Young Navan boxer to be signed up by renowned promoter Frank Warren
Davy Joyce to fight in the professional ranks
Talented young Navan boxer Davy Joyce - who is a member of the Holy Family Boxing Club in Drogheda - says he will fulfil a long-cherished ambition when he becomes a professional boxer.
Joyce, is set to become part of Frank Warren's famed Queensberry Promotions.
Contract terms have been agreed between the boxer and the well-known promotor and only remain to be signed.
"Since I was a young kid I always wanted to be a professional boxer," said the 23-year-old Joyce.
"I was going to turn professional when I was 18 but I went back to the amateurs and just gave it another go. Now my chance has arrived."
Joyce twice won the National Elite Championships in the 60kg division and also represented Ireland at various under-age levels.
He has a chance to step up and enter a world that is as much about business as it is sport.
"You don't play at boxing, it's a serious business," added Joyce who will be fighting at super-featherweight level.
Joyce met up with Frank Warren in August and the promoter was willing to then sign on the Meath boxer.
To help him along the way Joyce is also seeking sponsorship from local business outlets.
"Most professional boxers live off their sponsorship money, they only get paid for their fights," explained Joyce.
The new arrangement will create opportunities for the young Navan man to develop his skills as a boxer and get a chance to take on opponents on some of the big fight night bills, mostly in England.
"It's a big opportunity and I'm looking forward to be part of it all," added Joyce. "I'm hoping to be involved in a fight before Christmas.
Joyce, added that he will continue working with his trainer at the Holy Family club, Damien McKenna, a champion boxer himself in the past who is highly regarded as a coach in Irish boxing circles and beyond.
Working as a professional means Joyce will need to be on alert and ready to enter the ring at relatively short notice.
"When I'm in camp I will be training eight to 10 week before a fight and it will be training five or six days a week twice a day between sparring and boxing sessions, strength and conditioning.
"I will just have to be on call and in peak shape. In the pro game you can be called three or four weeks for a fight so you always have to be ready. You have to be in condition.
Warren is one of the most famous boxing promoters in the world and had on his books at one stage or another some of the biggest puglists in the business including Prince Naseem Hamed, Frank Bruno, Tyson Furey, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins, Ricky Hatton, Joe Calzaghe, Amir Khan to just name a few.
Jim Gorman, the chairman of Holy Family BC, says Joyce is a "brilliant kid" with a great attitude who has every chance of making it in the often ruthless world of professional boxing.