No dilly-dallying for Donovan who aims to be part of Irish boxing golden era
Eric Donovan [1(0)-0] is an intelligent man.
The Athy super featherweight can forsee the seismic shifts in Irish boxing which will take place in the coming year. There is a World champion, a handful of World title hopefuls, and three huge household names recently entering the pro side of the sport.
Donovan envisions a golden era of Irish boxing and one which he can be a part of, benefiting from some huge cards that are being mooted for 2017 and beyond. However, the former amatuer star is well aware that time is not on his side and that he needs to be ready for if and when his chance comes.
‘Lilywhite Lightning’ continues this preparation and progression on Saturday night when he takes a step up to face Romanian Csaba Kovacs [8(4)-7(2)] in just his second fight. The Transylvania boxer will provide something of a test, albeit one Donovan should pass comprehensively, and good experience for the RTÉ panelist who can not afford any wasted time.
Donovan described how “The Irish pro boxing scene is really buzzing at the moment, Andy Lee is hunting another world title shot, Carl Frampton is one of the best in the world and with Paddy Barnes, Mick Conlan and Katie Taylor all turning pro very soon, it is very promising.”
“They can all be big stars in their own right and bring big time boxing back to Ireland. So I want to be well positioned and ready for my chance when it comes.”
Donovan’s manager Leonard Gunning has huge faith in the Kildare man, and is aiming to fast-track the 31 year old. The Sligo man explained how “Eric has the talent to go all the way, with the honours he earned as an amateur and his experience in the World Series of Boxing he can be fast tracked to fighting for titles within a year.”
“He doesn’t need the usual bedding in process of fighting knock-overs that other novice professionals would normally need, he can bypass that and jump up in quality.”
Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)
