Danny Duffy ready to shine on pro debut

Danny Duffy wants to experience another time-stands-still moment on Saturday night.

Duffy, a graduate of the Raphoe Boxing Club, will make his professional debut in Waterford. 

The 23-year-old bantamweight, who won the Irish Elite title in 2023, is slated to face Jake Pollard at the SETU Arena.

“I can’t wait, I’m buzzing for it,” Duffy told Donegal Live. 

“It feels like a bit of a dream. We thought about doing it last year after the Elites, but I was up with the Elite squad in training and had a trip to Portugal so we held off. 

“I’ve always trained hard and stayed in shape. Getting the date locked in has given me something to work towards.”

Last year, Duffy defeated Oisin Worsencroft to win the Irish Elite bantamweight crown. In doing so, he was the first Raphoe BC puncher to win an Elite title since Danny Ryan grabbed the middleweight crown 30 years previously in 1993.

That win came just months after the death of his mother and two other family members in a road traffic collision.

He said: “Winning that Elite title was just amazing. It was something I always dreamed about. 

“Everything just slows down and you sort of don’t know what to do or who to look at. You just know in your head that everything has paid off. It was the best feeling in the world.

“I always thought about what that would be like and it’s the same about fighting as a pro; the ring walk and everything that goes with it.”

His fellow Raphoe BC man and Strabane native Cathal McLaughlin has also flipped over to the paid ranks recently.

Like McLaughlin, Duffy is managed by world title challenger Jason Quigley and is still trained at Raphoe BC by Gary McCullagh and Gerard Keaveney.

He said: “Jason has been there and done it all. You couldn’t have a better man guiding your career. 

“Myself and Cathal have had great support. The club has been buzzing with it. It shows other boxers in the club what can be done. With some hard work anything is possible. There’s no big secret about it - the rewards can come when you put in the work.”

Duffy is training six days a week and has some short-term goals.

He said: “I’d love to be in a position to try for an Irish title or a Celtic title, but I need to win a couple of fights first. I’m in no rush at all.

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“Hopefully I could get back out again in February or March. There’s plenty of options to get fights in Ireland at the minute. I’ll go wherever I need to go. Whatever comes my way, I’ll take it.”