No more Paris Pain – Brandon McCarthy happy on pro path

Brandon McCarthy did have a what-if moment watching the Irish amateurs securing Olympic qualification last week – but with a second pro fight on the horizon made sure that pensive moment was a fleeting one.

The Kilkenny fighter fights without the vest for the second time when he fights Ryan Schwartzberg in Florida tonight.

It’s a far cry from where he always planned to be at this stage in 2024.

As a 16-time Irish champion and former underage standout, McCarthy always held Paris 2024 Olympic hopes. Indeed, at one stage he would have felt Paris was more destiny than dream.

However, his Olympic hopes ended last year with the equally talented Dean Clancy qualifying at McCarthy’s weight.

The St Michael’s Athy graduate has since moved on, is now on the pro path and looking to make a name for himself in paid circles.

That didn’t stop him from feeling a tinge of disappointment when he saw his former teammates have huge success in the final qualifier in Bangkok last week.

However, for the most part, he has come to terms with the fact the Olympics are no longer in his future and having a fight this month made sure he hadn’t time to lick any wounds.

“I’m delighted for Team Ireland and how many they got qualified,” he tells Irish-boxing.com.

“It’s great to see the success,” he adds before discussing his Olympic feelings.

“I’m over that stage of my life now but obviously seeing everything recently makes me think back on what I missed out on. But maybe that path just wasn’t for me? Maybe there’s a bigger plan?

“There will be something new happening in the boxing world next week so whoever qualified it’ll be forgotten about until the Games come around,” he surmises before highlighting one qualification in particular as standout.

“I was delighted to see Grainne Walsh qualify especially after everything in the media the past few weeks she it she ignored it all and got the job done.”