‘Waldo’ finds his coaching confidence – 50-50 knockout wins stop Dee Walsh ‘second guessing’

Two game plans correct and two big wins in seven days has convinced Dee Walsh he is standing on the right side of the ropes.

At just 30, Walsh, a uniquely slick and talented operator, should be at the peak of his fighting powers, but is instead in the early stages of a coaching career.

Amid talk of a world title fight with then WBO champion Liam Smith, ‘Waldo’ called it a day at just 26, much to the disappointment of his following.

However, the Belfast man remains in the game and believes the two big step up wins he overseen last week are proof he also has talent outside of the ropes.

The former St John Bosco amateur gained real confidence as Lewis Crocker and Padraig McCrory registered stoppage wins in perceived 50-50 clashes to move their careers on significantly.

“I was more than happy [with the weeks work] it’s given me confidence what I’m doing is correct,” an honest Walsh, who was an ultra confident boxer, told Irish-boxing.com.

“I’m always second guessing myself and probably always will, but it has made me trust myself more and I’m sure the fighters do too,” he adds before stressing he feels a move from fighting to coaching was the right one.

“Big time! I think I’ve found what I’ve always wanted.”

Going further into the personal element of coaching Walsh also admits a fighters win feels like a personal victory for him.

“I have to admit the feeling is exactly like winning myself sometimes, even more rewarding. You know your fighters, what they put themselves through on a daily basis in boxing and in life, so it’s really rewarding to see them with their hand raised.”

At first glance it’s hard to put too much credit in the Walsh bank for his most recent win.

Padraig McCrory stopped Mickey Ellison within a round, showing his power at super middleweight.

Yet it seems there was a tactical element to this blast out.

“I’ll be honest we had two ways we were confident we were gonna beat Ellison.

“We mostly prepared for the hard way, which we didn’t see on the night. Then two days before the fight we both agreed on going the other way. We knew if Pody landed a certain shot it was game over. You’ll hear me at the start, if you watch back, saying ‘it’s there, go for it’ and he did.”

Having registered noteworthy, even career best wins, there is genuine excitement as to what is next for both ‘The Hammer’ and ‘The Croc’.

Walsh has heard a few exciting names dropped and claims he has no qualms as to who is put in front of either.

“I’ll leave that up to Jamie Conlon and MTK,” Walsh responded when the what’s next evenue was explored. “They have mentioned a few names we really fancy already for Pody and Lewis. I’m confident no matter who we fight we’ll come up with a gameplan and win.”