Bout in Donegal ‘a dream come true’ for Danny Boyle

The suggestion, at first, seemed so far-fetched that Danny Boyle though it was spam.

As he carves out his fledgling professional career in London, the Dungloe boxer (2-0-1) wasn’t zoning in for a fight in Donegal.

The message from Jason Quigley momentarily startled Boyle. Reality dawned and the west Donegal super middleweight will take to the ring on the Rumble In The Hills card at the Aura Leisure Complex in Letterkenny on November 18.

Boxing in Donegal never crossed my mind, but this means everything to me,” Boyle told Donegal Live. “This is the most excited that I’ve ever been for a show.

“Honestly, when I first saw the message from Jason Quigley I thought it was from some sort of a parody account. I never dreamed that I could box professionally in Donegal. Ireland was always going to be dream, never mind Donegal. I can’t even say it’s a dream come true because I never thought this would happen.”

Boyle’s three pro fights so far were all boxed at the York Hall. Robbie Chapman and Kristaps Zulgis were beaten on 40-36 points decisions.

His most recent bout, against Harley Collison, ended in a draw at York Hall in September.

Boyle said: “I wasn’t happy with the last fight. I struggled a bit with my weight for it. It was a bit of a wake-up call in that I can’t keep draining myself because it’s affecting my performance. It felt like a low, but it could have been worse.

“I still felt that I should have won my fight. I felt that it was a chance to get either a big KO or a big performance so it was a low for me, but getting that message about fighting in Donegal brought me straight back up.”

The Scottish-born 26-year-old trains under former British and European kingpin Terry Dunstan at the Fort Galaxy Gym in London.

Boyle is Donegal’s 26th pro and the third from the Rosses, after Ciaran Duffy and Joseph Duffy, who went on to have a career in UFC.

He said: “To get a big fight, even as an amateur, you always had to travel to the likes of Dublin and Belfast. To get a chance on the doorstep is crazy. Everyone is onto me about tickets. The whole place is buzzing for it.

“I thought that, maybe down the line in a few years if I got up the ladder that I might be able to get a spot on a home show in Dublin or Belfast. I didn’t think about it at all. It was just a yes right away - before I even spoke to people. I’m buzzing for this.”

While at Dungloe Boxing Club, Boyle won Irish Colleges titles in 2018 and 2019, fighting at 75kgs and 81kgs and representing the then Letterkenny Institute of Technology.

Boyle left Dungloe three-and-a-half years ago, initially working for Declan Boyle in McCafferty’s Bar. In September, he started work as a scaffolder with Embassy Site Services started.

Boyle said: “It’s non stop. It’s a lot on the body. I’m up at 6 o’clock in the morning to be in work for 8. I train six days a week. “It’s a bit mad, but you have to be a bid mad in this game.

“You have to be all in. You’d get away with it as an amateur, but working full-time I’m coming up against lads who are training full-time. That’s a disadvantage but I just have to work hard. I have to make sure that I get the rounds in.”