Ricky Gorman: ‘I’m ready to make a statement’

Eleven months on from his maiden professional bout, heavyweight Ricky Gorman is relishing kickstarting his career after signing with GSW Boxing.

Gorman was unveiled and signed his contract in the ring at GSW’s latest show at the Liverpool Olympia last weekend.

The 27-year-old comprehensively outboxed Bulgarian heavyweight champion Milen Paunov in October last year but failures to tie down an opponent have limited his activity in the months that have followed.

“[I’m] over the moon [to sign] with a good company. I’m really looking forward to it. The company [GSW] is coming through nicely and I’m gonna put it on the map,” Gorman told BBTV.

“I’ve got a good following. I speak the speak and I talk the talk, and most importantly I can box. Let’s go out there, put on a show for everybody and let’s do GSW proud.”

Gorman was unveiled as GSW’s latest signing in Liverpool last weekend.

GSW Boxing CEO Sam Rush remains optimistic that Gorman will finally be granted the opportunities to develop into the paid ranks after a frustrating opening year as a pro.

“We’ll have a show in November which we’ll be looking for Ricky to box on then which will be superb,” said Rush.

“I’m looking forward to him fighting and keeping him busy, which is the important thing. He’s had too many absences from the ring [and] hasn’t been able to show what he can do.

“We will be putting an end to that and [I’m] looking forward to him coming out and being a regular fighter in the coming months.”

Leeds’ Elland Road is targeted as the venue for Gorman’s second pro contest ahead of what he hopes will be a busy 2024.

The heavyweight, nephew of legendary travelling fighter Bartley Gorman, also remains optimistic that the path to big nights will now clear with the backing of a major promotional outfit behind him.

“It’s like making a snowball – starts off small but it finishes off big. I just can’t wait.

“It’s been long overdue but here we are, everything’s ready to go. Let’s get working.”

Gorman has initially penned a five fight deal with GSW – an agreement that Rush hopes will be extended once the working relationship is established over the coming years.

“We have a multi-fight deal and then we’ll see how we go but I’m very confident it’ll be a long-term arrangement.

“I’m looking forward to working with the whole team, building him in and out of the ring. He’s a very popular fighter and has a lot of people who want him to do well and want to support him.

“There are areas of the country that we can really build him in [and] put on shows that are gonna really appeal to boxing fans and to Ricky’s fanbase. It should be a very exciting period of time with us.”