{"id":128908,"date":"2025-08-19T10:43:02","date_gmt":"2025-08-19T15:43:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=128908"},"modified":"2025-08-19T10:43:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-19T15:43:42","slug":"irish-amateur-boxing-star-jim-donovan-makes-pro-debut-september-13th-breaking-boxing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=128908","title":{"rendered":"Irish Amateur Boxing Star Jim Donovan Makes Pro Debut September 13th &#8211; Breaking Boxing News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=128908#google_vignette\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=128908#google_vignette\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-128909 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mail-1-240x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mail-1-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mail-1-819x1024.jpg 819w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mail-1-768x960.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/mail-1.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Middleweight prospect Jim Donovan, of Ireland&#8217;s Fightin\u2019 Donovans clan, will make his long-awaited professional debut outdoors on September 13th at Winsor Park in Belfast, Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n<p>Donovan will face Lukasz Szczepaniak (2-1-1, 0 KOs), of Poland, in a 4-round bout on the explosive Matchroom Boxing card, headlined by his first cousin, Paddy \u201cThe Real Deal\u201d Donovan, against Lewis \u201cCroc\u201d Crocker (21-0, 11 KOs) in a rematch of their controversial fight this past March 1st.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Crocker-Donovan 2 will stream live on DAZN but this time it\u2019ll be for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) World Welterweight title, in the first All-Irish world pro title fight.<\/p>\n<p>Jim also joins another first cousin, Paddy\u2019s brother super middleweight Edward \u201cThe Dominator\u201d Donovan (7-1, 1 KO), in the pro ranks.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat a stage to make my professional debut,\u201d Jim said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a long time coming and I can\u2019t wait for the night I make my pro debut and also the night a world title comes home to the Donovan home. Camp has been going very well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Naturally, Jim was born into boxing, and his cousins have been influential during his career. He was walking around with boxing gloves on his hands in the boxing club at the age of 6 under the guidance of his uncle Martin, (Paddy and Edward\u2019s father), who is affectionately known as \u201cGugu\u201d Donovan to many in the Irish boxing scene. By the age of 14, he was training under former world middleweight champion and Paddy\u2019s lead coach, Andy Lee.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPaddy has always been a big influence on my career and somebody I\u2019ve always looked up to,\u201d James said. \u201cWe never pushed for me to fight as a pro. I\u2019ve always been training with Paddy and Andy. Before my wedding, I had a chance to fight on two or three cards, but I decided to make my pro debut after I got married to my wife (Kathleen Marie), and we\u2019re expecting our first child around Christmas.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Jim greatly appreciates Paddy and is one of his cousin\u2019s most ardent supporters, but he is his own man with a plan of his own, not fighting in Paddy\u2019s footsteps, for his pro boxing career.<\/p>\n<p>Like Paddy, Jim also trains for fights in Dublin with head trainer Lee, who also co-manages both fighters with New York City based attorney, Keith Sullivan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI couldn\u2019t be happier to be with Andy and Keith,\u201d Jim added. \u201cI\u2019m the luckiest prospect ever in Ireland. My pro debut won\u2019t make me nervous because I train and fight every time like it\u2019s for a world title. I\u2019m excited to start.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe atmosphere in Andy\u2019s gym is so professional. Andy has always been and is like a father figure for me. I look up to him and anything he tells me to do, I do. Him being a world champion drives me. There\u2019s no experience better than getting it from somebody who has already been where I want to get. I believe I can win a world title like Andy, and that road starts September 13th.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Donovan, a 5- 10 \u00bd southpaw, was a celebrated Irish amateur who racked up an eye-opening 160-7 record, including 10 Irish National Championships, silver medal at the 2018 European Boxing Championship Schoolboys, and bronze at the prestigious 2022 IBA World Youth Championships.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI first met Jim when I started with Paddy,\u201d Lee remembered. \u201cThe two of them were inseparable. They\u2019re first cousins and very close. They\u2019ve trained together a lot. When Paddy would be training for a fight, Jim would be with him, and I\u2019d train them both together. Jim is a very talented fighter; strong puncher who can make an impact. He\u2019s going to campaign as a middleweight. He\u2019s a very good puncher and a sharp southpaw. We\u2019ll wait and see, but he has a lot of potential, and he could possibly go all the way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFirst and foremost,\u201d Sullivan added, \u201cJim is an absolute gentleman. Combining that with his tremendous boxing skills, his charming personality and boyish good looks, he has all the factors to be a star. Most importantly, he can bang in the ring, has great hand-speed, solid fundamentals and is teachable. I am very excited for him to make his pro debut.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Fightin\u2019 Donovans have another pro boxer with world championship ambitions in their clan: Jim Donovan, remember the name!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/R26u08McpN4?si=eR1JWdYymyHlLLLc\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F128908\" data-token=\"aad802805d30a6a75ea2917a9f1bb412\" data-token-time=\"1778528148\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\">\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Name or Email<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; 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Donovan will face Lukasz Szczepaniak (2-1-1, 0 KOs), of Poland, in a 4-round bout on the explosive Matchroom Boxing card, headlined by his first cousin, Paddy \u201cThe Real Deal\u201d [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128909,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[33282],"class_list":["post-128908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-irish-amateur-boxing-star-jim-donovan-makes-pro-debut-september-13th-breaking-boxing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128908","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=128908"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128908\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/128909"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=128908"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=128908"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=128908"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}