to represent my country when I first started off boxing, now, not only am I going to represent Ireland in a major competition but I have the honour of being team captain and it means a lot to me.”

“We have a strong team going out to these Europeans, especially with the likes of my good friend and reigning Senior champion Kurt Walker. Glasnevin BC, my own club, have three on this team, Geoffrey Kavanagh, Jordan Moore, and myself.

“I believe it’s all down to the work of all our coaches and staff but in particular Jimmy Halpin. We owe an awful lot to that man and the dedication and belief he has in us.”

European U22 Championships Brăila, Romania March 13th-22nd
52kg Jordan Moore (Glasnevin)
56kg Kurt Walker (Canal)
60kg Dylan Duffy (Pegasus)
64kg Keith Flavin (Paulstown)
69kg Eugene McKeever (Holy Family Drogheda)
75kg Kelyn Cassidy (Saviours Crystal)
81kg Brian Kennedy (St Marys Daingean)
91kg Geoffrey Kavanagh (Glasnevin)
91+kg Thomas Carty (Glasnevin) Captain

Team Manager: Paddy Osbourne
Coaches: Zaur Antia, Dmitry Dimitruck, Jimmy Halpin
R&J: Philip Rooney

Jamie Conlan joins Gavan Casey and Joe O’Neill for Episode 3 of The Irish Boxing Show:

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)