Ryan O’Rourke fights Alex Vargas at Madison Square Garden on April 17th. His coach and father, Steven O’Rourke, sits down for the first time on Between the Rounds.

Steven has coached fighters for over 30 years out of O’Rourke’s Gym in Inchicore, Dublin. In this episode he shares how he reads a fighter’s mental state before they know something’s wrong, why he prioritises trust over technique, how he prepares fighters for battle with coded combinations and game plans, and what it’s really like to coach and corner your own son at the highest level.

This isn’t a typical interview. This is a fighter sitting across from her coach.

Topics: the craft of coaching, mental preparation, task-based sparring, corner work between rounds, the father-coach dynamic, coaching women, and the future of Irish boxing.

Host: Sarah Cunningham | Guest: Steven O’Rourke