Danny Duffy and Cathal McLaughlin aim to add to Raphoe BC’s rich history

A treasure trove of memorabilia covers the walls of Raphoe Boxing Club.

History reeks off every corner. Photographs, newspaper clippings, tickets and posters depict some of the memorable nights of the sweet science. In many ways, the club serves as an illustrative history of the sport. 

Raphoe BC stalwart Peter O’Donnell has put together a collection that dwarfs most museums. 

Perched on a chair in the middle of the floor, O’Donnell surveys the action in the ring, where two Raphoe BC boxers are readying to take their place on the same pro show.

A poster from this Saturday night’s JB Promotions show at the Devenish Complex, featuring Raphoe BC middleweight Cathal McLaughlin and featherweight Danny Duffy on the bill, will surely now take its of place among the collection. 

Raphoe BC coaches Gary McCullagh and Gerard Keaveney corner the duo, managed by Ballybofey man and former WBO world middleweight challenger Jason Quigley, whose face beams down from many of the posters in the club.

“It’s great when you have lads and you know what they can do - and what they can’t do,” McCullagh says. 

“Cathal and Danny do a lot together. Boxing is a lonely sport so it’s great to have someone else there.

“It’s great for the other boxers in the club. It shows them what is possible. Even to have Jason calling in; everyone looks up to him and listens to him because he’s been there and done it in boxing.”

Duffy and McLaughlin were due to line up on a Devenish card in February, but a fatal injury suffered by boxer John Cooney saw that card shelved. 

Duffy and McLaughlin won National Senior titles on the same weekend in 2023. Duffy grabbed the bantamweight honours when beating Oisin Worsencroft with McLaughlin toppling TJ King. A month later, Duffy was the Elite bantamweight king, again getting the better of Worsencroft.

Earlier in his career, Duffy lost an Under-18 final to Terry Donoghue and Junior 2 decider against Dean Clancy, who competed at the 2024 Olympic Games. Brandon McCarthy, now 4-0 as a pro, defeated Duffy in a Boy 3 final in 2015 while Callum Walsh - the 12-0 pro who will headline at Madison Square Garden in New York - was another of his former foes. 

After beating Jake Pollard in December at the SETU Arena in Waterford - where ref’ Emile Teidt gave him a 40-36 decision - Duffy will face Steven Maguire on Saturday. 

After waiting and wondering since signing on the dotted line, Duffy was delighted to get off to a winning start against Pollard.

“I thought I would’ve been more nervous for the debut,” the 23-year-old says. “It was weird on the day. It just felt like a normal day.

“It was mental after the fight. It was just like: ‘I did it’. That part was unbelievable. You train for everything and you don’t know what it’ll be like until you’re under the lights. I felt like I handled it well and I enjoyed it.”

Danny Duffy working on the bag at Raphoe BC

McLaughlin was sitting in Nando’s with his manager, Quigley the day before a planned fight with Allan White on a Conlan Boxing card at the SSE Arena in Belfast in November. Quigley delivered a bombshell.

“Fight’s off,” Quigley confirmed.

“It was the worst Nando’s of my life,” McLaughlin ruefully smiles now. “It was strange the feeling after doing all the work, all the training and sparring and the ticket selling and then it just fell through. 

“I was in the zone and put in so much sacrificing, but then you just have nothing then. It was hard enough to lift again. I actually thought ‘I’m packing this in’ because I had thought about the time off work I took and everything, but the buzz isn’t long coming back.

“The first fight was so good and then I got to experience the shit parts of the sport the last time. It’s all experience. Is guess it was still another positive camp that I had.” 

McLaughlin danced under professional lights in November 2023. An exhibition bout with Cody Lee Peoples on the Rumble In The Hills card at the Aura Leisure Complex in Letterkenny gave him a taste for what he could experience.

“Some buzz,” was how McLaughlin reflected in the moments after that bout.

Quigley coaxed his former Irish amateur colleague Joe Ward to headline that Letterkenny show and the Ballybofey man is growing a stable of his own now. 

Cathal McLaughlin at Raphoe BC ahead of his fight this weekend

“To have two local lads on the same professional card is something that should excite people,” Quigley, of Sheer Sports, says. “They’ll be out together now, they train together and it’s great to see two local talents coming through like this. It’s important now that people support them and get behind them. They put in a lot of hard word and they sacrifice what they can to be the best they can. I’m very excited for them and delighted with their progress so far. It’s going to be an exciting journey for them.”

Quigley says both were “impressive” in their debut wins and says: “They showed that they both have a bright future in the professional game.”

McLaughlin’s pro debut saw him overcome Martin Shaw, referee Dominic Conlan scoring him the 40-36 victor at the SSE Arena.

“I have improved,” McLaughlin says ahead of a clash with George Rogers  “I feel like I’m more dedicated and I think my style is starting to adjust to being a pro now. It’s a massive difference, even the way I’d be hitting the bag is different. It’s more hitting to hurt now. Everything is different. You have to look good now too. You have to try to get more followers and get a profile because it’s a business and a lot of it is about selling tickets. There is more to it than training and fighting - and there’s actually more stress outside the ring than there is inside it.”

Raphoe BC head coach McCullagh was in Quigley’s corner for some of his pro bouts - including his 2021 world title showdown with Demetrius Andrade in New Hampshire. McCullagh spent many hours helping Quigley in the lead-up to fights.

He says: “The experience with Jason has definitely helped. When Jason was training with Andy Lee in Dublin, he did a lot of work with me here. The professional side of boxing is a completely different sport. 

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“It’s a lot of work, but we enjoy it. We are doing five punching sessions at the minute and we have a bit sparring too. The lads are doing their own strength and conditioning work and their own road work as well. It’s all about good performances and making a statement. You have to catch the eye as a pro.”

Familiarity, in many ways, is their key.

“It’s brilliant here because it’s comfortable,” says Duffy. “They know how to motivate me and get me going. It’s the best place for me. It’s a lot easier when you’re coming in with someone else too.

“It’s about learning and progression now. I’m learning every night. Every time I come in here, I get something new. I’m just concentrating now on those little things. I used to hear people saying about improving by one per cent when you come in and that is actually true. That’s what I’m trying to do.”