Tales from the Ring

I chat to Irish boxing legend, Wayne ‘pocket rocket’ McCullough about his amazing career. In episode 1, we focus on the amateur career in Ireland and his success at Commonwealth and Olympic Games. We also talk about his transition to professional boxing and moving to the United States. He would have a quick rise in the pro game would get himself to number 1 contender for the world championship within 13 fights.

In this episode, I look back at the amazing battle between Bernard Dunne and Ricardo Cordoba at the Point Arena in Dublin 2009. The pair had one of the greatest ever fights held in an Irish ring for the WBA Super-Bantamweight title.

In the season 1 finale of the podcast, I sit down with two Larne boxing legends. Dave boy McAuley is one of Irelands greatest ever boxers. He was a top amateur and went on to win British and IBF world titles in his pro career. He defended his world title 6 times and had some classic battles with world champions Fidel Bassa, Duke McKenzie and Rodolfo Blanco. Roy Webb was a fantastic amateur boxer winning multiple Irish and Ulster elite titles. He also won a silver medal at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane before turning professional with Barney Eastwood and having a successful pro career.

Mark Ginley sits down to tell me his very unique boxing journey. He started of as a successful amateur boxer at Oliver Plunkett ABC in Belfast, before turning professional and winning 4 of his 5 contests. After retiring at 22 years of age he then moved into promoting and managing boxers. More recently, he has started his own gym business with his brother, Ray.

In this episode, Neil takes us through the journey to challenging for the world title and becoming British & Irish champion. We go into depth about the 3 defences he made to win the Lonsdale belt outright and find out how he is staying involved in the sport today.

Joe chats to me about his journey to qualify for the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona. We discuss how his career ended, as well as what he is now doing to stay involved in the sport.

Joe Lowe talks to me about his boxing journey. We discuss how he began his boxing career in Canada and how he eventually became a decorated senior boxer in Ireland. We also discuss some of the major tournaments he competed in and the world class opponents he faced along the way.

I speak to current Irish coach of the year, Dee Walsh about his boxing career to date. We talk about his own journey as an amateur boxer, as well as his professional career. Dee opens up about why he retired so young at the height of his pro career and explains how he has transitioned to becoming a top coach. We also talk about his current stable of champions and what his goals are for the future.

In this episode Stephen chats to me about his bronze medal success at the world senior championships in Budapest in 1997. We also discuss his career ending due to medical reasons and how he coped with this, and what he has been doing since retirement.