James Cahill delighted to be given chin check

James Cahill got hit bang on the chin and was hurt last Saturday – and the Wicklow welterweight loved it!

The teenage talent was hurt in the second round of his four rounder on the ‘Celtic Clash 4’ bill at the National Stadium in Dublin, but recovered well to claim a 39-37 win on the scorecard.

Zambian Mwenya Chisanga was the opponent responsible for providing the scare, and Cahill [2(0)-0] was delighted afterwards to have been provided with a test.

On his debut, ‘Chopper’ had dominated Tomasz Goluch, and called for harder fights in the aftermath.

He certainly got that against Chisanga, and found himself backed up to the ropes and fending off big shots in the second.

“This tested me,” an energetic Cahill said afterwards. “And I said I wanted to test myself. If you’re not going to test yourself in this game there’s no point in being here.”

While many fighters will deny they were hurt after a fight – Cahill put his gloves up and admitted that “he was a good young fella, he caught me, he hurt me, and I came back from it.”

“I got hit in the second, I left my chin out. That happens, I came back from it, it shows I can take a shot and come back from it.”

“I learnt from it – make sure to keep your hands up on the way out!”

The 19 year old has now had a proper taste of professional boxing following two wins in less than three months, and Cahill now is keen for further tets into the new year.

“It was a great scrap, I didn’t expect him to be that tough – but that’s what I want,” reflected Cahill before outlinining how “I’ll take a while off and then back to the drawing board after Christmas.”

“I’ll keep going up, keep pushing myself, that’s what I want, and that’s what I’m going to do.”

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