Hot prospect Gary Corcoran will feature on Queensberry Promotions’ debut of the exciting new concept show BoxAcademy on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 456/Virgin Ch. 546) on Thursday 3rd May at The Troxy in London. 

 

Corcoran, who’s racked up two wins so far over Billy Smith and Matt Seawright, goes in over four rounds at light-welterweight. 

 

Boxing writer Glynn Evans talks to Corcoran about his background and career to date.


Name: Gary Corcoran

Weight: Light-welterweight

Born: West London

Age: 21

Family background: I’m from an Irish travelling family. We originate from Galway. I’ve eight brothers and three sisters. I’m third in line. My Dad and several uncles boxed amateur over in Ireland and all of my brothers have boxed though a few have retired now. I’ve got plenty of sparring partners!

An older brother Billy ‘The Kid’ Corcoran was a former English super-featherweight champion who fought Carl Johanneson for the British title (stopped in four, July 2006). He’s retired now and collecting scrap. Another brother Eddie has had nine pro fights (eight wins) as a welterweight and my younger brother Simon is currently at the semi-final stage of the senior English ABAs at 57 kilos.

I live with my missus on a traveller’s site around Paddington but we’ve no kids yet.

Trade: I’m a full time pro.

Nickname: ‘Hellraiser’. I’ve had it since I was a kid.

What age did you become interested in boxing and why? I just followed my brothers up to the gym when I was about nine or ten. I liked a fight and was always terrorising all the other kids on the site or in school!

What do you recall of your amateur career? I only ever boxed for the Stowe amateur boxing club in Paddington. I was coached by Paul and Jeff Almond and I had my first bout at 12. All told, I had 50 fights and lost about 12. Sean McGoldrick, the (2010 Delhi) Commonwealth Games gold medallist from Wales was the last fella to beat me. Initially, I was too light for the competitions and, because of that, I never fought internationals either. Then, when I was about 17, I had a growth spurt.

I won the Golden Gloves twice and the Haringey Cup twice. Second time, I beat Ryan Taylor, a good kid. That was possibly my amateur highlight. I also beat (ex ABA champion and regular England rep) Martin Stead of the Army.

I went in the senior ABAs twice. In 2010, at lightweight, I lost a majority to Marlon Mellish (Times ABC) in the north-west (London) Divs final. Last year, up at light-welter, I lost in the London semis, again on a majority, to Louis Adolphe of Earlsfield. I give him a count and was up going into the last round but they gave it to him. I thought I was robbed.

To be honest, I should’ve won a lot more in the amateurs. My biggest regret is not winning the senior ABAs. I felt I was good enough to have won in 2011.

Why did you decide to turn pro when you did? Basically, I just got fed up with the amateurs. I actually wanted to turn pro the year before. The whole time I was giving opponents counts but not getting the decisions. I was never a tap, tap, tap, points scorer. When they reverted to three-three minute rounds it was way better for me. I was supposed to go to the GB squad but, after that bad decision in the ABAs, I’d had enough.

Tell us about your back up team: I’m managed by Dean Powell, promoted by Frank Warren and coached by Mark Tibbs at the TKO gym in Canning Town. Mark’s dad, Jimmy, helps out as well. When I first went there, they already had good boxers like Kevin Mitchell and Billy Joe Saunders and the Tibbs’s suited me perfectly.

What’s your training schedule? Which parts do you most and least enjoy? I train six days a week. I usually run early in the morning, between six and eight, but sometimes I’ll run after training if we’ve got sparring planned.

I arrive at the TKO at 11 o’clock and usually train there for a couple of hours. I’ll start with six to eight rounds of shadow boxing, then I’ll do a bit of skipping, about six on the pads and a bit of groundwork. I’ll loosen off with some stretching.

If we’re sparring, I try to do six rounds. The more often you do it, the easier it gets. I’m far too strong for anyone in our gym at my weight and level ,so Mark has to bring in light-middle’s for me. Lately, I’ve been sparring Robert Lloyd-Taylor who won Prizefighter recently. I also spar Freddie Turner and Kevin Mitchell.

I used to do a bit of weights but it was making me too big and I didn’t really need them. I’m naturally a very strong kid.

Describe your style? What are your best qualities? I’m basically a brawler. I’m an orthodox body shotter. I prefer the fights to the boxing matches. At the TKO, no one my weight can stand and trade with me. I’m very strong and I just keep coming. I gave out a lot of standing counts in the amateurs.

What specifically do you need to work on to fully optimise your potential as a fighter? My technique. I need to improve working off my jab and moving my head and body to avoid shots.

What have you found to be the biggest difference between the pro and amateur codes? The pro game is definitely slower. I expect it to get even better for me as I move up the levels. The best bit is that you get to bash people up with smaller gloves.

Who is the best opponent that you’ve shared a ring with? Probably sparring Kevin Mitchell. He’s very good allround. I’ve also sparred six rounds with Billy Joe Saunders but obviously he’s much bigger than me. Six rounds with Bill was a very hard spar!

All time favourite fighter: Ricky Hatton. Love them body shots!

All time favourite fight: Barrera-Morales I. Toe to toe brawl.

Which current match would you most like to see made? Mayweather-Pacquiao but Mayweather beats him every day. You just can’t hit him.

What is your routine on fight day? S**ting myself on the toilet (laughs)! Nah, I won’t get up until 10 or 11 o’clock. I’ll have a bit of porridge for breakfast and, after that, I’ll just try to relax; play on the XBox or go out for a walk. I’ll have a few butterflies but I don’t get too nervous. I like to arrive at the venue nice and early so that I can sort everything out. I don’t really need to psych myself up in the dressing room. I’ll be buzzing already!

Entrance music: So far it’s been ‘Hellraiser’ by Motorhead but I might change for next time.

What are your ambitions as a boxer? By the end of this year, I’d like to be at least eight fights unbeaten. I want to win everything. I’d particularly like a British title, because of the belt, then move up to European and world championships, just like everybody else.

How do you relax? Sleep all the time! I still play a lot of football on our site. We have a game every Friday. I also play on the games, FIFA, on line and on the Internet. I’ll also go for walks or go the cinema.

Football team: Newcastle United. Always supported them since I was younger…..because of (Alan) Shearer. They’ve let me down a lot but now they’re coming back a bit.

Read: Only The Sun newspaper, really.

Music: R ‘n’ B.

Films/TV: I like Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter movies. On TV, I mainly watch sports; a lot of soccer and boxing, particularly BoxNation and Ringside.

Aspiration in life: Just to live life properly. Have everything sorted.

Motto: Fail To Prepare, Prepare To Fail!

The debut of BoxAcademy will be broadcast live on BoxNation (Sky Ch. 456/Virgin Ch. 546).

Tickets for BoxAcademy on 3rd May at The Troxy are priced at £35 and £50 and are available from the Queensberry Promotions Box Office on 01992 550 888 or www.frankwarren.tv

About BoxAcademy

Queensberry Promotions presents the first installment of a new concept show that will be televised Live and Exclusive on the UK’s new home of boxing, BoxNation.

BoxAcademy will be a monthly live show that is solely dedicated to showcasing the most exciting, young, up and coming domestic talent in tougher, more action packed fights, designed to develop the young fighters at a faster rate to Championship level.

On one Thursday every month, BoxNation will switch the focus from its huge array of World, British and European title contests, and give the floor to a host of former Olympians, amateur champions and unbeaten prospects, as the UK’s elite young talent is given the chance to be the main focus of the show in BoxAcademy.

BoxAcademy will visit the various regional hot-beds for young boxing talent around the country, visiting a different city each month.

BoxNation’s televised coverage of BoxAcademy events will be supplemented with an array of behind the scenes interviews, training footage and background stories, giving viewers the chance to get to properly know tomorrow’s champions.

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