Out of Daté – Paddy Donovan warns over-confident Tom Hill
Paddy Donovan [8(6)-0] says Tom Hill [10(2)-2(1)] has left himself with a mountain to climb as he fights Ireland’s real welterweight number 1 in Belfast this Saturday night.
The English fighter upset Irish opposition last March when he dropped and out-pointed Waterford puncher Rohan Daté in Dubai.
Full of confidence on the back of that win, the rangy Redcard man has been sharpening the scalping knife again and when speaking to Irish-boxing.com predicted he’ll beat the Top Rank starlet to make it back-to-back Irish heartbreaks on the ‘Return of the Mick’ card this Saturday night.
However, Donovan claims there is genuine meaning behind his ‘Real Deal’ nickname and warns the Middlesborough fighter he isn’t Daté or any ‘mediocre’ Irish welter.
The Limerick prospect suggests he is a top Top Rank talent and says Hill will understand he is levels above at the SSE Arena on the Conlan-Marriaga undercard.
“Rohan Daté isn’t me,” he tells Irish-boxing.com. “I’m not one of these mediocre fighters like Dylan Moran and these guys around welterweight. These guys wouldn’t hold my gear bag to be honest.
“They are not in my league, obviously he had a good win but that opponent is not in my league. On the night he’ll see that and see how good I am and who is the best welterweight in Ireland.”
Paddy Donovan is learning the ropes from one of the greats @AndyLeeBoxing ☘️ pic.twitter.com/9KsOvdYgWo
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) July 31, 2022
Team Hill have suggested on social media that having beaten Daté, who had been ranked #1 on BoxRec for the Republic of Ireland, that Donovan shouldn’t pose a threat.
The World Junior silver medallist’s response is as simple as to suggest they shouldn’t believe everything they read.
“If you look at it on paper, Daté has 14 or 15 fights and that’s why he is ranked that way, but he’s not the best when it comes down to what we can do in the ring. There is no comparison, to be fair I respect them but they are not in my league.”
Absolutely devastating body shot here from Paddy Donovan in Belfast tonight. pic.twitter.com/gtCLayQPXx
— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) August 6, 2021
The 23-year-old Limerick southpaw says Hill’s confidence doesn’t get under his skin but he does finish a more tense interview than usual by admitting he is motivated to put on a show against the game English fighter.
“He is trying to make his name right now, the only way for him to do that is to beat me, everything is possible, but I feel like that’s an impossible task for him right now and he’ll find that out on Saturday. Every fight is a step up, I prepared for him like I would for a world title. I’m ready and I’m ready to put on a show.”
